Spent some time searching about a UNESCO site, called My Son... Apparently, on google maps it was just about 15km or so away from my Hotel, so should I go check it out? I decided to do so.
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| Somewhere inside (fake) "My Son" |
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| Some huge industrial complex |
Unfortunately, when I arrived it was not the place. And I guess google maps got it wrong...
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| I did turn into a really small settlement, and it felt like a really peaceful community. |
Oh well, U-turned and headed for Bong Son.
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| Transporting livestock... Rather inhumane... And if only I could replace this day's text for the smell there... |
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| This might not seem like much, but this was the only hill I saw for kilometers! The agriculture made it especially scenic. |
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| Small duck farm? These are plenty especially at the bank of rivers. It's always pleasant to look at them and take my mind of the road for a tad bit. |
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| Simple lunch, great food when hungry. |
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| First drink pit stop, this drink is alarmingly sweet! It scares me. |
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| While drinking Sting, I sat down observing the teenagers lazying on the hammocks. I contemplated lying down on one, but the lady would probably have to wash it after i'm done. |
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| Sugarcane + local salt(anti-cramps!), this is extremely addictive! |
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| I think I must have not been very hungry, because this was a little to green for me. Didn't enjoy it... |
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| An absolutely beautiful beach, I would have loved to stay a little longer.. But when the sun sets, the roads get bad! And unfortunately for this day, it rained too. |
Rained and riding in the lane was way to scary.
So I just kept on the shoulders, it felt like I have been riding for at least an hour and I should have reached the town already but according to the maps, I had only made it half of the 30km to town. Damn. I suddenly had the urge to pee, and found myself at some bend in the road walked into the bushes and really really felt so damned relieved at the time. Riding at night in the rain was stressful.
Enough was enough, I was not going to search for the cheapest hotel. Just the nearest one I could find. As I was pulling into town, the heavens decided to open up on me more and I felt like I was really suffering. The mental game? Bring it on, make it even harder for me bro! Come at me bro!
I finally saw a hotel sign and went into the carpark/reception/showhouse front, super soaked and asked for a room. The first thing I did was look into the mirror with disbelief, water still dripping from my clothes; a small puddle in my room formed. I went to take a shower.
Some laundry later, I went down to ask where I could get some food (there was a stall opposite), but was told to go ahead to the local market (outside a school/hospital, can't remb). There I got a chinese bun! They say everything tastes better when you are hungry, riding makes me constantly hungry and I have always felt whatever I was eating tasted like the best I ever had. Such bliss!
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| It was juicy, warm and oh so good. |
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| The room was a little creepy... There was even a comb on the the left side of the bed frame |
Spammed on uploading photos, work's getting me down so posts and coming in slower. In any case, ride safe!
It seems I may have mixed up today's events with yesterday (Day 3, Update 07/27/2013: edited accordingly.), I went to the fake My Son site early morning say 7+am, covered the 30km round trip went back to the hotel to pack up and continue to Bong Son after checking out. I remember little of the 110km I covered that day... But I guess this is what happens when you don't blog on the road/immediately after the trip.
What I did write on my iPhone notes app was that I finally started wearing long sleeves and that it proved effective. I got extremely disturbed from the tan I was getting, my hands looked like they were gonna be charred black by the Sun, my average speed is finally getting slow now... say 17km/h compared to 22km/h of the first 3 days. Till the next day!
Distance today: 110km
Distance to date: 368km
