Dalat, Vietnam
We woke to some glorious sunshine for a change but it didn't last long. The greyness closed in yet again and the heavens opened up. It didn't bother me though. We packed up, got the wet weather gear on and filled Dora up with petrol for the day ahead and cruised out of town on some beautiful flat tarmac. For a change and a most welcome relief the tarmac continued once the town disappeared around us and gave way to lush greenery and countryside. The rain eased up as we curved South and the Sun crept back out allowing us to amble along at a good pace. It really was a tale of two halves either side of Buon Mu Thuoc. To the North of the city nothing but two days of torrential rain, horrible mud baths and pot holed tracks and what appeared to be fairly flat boring scenery, although it was hard to tell due to the visibility in the rain. To the South there are relatively nice flat tarmac roads, the rain was less evident and the scenery started to build into the stuff of picture postcards. Lush rice fields, a million different shades of green and a back drop of smooth curved mounds of hills. This was the life.
I didn't go crazy with the riding but hit a nice pace to cover some ground whilst still taking in the beauty of the day and our surroundings. It was only about 154 Km to Dalat so time did not seem a massive issue. We allowed ourselves several breaks to grab a drink and to take in the scenery. We arced round lake Hồ Lắk and then the scenery and road took a dramatic change. The rolling round hills got bigger and were covered in vineyards and mountains raised their heads up in front of us. We were entering wine country and about to start the climb up and over to Dalat in the central highlands.
Thankfully the road quality remained the same despite the fact we started to slow a lot as we climbed up steeply through the mountains. there was hardly any traffic on this road as well. I think we saw more herds of cows on the roads than cars and trucks. The air cooled as we climbed higher and higher and everywhere we looked the views were stunning. As we reached the top of the first few peaks the road leveled out a little and afforded me some of the best riding I've done here so far. Stunning views, winding roads that undulated round the mountain side and we zipped along at a rate of knots. I was loving it. The roads so clear and dry that you could take the racing line on every bend and maintain your speed. Half an hour of this joyous riding and the sky started to close in again very quickly. Blue sky turned into darkness and the wet weather gear came out again. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I sped along as fast as I dared trying to beat the clouds and make it through to what appeared to be lightness off in the distance. However I didn't beat mother nature. As we hit a flat plateau up on some hill tops the rain instantly switched on and it was torrential to the point that it stung your skin. Visibility started to decrease massively and we needed to look for cover.
We stumbled across a small hill top village and pulled over for cover with some locals at a small row of shops. Again the friendliness of the people was warming as we were invited in to some guys house that also doubles as the local hairdressers that his wife runs. We sat it out for as long as we could. Time was starting to go by now as the mountain climbs had slowed us so we hopped back on as soon as the rain was light enough to allow us to see ahead. Well it seemed light at the time but it continued to drive into our faces with the wind that had picked up and it took us another half an hour to break through it.
I think the reason that the rain eased is that we started to climb even higher above the rain clouds. I'm not sure how high we climbed but I know that Dalat is at about 6,000 ft and these mountains must be a good 500 ft above that so it was a decent climb up on the bike. This is the point when I look back and really wish I had stopped to get a lot more photos as some of the views were spectacular. Unfortunately most of the time when there was a decent gap for a view it was on a very steep climb and I didn't fancy my chances of stopping the bike on these inclines and then being able to get going again. Every time there was a more level section there was fairly dense and lush forest that blocked the view but it was gob smacking stuff and views I will treasure in my memory. Massive valleys of forest and vineyards were all around. Layers of cloud sat at what seemed like an impossible distance below us. As we hit what seemed to be the summit of the climb we pulled over at a small cafe for a hot coffee. By this point we were absolutely freezing in the mountains. Mist and cloud surrounded us and we were soaked through, my fingers were now also numb from the cold and vibrations of the bike.
From the summit we descended rapidly into a big flat valley where the flat roads allowed me to cover ground at a rapid rate again. There was still around 45 Km to go to reach Dalat and I was hopeful we would make it by sunset but as we hung a left towards Dalat and then started to head slightly North again the darkness closed in fast and I found myself slowing down massively in order to avoid hitting unseen pot holes at high speed. The traffic lightened a lot at this point as I guess nobody really wants to ride in the pitch black up here. No street lights to guide you just inky black and a small glow 5 feet in front of you from the two candle equivalent bulbs that are the bikes headlights. Of the remaining traffic on the road some of the drivers were absolute lunatics. A couple of vans screamed past me with no lights on at all. I don't understand how these people could see anything at all but they didn't seem to care and would go thundering past within a couple of feet of you. I guess they wanted to get home or to the next village and out of the dark. I started to mimic the pace of the scooters that passed by as I got a bit more visibility from the glow of their tail lights. At least that's what I did until the guy in front of me nearly lost it and started twitching about all over as his bike bucked around like a bull ride under him. I don't mind saying it but I was scared at this point. We needed to either find somewhere to stay or to hit Dalat soon, one or the other.
The small places we passed were literally road side traders with nowhere to stay. On to Dalat it was then. A half hour later the tarmac improved massively from the potholes I was clattering through in the dark and then suddenly street lights also appeared. The road widened and I was also gifted the beautiful sight of a lane protected by a barrier dedicated solely to motorbikes. At last some progress. We passed a toll booth section and cracked on following the signs to Dalat in our own safe comfortable bike lane. For some reason this only lasted about a mile and as I followed a sign for Dalat I was thrust into utter darkness again with a further 8km still to go. I could see the glow of the town over the hills somewhere ahead and it couldn't come quick enough but I was reduced to around 5km/hour as the visibility was that poor. Occasionally a truck or lorry would pass and I would speed up again trying to use their lights as guidance but you would get a hundred yards doing this at best before they disappeared out of sight and round a corner. As we ever so slowly climbed again we rode through a freakish patch of light that could best be described as passing through a ghost. What the hell was that?! Then another and another patch much larger. We were climbing through clouds again and the headlights from the bike were catching all the moisture. It was like riding through patches of illuminated fog. Very pretty I guess but totally distracting with horrible visibility and it was not needed at the time. It was one of those moments when your drive and willpower are massively tested and I felt in a seriously low place. Dani was really scared. We could hardly see and although I was trundling at a snails pace you still didn't know if you were anywhere near the edge of the mountain road without a barrier at times and although relatively flat we still hit many deep potholes in the inky black with a shoulder jarring crunch.
Around an hour later we had covered a few more kilometers and the lights of Dalat came into view as we rounded a corner. My spirits were instantly lifted at this point and images of a nice comfy bed, some food and some warmth were vivid in my mind. Another 20 minutes and we rolled into the center of town completely drained. We pulled into a bar to grab a drink and sit down to gather ourselves back together before looking for a place to stay. As we sat nursing our beers there was a huge crash and as I looked behind me our bike had toppled over from it's side stand and was lying flat on the ground minus a wing mirror. Another instant nail back in the demoralized coffin it was and we supped up and went in search of a place to stay.
We found a great cheap homestay a little bit out of town and threw our bags in. A quick ride back into town and we had grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam and also some take away pizza. Home comforts it was tonight before some well earned sleep. Dalat is a strange little tourist town, mainly with the Vietnamese and it has a massive French influence as it used to be their mountain party town during the days of their occupation to escape the heat of the low lands, so home comforts were easy to find and well deserved. I didn't manage a lot of Jim Beam but grabbed a good amount of sleep that night. It was a day of massive variety. The beautiful highs of some amazing scenery and epic roads. The deep lows of feeling scared and hoping that you make it to the end of the day injury free and to safety. But that's what this is all about and it wouldn't be the same without days like this. Vietnam really does keep surprising and challenging you every day.
