Of course the plan is to leave Pleiku early, but that never materialises. By the time we get up and get the bikes packed it is after 10. Never worry, we will make good time. Sun cream has to be applied today as I am really starting to show the burn. My arms are black, with the exception of where my watch and bracelets are. I look ridiculous. Not much I can do about it now though, just some sun cream to stop it getting worse.
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The road today is terrible. I think it is the longest stretch of bad road that we have had on the whole trip. Woeful! It is like being on the shaking plate in the MOT. A combination of tarmac, concrete and just stones, sand and anything else lying around. Today is Sunday and so i thought that we would have had less traffic, but that was not the case. More lorries, trucks and busses than normal. This makes the whole bad road conditions a lot worse. What happens is that you over take the lorry on a particularly bad pothole section because they slow down so much, only to have the lorry overtake you on the slightly better sections. The fumes are toxic from the lorries and buses and that is why most Vietnamese wear masks. We were advised not to because when the police are out doing random checks there is a chance they may pull you over if they can not see your face. Though when they see you are white they don't bother with you. So we just have to contend with the fumes, to save the bribe that would be in order if we are pulled over.
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After a bone shaking couple of hours Elias pulls over for our lunch stop. When I get off the bike my arms are still shaking from the onslaught that they have had all morning. Elias doesn't seem phased by the potholes plunging Sally 2 in to them as though they were not there, while maintaining speed. I have taken a slightly more cautious approach, driving slower and trying to weave my way in and out of the danger zones. When we get to this place for lunch we are greeted by an incredibly enthusiastic Vietnamese man, who quickly turns out to be fairly well on his way. We get the prolonged hand shake followed by pats on the back. He sits with us for the whole meal, talking away, we even write in his book, telling who we are and where we are from. He seems so happy that we did this for him, it was no effort at all. I ask to go to the toilet and I am shown out the back, there is no out house in sight and it quickly becomes clear that I just go anywhere, nice! Lunch was fantastic, with some meat, fish and noodles. Just what we needed after our trip here.
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Back on the road, just a quick stop. Need to make sure we get to Boun Ma Thuot before dark. In the second half of the day we are greeted with the same terrible roads, but in addition we have these tractor type things. The engine is in the front and it looks like a lawnmower engine, steering is taken care of with a set of 4ft handlebars behind, where the driver sits. Then on the back it carries a trailer, either full of people, or full of logs. These things are so loud and so slow. I think over the hour that we were travelling we must have seen at least 100.
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Eventually we arrive in Buon Ma Thuot, which is the biggest city that we have been to so far. We arrive while it is still light and drive around looking for somewhere to stay. After having no joy using this approach we stop in a cafe that has wifi, so we can check online for somewhere. We have somewhere picked out and so we head there, the usual $6 a night. After the arduous job of unpacking our bikes we get our stuff in to the room. Head out for dinner and just stop at some local place on the street. There are still the plastic chairs, but they have backs and are much higher, so you don't feel like you are sitting on the floor. It is about 7pm and we start to hear the pumping dance music. Curious, we head over to the cafe that was across the street. They have a DJ playing and everyone is enjoying coffee. We grab a coffee before retiring to the room, where Elias plays guitar and we listen to music before bed.