So I am up early because I have not packed my stuff yet. I was going to last night but I was too tired, so I get it packed this morning. I am downstairs and ready to go at 8. 9 comes and goes, 10 follows and there is still no sign of Elias! I send him an email, as he has no Vietnamese phone. 11 arrives and still no reply. I am starting to get concerned. Maybe he is dead? Or lying in a ditch somewhere? I don't even know where his hotel is, so I can't even swing by and see if he is there.
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Eventually Elias pulls up outside the hotel, he wasn't feeling well this morning and so had to go to hospital. He tells me he just has to wait for some results and then he is good to go. I am relieved that Elias is still alive, the trip will happen. It's 12 before Elias returns all packed up and ready to go. We are heading to My Son today, this is some ruins about 40km away, then we plan to head on to a small town further south. The start of the trip we plan to go through the mountains, then in the later half we will work our way to the coast. Of course, the plan is loose, so anything can happen.
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The bike feels totally different with all the luggage on the back. We manage to negotiate our way through the town and out on to the main road. This is it! We are on our way, let the adventure begin. As we make our way we come in to various towns of different sizes, of course no board showing the name of the town. They all typically have a main street, straight and long, with various junctions along it. So the main road goes right through the heart of towns, the traffic density is vastly increases in these towns, with people, bikes, trucks and animals likely to appear for anywhere, one has to be alert. We stop in one of these towns for some lunch, we figure it'll be cheaper here than when we get to My Son. We park the bikes up, as I get off my bike I burn my leg on the hot exhaust. Just a touch, but so painful. When we get in to the the place we are having lunch, they have a sink, so I have my leg thrown up on to the sink running some cold water over my leg to help the burn. The people in the restaurant think this is very funny, but I don't want a blister forming.
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After lunch, we arrive at My Son after passing through a lovely road section, lined with trees. We buy our ticket and take our bikes down a cobbled road. I am having the life shaken out of me on this road. Elias flies off ahead, I decide to take it a little slower, maybe save my suspension. After what seemed like, never ending cobbles we get to a clearing and park the bikes up. There are no signs, just a couple of restaurants. We make an educated guess and walk in that direction. It isn't long before we get to another collection of shops through the forest, just beyond we can see the ruins. The weather has been kind to us and so when we arrive the sun is shining. As a bonus there is hardly anyone else here, which make is great for photos. I haven't seen anything like this before, red bricked buildings, covered with grass, from dwellings to places of worship. We wander around and take some photos, the site is massive, with 4 excavated areas. We look at 2 of them, and it was really only the first one that was impressive. It was cool that you are able just to wander around, few areas off limits. After a few hours we get a drink in one of the restaurants, have a look at the map and see where we will stay tonight. The plan is Kham Duc, or there are a few towns close if it starts to get too dark. So we head back out the same road until we get to a turn, no signs. We ask a couple of locals if this is the way. From what I can gather we can go this way, but the road is a dirt trail full of potholes. They suggest going back towards Hoi An and taking a better road, making the journey about 20km longer. As we are debating what to do Elias' face drops. He has just remembered that he has forgotten his laundry. So we have to go back and get it. Ha. I start laughing, what a dick. I'm not annoyed at all by this set back, I just think it is funny.
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As we are passing through one of the towns Elias stops suddenly in front of me. I have to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid him, instinctively I stick my foot out, and trail it along the road, pull the clutch and end up revving the engine. Once I calm down and roll to the side of the road I ask Elias what the hell he was doing. Turns out that his brake lights don't work, that was the issue. After this near death experience we make our way back to Hoi An, rush hour when we get there. We decide to stay in the hotel Elias had been in before because it was cheaper than mine. We get back before dark and get checked in.
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We end up staying in the same dorm that Elias had been in, he even gets the same bed. The dorm is a joke! 3 beds in a converted beauty salon. So humid in here, but then I not paying a lot and its only for one night so its ok. There are free cocktails here between 6-7 so we head down for some of those with Nicole from Netherlands, who is also in the dorm. After a few of these I decide to go out for dinner with Tea and Elias stays in the hotel.
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Some good old rice and grilled chicken for me! So good. I am starting to become a fan of the half chicken, maybe only due to lack of choice. Ha. After this Tea takes me to a local university where we get to watch a talent show. Everything from singing, dancing to instrument playing. I am most definitely the only white person here. We were late arriving and so we have no seat, just standing at the back, I'm glad because the heat coming out of the place is suffocating. Luckily I can see over the Vietnamese heads to the stage, Tea on the other hand is too small and has to move about to get a view. When I can't take the heat anymore Tea drops me home and I get all my stuff ready for tomorrow. Bike ride adventure, take 2.