22nd May - Dalat to Nha Trang

I wasn't sure about visiting Nha Trang as it sounds like just another beach town, but a few people have told me it's unmissable and the road from Dalat to Nha Trang is meant to be great so I set off on my way at around 9:30.

At around 9:33 I notice that the gearbox is feeling sloppier than usual and as I pull up to some traffic lights I can't change down, so I pull over to the side of the road to investigate and find that the splines on the gearshift shaft are all worn away. The lever has been jammed on with some old braided wire used as a spacer which has obviously held out for a while but has now failed. I push the bike around town for a few minutes until somehow mimes that there is a garage around the corner. I show the mechanics the problem and they set to work trying to jam a new piece of bent wire around the shaft but it's too worn to hold so they suggest welding it into place. I agree as I don't want to wait around for ages but get the feeling this might come back to bite me in the future if it needs to come off again. The mechanic also notices the fuel tank leak and mimes that the bike could go up in flames so we have the difficult mimed conversation describing the options of replacing the tank or welding up the old one, both options seem too expensive to me so I tell him just to weld the shifter. I unload all my stuff and he gets on the bike, I assume to move it into the workshop but he pulls out onto the road and into the distance leaving me stood outside wondering if I'd ever see my bike again.

I got chatting to another guy who was having work done on his bike and could speak a little english. This was his usual garage and he seemed to trust the place. Sure enough about 5 minutes later the mechanic was back with my bike and a newly welded on gear lever. He also had a cigarette on the go, so it seemed he wasn't too worried about the petrol leak. After paying up, the princely sum of $2, I was on my way with a gearbox that felt a million times better than it had up till now.

Once out of Dalat the road to Nha Trang, which is marked as a tiny minor road in the atlas, is a perfectly surfaced curvy mountain road that I'm sure any motorist would love to drive on. It has wonderful views out over the highlands with waterfalls cascading down huge drops, seemingly endless forests and the ocassional bird of prey swooping down. There are a few parts of the road that suddenly become unsurfaced or absolutely covered in potholes just at the apex of a corner, but the vast majority of it is perfect.

I spend a good few hours slowly descending the hills and ocassionally stopping to take in the views and find myself in Nha Trang before I know it.

The route

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Once in Nha Trang I'm harrassed by hotel touts who practically jump in front of me as I'm driving. I eventually give in and follow one to a hotel, once there I'm told it's $25 a night after I've already told him I'm not spending more than $8 so we agree to go elsewhere. However before we leave I see Hou, the "Easy Rider" tour driver I'd had a beer with in Dalat just outside the hotel. We arrange to meet up later for a beer.
After checking into my hotel I go for a walk along part of the huge lovely beach before it starts to absolutely throw it down with rain so I seek refuge and have dinner in a small street cafe before heading back to the hotel for a shower. It doesn't stop raining for quite a while so I decide to watch "Platoon", it seems fitting being in Vietnam and all, before phoning Hou to arrange where to meet.

Hou suggests a "local" bar which sounds great until we get there and it turns out to just be his friends guesthouse and the night turns into a pressure sales talk for motorbike tours and guesthouses. After a while though it settles down to normal conversation, or maybe I'm just drunk and not listening any more. I leave and agree to cal Hou in the morning to say Yes or No to the tour. On the way back to the hotel it's more of the usual hassle for drugs and prostitution which is starting to become a bore.