It was time to continue on from Khe Sanh and fortunately the weather looked much improved for the day but it still looked a little sketchy further North. I was in the mountains so I couldn't really expect stable weather conditions so I just made my peace with it and started the day.
I had about 500km of incredible driving ahead until the next big stop - Phong Nha National Park, where I would spend several days. This upcoming stretch was rated as one of the best roads in Vietnam according to vitenamcoracle.com, a very good source about travel in Vietnam. My expectations were high and I couldn't wait to see what's ahead.
Smooth Start
The day started off driving through a lot of small villages. A lot of farm animals were sleeping on the road and often chickens and pigs would run across. Any time I would pass through one of these villages, little kids would immediately spot me yell "hello" all excited. This is a very common thing in Asian rural regions. It was the most evident in Laos but I will get to that later.
I was really enjoying this start of the day. Soon after I was riding up a mountain and into clouds. It became really, really cold. This wasn't Alpine and these mountains weren't really high, approx 1500m in altitude, but riding on motorcycle up here I really felt the cold. I didn't have some crazy motorcycling gear to keep me warm, just my regular street clothes. It was Asia and it felt unnecessary so I had to suck it up and keep going.
Surrounded By Jungle
The altitude wasn't dropping and I kept going along the ridge. Soon I was just below the clouds so I could finally see my surroundings and this area was stunning. It was this vast jungly area covered by these thick crazy looking forests with some incredibly tall trees sticking out. The road was going along the ridge of the mountains but much lower so the right side was a high and steep wall with a lot of plants growing from it. Often times the left side was an edge of the road and it would dropped straight down so I was overlooking this valley of jungle. It was drizzling a lot and I was going up and down from the clouds. Everything being humid and the visibility coming and going added this weird mystical vibe to this place.
Despite being really cold and the drizzle I was really enjoying myself. Again I was completely alone and not a single person would be in sight. This went on for a long time. The road kept going up and down, left and right, occasionally opening to a crazy view on the left.
After some hours the altitude dropped and it was dry. I was covered in a lot of mud and my motorcycle looked like it's been on some off roads. My engine was steaming a little bit so I stopped for a half an hour to let it cool down. It was a very intense ride so I didn't panic about the engine. Later though, I realized it was just all that wet mud the engine was covered in that was steaming.
The Lone Little Hotel
The day was not over and I still had a lot of km to tackle till my overnight stop. I was making good progress though. The accommodation I found was a small hotel that had opened somewhat recently located in a small village ahead. It was the only accommodation on this entire 500km stretch and it was located right in the middle of it in a small village. It was good that it opened here otherwise I would have had to ride this entire distance in a single day.
I was starting to see some massive limestones ahead and soon enough I was surrounded by some. I was getting excited for the next day.
I arrived at my hotel just before it was getting dark. It was become a theme on this journey. As I pulled up to the hotel there was another dude that had just arrived a minute before me. He was coming from the same place so all this time he was just a step ahead of me.
We checked out of the hotel and there was no one to be seen. It looked like we were the only guests. We spent a good 15 minutes looking for someone to check us in. Finally a lady from across the street ran over and we had ourselves some beds.
We were really hungry so we found a local cafe and got some noodles and some beers to go. He was also going to Phong Nha so we decided to stick together.
Among The Limestones
The next morning was looking good, it was finally clear and I had a new travel mate. We got some noodles for breakfast headed out. This was another spectacular day of riding. I didn't think it would be easy to top the last few days but this one did. We were surrounded by huge limestones at the start and it looked absolutely beautiful.
We headed into the mountains again for the next 100km or so. This time the weather was nice so it was a smooth ride. It was really fun racing with this dude on this up and down road. We got this road all to ourselves. It was a blast riding these past several days. This place is very untouched by tourists and pretty much off the beaten path in contrast to Ha Giang Loop up North that is becoming a total madness but more on that later.
We were approaching the Phong Nha National Park. As we were going down from the mountains this jaw dropping view with some of the park visible in the far distance appeared in front of us. Unfortunately I didn't have the right lens for my camera to capture it and do justice to the view.
Entering the region and surrounded by this stunning nature I couldn't look away. I was scared I might crash my motorcycle because of it. I am running out of words to describe the beauty of this country and this place in particular.
The Easy Tiger
The little town we were staying in was in a perfect location to explore the park. I also had a recommendations for a hostel from someone long time ago so I decided to check it out. It's called The Easy Tiger Hostel and it's really awesome. This was probably the best hostel experience since I started travelling so I really recommend it. It can only be booked through their website though.
It turned out my mate had booked this hostel as well, the weather forecast looked good for the next 4 days and my other friend from earlier was here in Phong Nha as well so it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun.
To Be Continued.