Day 22! Today kicked off with one of the wildest driving conditions ever… get ready!

I started off the day at 7:30am with a war ration breakfast of butter and bread.

Jokes aside, I was just wanting a quick light bite to eat before heading out on a motorbike journey with my new friend Tom!

We weren’t really in a rush today because it was quite cloudy (I didn’t realize it was rainy season in Vietnam). So we got our bikes packed and fueled up and headed out around 9am!

The drive started out really nice. We started with city driving and then quickly headed into the country and then the mountains.

When we got up into the mountains it started to get really cold and wet as we were inside of the clouds.

So after an hour we pulled off at a cafe in the middle of nowhere to rest, put on more clothes, and so Tom could have his second coffee of the morning.

While we were at the cafe we met two very cute puppies and a man from Toronto who is biking across Vietnam on a serious motorcycle (500cc, our bikes are 110cc).

The traveler, Sammy, ended up paying for Tom’s coffee and we had a lovely chat for almost an hour.

The reason we took so long was because we were trying to wait out the drizzle and clouds, but they just weren’t budging.

So back on the road we went!

The drive after this was one of the scariest rides of my life.

Tom was able to capture this video from his phone in a more calm spot… but for almost an entire hour we were winding up and down a mountain with about 3 feet of visibility in front of us.

Tom told me he had no idea I was behind him the entire hour and we were getting pelted with rain at points too!

At one point we crossed a bridge where the bridge was clear but everything to the sides was not. It was honestly the most wild thing I’ve ever seen.

Everyone told us this ride was gorgeous… but we didn’t really get pleasure of experiencing it to its potential:

However, after an hour we broke free from the sketchy and treacherous mountain and were met with an AMAZING reward:

Tom and I pulled over for a quick stop to decompress and I gave him the biggest hug!

We just accomplished something so incredible and the adrenaline was just pumping for the both of us!

We then found a nearby restaurant for lunch where I got fried noodles with beef. This meal was super tasty and I think it was mainly due to the stress of the drive making me hungry!

After lunch we stopped by a gas station for a well needed fill up!

Our drive from the gas station was smooth sailing with flat country roads which then turned into the beautiful city of Nha Trang

We hadn’t booked a hostel yet because we weren’t sure where we wanted to stay. But while we were in Dalat we met a hostel worker from a place called Fuse in Nha Trang so we went to check it out!

We decided we liked the vibe and the price enough so we booked for one night and started chatting with the hostel staff and fellow travelers.

Of course three people at the hostel were the danish girls I had met in Mui Ne and then had seen again in Dalat! I also ran into someone I met in Ho Chi Minh!

After chatting Tom, myself, and another hostel goer went to get dinner where I got a chicken satay Banh Mi!

We then took a walk on the beach and then hurried back for a quick shower before free beer started at 5:30pm (and ended at 6pm).

It’s unfortunately a bit rainy and windy here currently but we’ll make the most of our time here!

Free beer turned into music bingo which was a ton of fun!

After music bingo Tom and I made our way to a nearby Banh Mi stand… where we ended up getting a sandwich and then going back an hour later for another!

After snacking on my 3rd Banh Mi of the afternoon we made our way back to the hostel where a dance party had broken out!

The party then shifted to a nearby club where we danced our butts off for a while!

Overall it was a whirlwind of a day!

The bike ride today was scary BUT it ended up being super rewarding and worth the ride!

– Elie