Day 33! Another absolutely gorgeous ride today! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did seeing it first hand. Tomorrow I’ll be setting off for a wild ride which I explain at the end of this post!

After 2 nights in Hué it was time to set off for my next destination!

So I woke up around 8am, took a nice shower, and headed to my hostel lobby for breakfast!

After a nice breakfast of fried eggs and bread I said my goodbyes to my new friends and set off on a 4 hour bike ride to the next town on my list, Khe Sanh!

I decided today would be the day I rock my new scarf and I’m glad I did! There was plenty of gassy trucks and dust along this road that this scarf helped block out.

My journey started in the rush hour of Hué but soon after leaving the city I was met with windy roads through forests and mountains!

As I climbed further and further into the mountains I was starting to see some gorgeous views!

The views on this ride were just incredible! I could have done this journey in 2.5 hours if I had taken the more direct highway route. But I’m so glad I chose the scenic one!

As I turned one of the mountain corners I saw what appeared to be steps that led up the side of the mountain to a platform. I believe it was a drainage line down the side of the mountain but I of course had to climb them and admire the view!

After an hour or so of riding I stopped to top off my tank at a gas station.

A fun part about this ride was I had absolutely no service! So once I got to the first stop on my journey I had no idea where I was going!

Luckily I was going down the same road the whole way, but it definitely was a bit nerve wracking at times.

On the next leg of my drive I was met with a beautiful river that weaved its way through the mountains around it!

This part of the journey stayed flat for a bit but then it was right back into bobbing and weaving through the winding mountain roads.

While I was driving I found another gas station, so I took the opportunity to fill up! Luckily this one had wifi so I was able to route a bit more of my ride.

After filling up my gas tank, it was time to fill up my belly. Thankfully just around the corner there was a restaurant on the side of the road.

Let me tell you, I picked a winner on this one! For only 30,000 Dong (just over $1) I got a huge plate of rice, beef, and vegis.

The whole meal was flavorful to the max! I was a very satisfied costumer and savored every last bite!

This ride was full of twists and turns (on the road thankfully) and also lots of wildlife!

There were countless cows, goats, chickens, and dogs all out roaming the streets. Most of the time they kept off to the side but every now and then one would make a mad dash across the road! Gotta keep an eye out for those ones!

The ride continued on to gorgeous view after gorgeous view and since I was one of the few people out here I was able to stop plenty of times to admire the views and take pictures!

My butt was really starting to ache from the ride. So I decided to pull over around 30 kilometers away from Khe Sanh!

And the only reason I knew that was because there are kilometer markers for most towns on the side of the road! I might not be able to read most road signs, but that was a real helpful one to know on this ride with no service!

I ended up sitting here for 10-20 minutes just taking in the view! It was such a nice spot to relax and rest up for the last 30 kilometers of my journey.

There weren’t many more breathtaking views on the last leg but there was one in particular that I really enjoyed!

As I got closer and closer to Khe Sanh I honestly started to tear up. The views were incredible and I was finally starting to fully understand why people motorbike across this stunning country!

After a long morning, I made it to my hotel after a 5 hour journey!

Unfortunately, the one home stay in Khe Sanh was booked out the entire month. So I got the cheapest hotel I could find. This is my first time on this trip having a room to myself which definitely has its benefits! But I do love having people around me to chat with.

I kicked off my shoes and relaxed on my bed for a bit and had a nice hour chat with my friend Tom!

We talked about my upcoming ride for tomorrow (which was his favorite) and how I should prepare for it. I also got some updates about where he’s at on his adventure!

It’s pretty awesome how close we’ve gotten over the past couple of weeks after being complete strangers just prior to that.

Now just because the home stay is booked out, doesn’t mean I can’t go enjoy it! So I took a quick ride to Retro Khe Sanh!

I’m very glad I swung by because I got to enjoy a beautiful sunset with a very tasty (and cheap) smoothie! And how about this incredible view?!

After relaxing for an hour and thoroughly enjoying myself I drove back towards my hotel in search of dinner.

I found a small restaurant that was serving chicken with rice or noodles. Luckily a local came to my side to help me order and I was served another huge meal of rice and chicken!

The meal was insanely tasty and whatever spice mix it came with was unreal!

The chicken was definitely cooked but cold… which was a bit concerning. So hopefully I’ll be all fine for my drive tomorrow!

I really feel like the only tourist in this town. I’m sure there are other westerners here and out of town Vietnamese families in town for Tet. But I haven’t seen any, which has been a strange and very cool feeling at the same time that I wouldn’t be feeling if I wasn’t motor biking!

After dinner I ran a couple errands. The first of which was buying two 1.5 liter plastic water bottles, emptying them out (after filling up my water bottle), and filling them with gasoline. I’ll explain why in a second.

My second errand was buying snacks for my ride tomorrow!

Now… why do I need snacks and water bottles filled with gasoline?

Well, tomorrow I set out on one of vietnams most (if not the most) desolate roads! I’ll be riding along the Ho Chi Minh Road between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha.

This ride can take upwards of 8 hours and I’ll apparently not see any other people for hours on end. On top of that there’s only 1 open gas station and it’s 30 minutes into my drive (there’s a couple more along the way but apparently they are usually closed).

So just in case, I have almost 3 liters of extra fuel in my trusty water bottles!

This ride is going to have some spectacular views that I can’t wait to share!

All the riding these past couple of weeks have prepared me for this ride and I’m looking forward to the amazing accomplishment of completing it solo!

I’m headed to bed early so I can get a nice and early start. I’ll see you on the other side in the wonderful town of Phong Nha!

– Elie