Day 34! The day has finally arrived! Riding the Ho Chi Minh Road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha. This road is claimed to be one of the most desolate roads in all of Vietnam… and well, I guess you’ll have to read more to find out!

My alarm went off at 6am and there was no snoozing this alarm since I was ready to get out of this dreary hotel room and back on the road!

I hopped in the shower, packed up my bags, and strapped everything to my bike just as the sun was rising!

I got on the road at 6:55am with no clue what was in store for me! But boy, was I in for a treat!

The first 30 minutes of my ride were filled with the morning glow of the sun rise. There were plenty of people out and about getting their days started but I could tell that the further I got the fewer people I was starting to see.

After 30 minutes I made it to the first, and only guaranteed to be open, gas station.

I really hadn’t used much gas yet but it was important to top up since there are no other gas stations that claim to be open on this road.

After re-strapping my bag to my bike I set back off on the road.

Quickly the road starting winding through the mountains and I stopped seeing as many people. Every 10-20 minutes I would see someone coming the other direction, sometimes someone would pass me, but ultimately they’d get to their destination but for me, I had a long way to go.

There were so many places to stop and pull over for pictures and I took advantage of them all! The views were just incredible and I can’t say I’ve ever driven on a road like this before!

The road really wasn’t that big but I only saw a handful of cars, trucks, and busses which was a nice change of pace from my other drives!

What I did see a lot of was cow dung… and I saw a lot of the culprits!

I continued winding my way through the Ho Chi Minh Road, avoiding piles of poo or random pot holes, and taking in all the amazing views.

After around 3 hours of driving I spotted my first gas station! I wasn’t very optimistic that it was open but I pulled over to check it out anyways.

As I thought it was closed… but right next to it there was a fully functioning electric car charging station! But that wasn’t very helpful for me!

So I kept riding along in hopes that the next (and last) gas station might be open!

I drove for another 40 minutes with more and more stunning views! The ride couldn’t have been going any better at this rate. There was so much to see and focus on, I felt like I could ride forever!

Just before reaching the next gas station I ran into the only other westerners I’d see on my entire drive. It was at an intersection and they needed help with which direction to choose and luckily I still had my maps working for now.

They didn’t seem very keen on chatting or me joining them and I was enjoying the ride on my own so that was the last I saw of them.

I arrived at the next gas station… and to my surprise, it was OPEN! I was so excited I could’ve hugged the person pumping my gas!

I filled Kilby up all the way and my concerns about making it to Phong Nha were in my rear view mirror! And even if I ran into trouble I had my two extra liters for that!

My friend Tom told me there was a town near this gas station with food and since I decided to skip breakfast I was getting pretty hungry.

The first place I stopped however was… closed.

But luck was on my side and a few minutes away was another restaurant on the side of the road that was open!

It was just before 11am at this point, so I was the only one at the place and they didn’t speak English.

Fortunately there was enough of an understanding that the man working brought me a bowl of noodles and soup!

I slurped up my meal and paid 30,000 Dong for a giant bowl! I swear the best restaurants I find are in the most obscure places.

For the next hour and a half I had the most beautiful blue skies, open roads, and literally saw no one. This was one of the weirdest feelings of my life. I truly didn’t see a soul from the restaurant to Phong Nha.

I was really enjoying the solitude. There was something really peaceful to just riding through the mountains alone and when I got off my bike to take a picture it was just me and the sounds of nature!

At one of my stops I even saw monkeys! I couldn’t get a picture but it was cool to see them finally and I’m sure I’ll spot more as I progress through SE Asia!

I ended up making this ride way longer than it needed to be, but the views were totally worth it! This road takes you through the Ke Bang National Park which is where all these views come from!

I even had a bit of off-roading as part of the main road was overgrown!

The ride quickly took a turn for the worst as clouds started rolling in and I got flash backs to my sketchy ride in Nha Trang… but this time I was alone, far away from anything or anyone, and no one was around to help if something happened.

After 20 minutes I was back in the sun! Butttt not for long.

The amazing views once again turned into thick fog and for the next hour I was driving through the clouds.

After a stressful end to the national park ride I made it to the intersection towards Phong Nha!

Instead of turning a right towards the town, I wanted to keep with my plan of riding up and around the town further down the Ho Chi Minh Road!

After an extra 40 minutes to my ride I arrived to Phong Nha! Luckily right at this moment I got service again (oh did I forget to say after the gas station I had none?! Luckily there was only one road to take for most of it) and was finally able to navigate to my home stay, An An Homestay!

I was welcomed by a very friendly dog that just wanted all the belly rubs! And also by my hosts who gave me a cup of tea and some leaflets on the town!

I ended up chatting with a couple from Canada who gave me some recommendations for things to do tomorrow!

They sadly were leaving for the south and then I parked it in a hammock to relax and reflect on the day!

I took a power nap and then made a new friend, Martin, who I went into town for dinner with!

Martin, from Austria, is also motor biking across Vietnam and heading south to north so we had lots to chat about!

It took us a second to find a cheap restaurant but eventually we found a little market that had what we were looking for!

We both got Com Ga Chien which is fried chicken and rice. It didn’t look amazing but it actually tasted pretty good!

After eating our sweet tooth’s took over and we stopped by a convenience store to get some deserts.

Our drive home was in the dark, thankfully I now have a working headlight and Phong Nha is very lit up.

Not many people are in this town either. I’m not sure if it’s because of Tet or this is how it usually is, but it is very chill.

A surprise was waiting for me when I got back to the homestay. I was chatting with one of the owners, Moon, and we were talking about my ride in from Khe Sanh. She went, “oh this guy over here did that drive today too!!” So I went to introduce myself and who would it be, but my friend Ballint (Turo) from the Hi Van Pass!

(I kind of forgot his name and his WhatsApp said Turo, his real name is Ballint and he’s from Hungary)

Moon wanted to take a picture with us and I made sure to share it with her.

There was one other biker at the homestay, Merel from Netherlands, but she was taking her bike on a bus to Ninh Binh to make sure she gets to Hanoi for Tet. But I’m sure I’ll run into her in future rides!

Before she left though, all four of us geeked out about riding and shared stories from different rides. Specifically the amazing ride from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha!

I ended up calling it an “early” night after such a long day! Tomorrow I plan on doing a few things around Phong Nha before I head to Nghe An and meet up with a friend from Ho Chi Minh City who recently bought a bike!

I’m insanely proud of myself for what I accomplished today. The ride from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha was challenging in so many ways.

I rode my longest journey yet in an area that was truly remote. But I didn’t let that fear stop me from seeing the amazing sites. The fear was very rational, but I believed in my abilities and it really paid off!

It was another ride where I got emotional on it and when talking with the other bikers tonight, it sounds like I wasn’t the only one.

This experience continues to be rewarding and I think it will just keep being that way for the long haul!

But now, I’m definitely looking forward to a day off from riding!

– Elie