On November 4th Fred the bike is embarking on a six month journey across Southeast Asia. Starting in Singapore, Fred plans to make his way up the west coast of Malaysia, across Thailand, Cambodia, up through Vietnam and into Laos. After that... who knows? Fred invites you to follow him through his adventure. Any advice from fellow travelers is always welcome.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Gia Ray-Mui Nei

Total Distance:97.95km
Total Time:6h06m07s
Average Speed:16.0km/h
Maximum Speed:36.5km/h
Total Distance So Far:4428.71km

And so begin the hills! It wasn't too bad, but I'm not even in the highlands yet. The whole time I just kept thinking about how much harder it's going to get. I really need to get Fred looked at. He's not doing to great. The hills from Gia Ray weren't steep, but it was mostly up hill. There were a couple of really long ones. I guess it's good practice for what's in store. Traffic wasn't so bad on the part of the journey. There was still an obscene amount of horn honking though. The past couple of days I could feel myself getting sick. By the time I reached Mui Nei, I had a full on Cold. GREAT! Mui Nei is a nice little place though. Not bad for a little recovery time. I've been here a couple of days and I'm feeling better. Still not a hundred percent, but better.
As usual, accomodations are insanely overpriced. I guess I just have to learn to deal with the fact that for the durration of my stay in Vietnam, I'll be paying through my nose. The town is very nice here. The main attractions are kite-boarding and the sand dunes which lay just outside of the town. I would have liked to have a go at kite-surfing but, as I said, I haven't been feeling great. I did, however, take in a tour of the sand dunes, which was rather nice. If you're headed here I suggest checking it out, but don't pay for the sand sledding. It's a total scam.
Who should I run into on my first day here? Remember Antony, the hard-core Belgiun Cyclist. Apparantly he couldn't hack it. He's been bussing it around Vietnam, and is headed to Bangkok to sell his bike. I laugh now, but busses are looking more and more appealing. We'll see how the treck to Dalat goes. If it's to hard I might be joining him on the back-packer express.
I gave Fred a little tune up. Like me, he's better, but not 100%. Hopefully there will be some kind of bike shop in Dalat, otherwise I will absolutely be on that bus with Antonty.

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