A picture book cycling day that can be addictive
N 14°21'00.7'' E 108°02'00.9''
Date:
10.02.2017 until 16.02.2017
Day: 591 – 597
Country:
Vietnam
Province:
Con tum
Location:
Con tum
Latitude N:
14°21’00.7”
Longitude E:
108°02’00.9”
Daily kilometers:
64 km
Total kilometers:
22,005 km
As the crow flies:
38 km
Average speed:
23.6 km/h
Maximum speed:
56.5 km/h
Travel time:
2:40 hrs.
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Maximum height:
1.200 m
Total altitude meters:
62.291 m
Altitude meters for the day:
505 m
Sunrise:
06:13 am
Sunset:
5:50 pm
Temperature day max:
27°C
Departure:
08:10 a.m.
Arrival time:
2:00 pm
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
As we were still feeling quite tired the next morning, we stayed a day longer than planned. I used the time to replace the brake pads on my rear tire and to give the wheels a thorough inspection due to the bad roads of the last few days. In the afternoon, the top of the pass was conquered by thick cloud cover. Because of the rain, the cold and the fact that there is nothing to eat in the accommodation apart from eggs, rice and tofu, we decided to continue today despite the heavenly wetness and our tired bodies last night.
After a rice, eggs and tomato breakfast, we load up the bikes and set off. “From now on, it’s almost always downhill to the town of Kon Tum,” one of the few guests at the hostel encourages us. We say goodbye to the friendly staff and roll onto the mountain road in full rain gear. “Despite the wet, I’m happy to be driving on!” says Tanja in a good mood. “Yes, I would have starved to death in that store,” I reply with a laugh.
In fact, the now well-maintained asphalt strip leads down into the valley. For 30 kilometers, our hearts beat faster with the joy of cruising. After just 20 minutes, the bad weather front is behind us and because it keeps going down, it gets warmer by the minute. “Hooray!” I shout and wish this moment would last forever. The effort of the ascent is quickly forgotten, but climbing the mountain ranges also has its charm. Although the road on this side of the mountain is brand new and quite wide, we are hardly bothered by traffic. The decision to leave Highway 1A to return to the Ho Chi Minh Road via the central highlands seems to have been absolutely right. At least today we are experiencing one of those picture-book cycling days that can be addictive. During our sustained descent, we speed past a truck brake bed. 11 young men from the Mnong ethnic tribe have parked their half-destroyed mopeds on it. They sit on rough stones in a circle and eat a chicken they have brought with them. “Hello!”, they call out in a friendly manner as I join them for a few minutes and ask if I can take a photo. “It could go on like this forever,” I exclaim euphorically, gliding through an exotic world. More and more often we discover the large thatched longhouses of the Mnong.
In the early afternoon, we cycle through a huge concrete frame that stretches across the wide road and announces the town of Kon Tum. Quirky-looking churches bear witness to the fact that the French brought the Christian faith to this region a long time ago. We capture a few of them in photographs and continue on our way into the city. At a small hotel complex, which is mainly frequented by motorists traveling through Vietnam and strictly refuses dogs, we ask if they make an exception for Ajaci. After the owner and his wife saw our dog, he won their hearts in no time and gave us access to a clean, affordable and lovely place to stay…
If you would like to find out more about our adventures, you can find our books under this link.
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