Khâm Đức – now we've cumulatively ridden 1,373 kilometers (853 miles) – which is about the half way point of our south to north journey of Vietnam.
During the war there was a US Special Forces camp there and some major fighting in 1968 involving the Australian-led 11th Mobile Strike Force. Today there seems to be no traces of the war.
Kham Duc is currently known for one thing: Gold. I knew very little about it until I did some internet reading, and everything written was about the gold mining. Considering the location along the HCM Trail, Kham Duc is a fairly large town with hotels and guest houses and lots of cafes and some rather extensively stocked appliance stores. We stayed at the Be Chau Giang Hotel (Address: 94 Phạm Văn Đồng, Khâm Đức, Phước Sơn, phone: +84 510 3681 555; GPS 15.438769, 107.793045) with rooms for $18.00. Really nice three story hotel with a large restaurant and outdoor patio. Large room, very clean and very quiet. (A/C, hot water, no bugs, very large bed). After checking in we walked to a nearby food stall for a snack – and wandered back to the same the area for dinner.
As usually I probably asked too many questions about local conditions (old habits die hard). The story is that the gold mining is being run by a French company (ies) and they have imported a number of Filipinos to pan for gold in the river while the Vietnamese work the mines. At the hotel I noticed a few Frenchmen who seemed to be involved in the mining (easy to identify as they wore polo shirts with writing about a gold company, spoke French and smoked incessantly).
Leaving Kon Tum, and after a few turns, we hit the Ho Chi Minh (HCM) Trail. ONLY 1,500+ km to Hanoi!
Old US Airforce Landing Strip used during the Vietnam War.
The scenery changes quite a bit during the ride - converting old forests to farmland.
Here's the final result - lots of beautiful terraced ride fields.
Bridges always seem like the perfect photo op!
While stopped for a coffee break, I saw this gorgeous Massey Ferguson cruising down the street.
Apparently the Shake Weight is a pretty big deal here.
Well, this was about the best stretch of road on our trip - built to Western standards. Unfortunately, we were only on this marvelous road for about 15 minutes. I even went the wrong way hoping that it was the way up to Kham Duc (so I could drive on the road a bit longer). Strangely enough, we were the only ones on this road.
Stopped in for a lunch break (a bowl of Pho) in a town just before Dak Pek. Although the food was good, if we had ridden another 5 minutes north, we would have landed in a larger village with more food options (GPS 15.089519, 107.736053).
Some Soviet ere SUV's still running around town.
Yeah - that landscape!
Looks like the afternoon commute is starting!
10% grades are no laughing matter. Poor little motorbike never saw it coming. Riding two up, with our backpacks - required first gear, despite getting a good run at it. 110cc's of pure fury was no match for the steep grade.
Towards the top of the hill, the scenery changed to more of a jungle landscape.
This is the Walmart of the town - apparently you can get your motorbike fixed, laundry done, and access the internet.
After settling into our hotel in Kham Duc, this is where we found dinner. And what is it with these tiny chairs and tinier tables????
This apparently is the rage in town. Steamed duck with duck porridge. And it was pretty damn good.
Cooking is very rudimentary here - wood/coals, pot, and there you go. Not too many fancy kitchen accouterments.
The next morning - I saw a bike shop that had upgraded headlights. While I was waiting for the headlight upgrade, I noticed the "mechanic" next to me rebuilding the head on another 110cc Honda motor. They knocked the dirt off the bike, pulled the chain between the engine and tranny off, and proceeded to tear the head down right there on the asphalt.
Here's the Yamaha shop where the headlight upgrade was done. Honda and Yamaha Dealership. 56 Quang Trung - TT Kham Duc.
The people there were quite pleasant, and had fun talking with them!
From Left to Right: Random delivery guy, my mechanic, yours truly, and the owner.
No comments:
Post a Comment