Rubbish Hotel to amazing Eco Lodge

 

We all woke up a little worse for wear after a rough night in a hotel of convience in Huong Khe. The beds were a joke—mattresses barely 20mm thick made it feel like we were lying on plywood, and mosquitoes had a field day with us. Sleep? Not much of that!

With groggy eyes and sore backs, we split up for the day. Toby, Russ, and Neil decided on a shorter ride, aiming for a relaxing spot by the seaside. Toby had a bit of a hiccup before he set out, he had a problem with his missing link: his bike needed a link removed from the chain, once that was sorted, team tumbler headed off toward the coast for a more leisurely day.

Team Tumbler, fuelled by Beer

Meanwhile, the rest of us went big, taking on a 310-km route to an eco-lodge high in the mountains. The first 240 km rolled by along beautiful, sweeping main roads that hugged the river at the base of a vast valley. The scenery alone made up for any lingering exhaustion and we managed to keep the average speed up.

The remainers, fuelled by Strong Iced Milky Coffee

Eventually, we turned off onto a much steeper, winding road. It was narrow, demanding our attention, yet breathtakingly scenic. We kept pausing to admire the sheer beauty around us as we climbed higher and higher. The last stretch took us off the beaten path and onto single-track footpaths, leading us right to our final stop: an oasis-like eco-homestay nestled in the mountains.

Stunning Views

Not sure if the Tom Tom route shows up, it was mighty tristy

The calm, serene vibe welcomed us... until Tim broke the peace with his usual antics! All said and done, it felt like a shorter day than expected, even with the 310 km covered.  After the hard ride, the eco-lodge’s stunning location and accommodation made it all worth it.


That said, whoever triad to design triangular shaped eco pods should be shot!  Even I cannot stand up in the shower and no room to put stuff:  A triumph of look versus function!

The triangle design


View from my room



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

And so it starts

Image
After many months of hetic plsnning we sll set off from Herefordshire on 2  Nov 24, Of note, the Harris boys were still up celebrting George's birthday at 0500 when the rest of us woke up and heded out.   As you csn see, the strain for Neil and Helen was just too much!  After an uneventful 12 hoiur flight (16 for Terry and Toby) we arriven in Saigon. Our first breakfast of the trip was delicious noodle bowls as we prepared to colelct our trusty steeds and bolt on all the goodies that we had brought with us. As we had a spare afternoon, Neil, Tim snd David headed out on bikes to the Chi Chi tunnels with Kay and Helen sensibly chosing to go by taxi.  Who knew there are two Chi Chi tunnel complexes, and yes we missed the girls, doh.  On the return the heavens opened so the boys took refuge in a delightful roadside cafe while the road turned into a river.  After an uneventful return to the hotel, all that was left was to negotiate the haridan on the car pa...
Read more

Final Day's Planned Riding

Image
As we wrap up the riding part of this incredible journey, tomorrow marks a shift in gears—literally and figuratively. Terry will be swapping places with Neil and heading back to the UK, and we’ll be heading off to Halong Bay to reunite with the girls. But today’s adventure was one to remember, filled with stunning landscapes, challenging terrain, and a chartered ferry. The day started on a high note, Terry was fuelled by a hearty breakfast of cheese on toast along with fuel for the bikes.  From there, we set off on the first scenic route of the day, a winding lane that rewarded us with breathtaking views. This particular road wasn’t entirely unfamiliar, as the girls had explored its early stretches just a few days ago. The scenery was defined by dramatic basalt rock outcrops and sparse soil. Witnessing the locals carve out a living in such a rugged environment was truly humbling. Our journey took us to a serene river nestled between towering limestone peaks.  Here, we stumbled...
Read more
Hello All, This is my first attempt to produce a blog, so be paitent with me!    We six chaps (with two ladies loosely in tow) are getting very close to departing for our Vietnam Venture where we will, hopefully, manage some of the planned routes shown above.  Sadly Thorpy is a little poorly at the moment and has had to duck out, we all wish him a speedy recovery and a tip top filly nurse to keep his pecker up! You will be able to monitor our progress at trac.extrac.uk, where current locations will be shown.
Read more