The route from Hue to Hoi An was due to take us mainly along the main coastal road, that whilst fast was not a pleasant place to be on a bike. It was impossible to spend much time riding without being run into the gutter by either a coach or large truck. As such we were relieved when we finally made it to the highlight for the day; the 22km Hai Van pass. This mountain pass used to be one of the most dangerous sections of road in Vietnam but due to a 6km tunnel that was recently finished it is now mostly deserted.
The road was brilliant fun, constantly winding its way up the side of a mountain ridge with hairpin after hairpin and long sections that flowed along the coastline with constant views over the sea to the East. At the top of the ridge (nearly 500m above the start of the road) was an old French bunker, later used by the Americans with great views down both sides of the pass.
[A video of the descent will follow here when I have time to edit it!]
After a great days ride we made it into Hoi An in the late afternoon. Hoi An is a beautiful old town situated on a river about 6km from the coast. We spent most of our time there either visiting the beach or getting clothes made. As Clarkson put it “Hoi An is the Saville row of Vietnam”. We had a good experience getting suits fitted, unfortunately the same could not be said of getting shoes made. Mine took over 3 fittings including once when the owner had made up completely the wrong pair of shoes!
It was also nice to see that Britney Spears' new look has really taken off in Vietnam...
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