I hang out in Hoi An before discovering an arty fishing village alive with murals, where I make some unexpected acquaintances.
This leg of my journey passes through some of the most well known parts of the country. First up is Da Nang, where I find myself in a bustling urban environment where I nudge my way cautiously through a handful of central city streets to get to the stunning My Khe beach
From there, it’s an easy 40-kilometre cycle down the coast to Vietnam’s most popular tourist town – Hoi An.
Da Nang’s traffic was thicky but (relatively) orderly and I crossed the town’s huge dividing river in one piece before making it to the beach just in time to enjoy the last piece of sunshine before more storm clouds rolled in. I parked my bike at a juice stand and plunged in for a quick dip. The water was lovely, the sand pleasant and clean.
My Khe beach is lined with high rise hotels and restaurants but out of season still had a laid back feel. I was still happy with my choice to stay north of Da Nang city at Kim Lien, which in my opinion) was hidden gem with its village feel, amazing street food, cute beaches and proximity to the Hai Van Pass.
The road from Da Nang to Hoi An in not terribly interesting, dominated as it is by large-scale resort development. But the ride is flat and I’m soon in the beachside area of An Bang, just outside of Hoi An and a popular little enclave for expats and tourists.
An Bang is a lovely, palm-tree-filled place to bunker down for a few days while the next storm front rolls through and I while away several hours at the Cozy Corner Cafe which is Australian run and has coffee and breakfasts to die for. This area has loads of accomodation (including rustic dorms at Under the Coconut Tree) and I find it very, very hard to leave Tan Doan Villas where I was completely spoiled by the family.
There has been loads and loads written about Hoi An, so I won’t add to that here except to say the volume of tourists and tourism – even in rainy season – was quite overwhelming. If you’re cycle touring, it is a place where you can indulge a little after hours on the road and and appreciate a level of aesthetic beauty not found in other parts of Vietnam.
Back on the road again, my goal is to ditch the highways and take small roads through quaint fishing villages along the coast.
It takes longer than I think to reach those sleepy villages, and I’m a little disappointed by some of the illegal rubbish dumping out the back of the huge ugly resorts along the way.
Tam Thanh Mural Village
The route vastly improves on a tree-lined ten-kilometre stretch into the town of Tam Thanh, a fishing village made famous by two things: its murals and its fish sauce.
The murals are everywhere, and came about through a joint Korean-Vietnamese project that set out to transform the village in 2016 and show that art can be part of everyday life.
Amongst the colourful fishing boats it can be hard to tell where the art ends and where real life begins.
Wandering along the beach in the middle of the day, the humidity suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks. Despite coming off three rest days (or maybe because if it), I am suddenly struggling to move forward.
I’m also swayed but the unexpected presence of a friendly expat, George, who runs the You Retreat right on the waterfront together with his five dogs. Even though its only just past lunchtime, I make a spontaneous decision to stay the night. (YouRetreat is now mainly a restaurant but at the time of writing rooms were available)
The sky above the beach is moody and heavy, and I’m surprised by my hosts strategy, which is to sit inside with a wood fire burning, to dry out the air. He also insisted I take my bike inside as quickly as possible and spray it with WD40 due to the corrosive power of the sea air in this part of the world.
George, who has a prosthetic leg, gave me some insight into his past as an elite special forces paratrooper, who lost the limb on a bungled operation. He received no compensation, but says it changed his life for the better by opening up life out of the military.
We’re joined by another expat who is a high-up manager with the English indoor cricket team who have just failed miserably in their world cup campaign in Australia. His gloomy mood matches the weather but I’m fascinated by all these insights into unexpected corners of the world.
This is what travelling is all about, not only making up the kilometres.
Tips for the Tam Hai penisula
With the next part of my journey involving two ferry journeys, George also passed on some local knowledge that made me feel like my unplanned stop had been a good call. “It’s best to take the ferries before lunch,” he said. “Don’t even think about it after 3pm – the ferry guy is too drunk”.
The following morning threw up one more delightful encounter. I met up with two Vietnamese cycle tourists – the first I’d met on either of my two trips to this country. Travelling with tents, they had found the best possible spot amongst painted coracles and art installations on the sheltered riverside stretch of the peninsula. It was an honour to meet them and even more of an honour to be asked to cycle with them on their route to Kon Tum in the central highlands.
Part of me still regrets saying no to that offer but at the time it felt like too dramatic a change in direction from my planned route, and since they also looked incredibly fit I didn’t like my chances of keeping up with them on a steep climb up into the hills.
So, a few photos later parted ways and I continued my coastal journey down south.
