Day 3 - Ha Lam to Kham Duc

Today was the toughest day so far, it started at 5.30 when day light appeared, and finished at dusk in Kham Duc, and according to my map reading skills it should have been about 50km, how wrong i was ! 91km. The first 50 was the best cycling so far, no constant beeping of horns  from everything on the road, and very flat thru beautiful country side. The day started with a Vietnamease coffee, which is a cross between expresso and a cocktail, its superb, hits the spot. Also followed by a  7up chaser  with a difference, with salt. I think the restaurant owner looked at the state of me, and insisted i tried it, so we learnt our first word 'meui', which means salty sparkling water. Trust me it works, and you need it! I also realised wrapping my towel around a slab of ice, and applying to the back of my neck, helps me cope on the bike, with the severe heat.

Anyway we arrived at a small village around 50km, and through difficulty, understood, that we still had 40km to go,  not 5 as i had thought. What was worse the last 40km was mountainous , which was absolutely draining.

But after many pitt-stops we arrived in kham Duc, checked in to the first hotel, and spoke with two Danish guys, who travelled the same distance as us today on motorbikes, and they found it very tough!!

Tomorrow will probably be our first rest day!,

p.s its bad enough cycling with the heat and the hills !!