Phan Rang to Nha Trang (126km)

I was in two minds as to how far I wanted to go today and the hotel booking site made the decision for me, a hotel for £6.92 that isn’t a hostel.

I packed up my gear and loaded up the bike. Rolling out of the lobby I hit the start button, nothing! A few more prods but no. Some workmen outside watched as I got off and bump started her. Now, what you need to realise at this stage is, the last bike I bump started was a Suzuki SV650, which was like trying to bump start a planet. I may have been over zealous with the speed of the push and indeed the hefty bounce on the seat to spin the wheel. In fact I thought it had slipped out of gear but no, that quiet whisper was Lilly purring away. As I turned off the choke she cut out again. This time two scoots with my feet, no bounce and she started again. I’m sure the workmen were impressed with both efforts as they watched on bemused as to why the madman would go through that when it has a perfectly good kick-start!

I tootled off on my planned 123km ride to Nha Trang. Its only about 60km however there were some lovely roads that needed my attention. But not before Lilly had a new battery

These two lads in their very unofficial Honda overalls popped in a new battery within ten minutes of my arrival and even checked it was charging correctly. For that they demanded a whole £15. (That’s with a tip that wasn’t demanded).

I stopped for a coffee at the roadside and whilst waiting to place my order, the biggest rat ran out from under the counter, between my legs and off out the door. I’ll not be eating here then.

So the hotel is fantastic and I’ve booked another day here to get a good look round.