Day 13 Nha Trang to Lak Lake (Day 1 Easy Rider Tour)

Today we started our Easy Rider Motorcycle tour. The morning begun with a very tired me (Bec) as the hotel we stayed at last night was so noisy. It was about 7 levels of rooms but had a stairway up the middle that allowed the noise from every level to travel up and down. Also every time the lift stopped at a level it "dinged" and we could hear it from our room!

Our 2 guides picked us up from our hotel at 8:30 and we got some piccies of 2 excited but slightly nervous potential motorcyclists. Our drivers are a laugh - Son and Hai. Son is the loud laughing one (Tony's) and Hai is his geeky side kick (mine), they are good value. They work really well together and thoroughly enjoy what they do for work. Everyday is a new adventure for them and they love packing up for 4 days and getting out of the office.

We rode for 1 minute and then had our first stop :) At a red light. Its a 200 000 dong fine in Nha Trang for going through a red light (which we found funny as EVERYONE does this in Hanoi - no fine).

Along the way we stopped at an oyster farm, a brick making factory, saw some pepper, coffee and sweet potatos plantations growing along the roadside, stopped at the top of the mountain and got some fantastic shots. We stopped for lunch at a road side restaurant (basically a shed on the side of the road). We both had chicken and rice which cost us about $2.50 combined.

Riding through the small towns was amazing. The children call out "hello" and the smiles on their faces when we wave was heart melting. You should have seen them when we gave them a thumbs up. Its was like all their christmas' had come at once (if they celebrated christmas).

Pedestrians were the least of our worries (although Hai and I almost hit an old lady). We also had to avoid cows, chickens, dogs, massive holes, pigs, and geese. By the time we hit the open road it was white knuckle time.

We have stopped at Lak Lake for the first night. It's such an awesome place to stay and get away from the cities and all the honking. Hopefully I sleep better tonight although there is a massive storm brewing. Nothing a few beers cant fix - dont worry Alexis I will always remain loyal to cider :)
  
Tomorrow we are going on an Elephant ride and then back on the bikes to visit more country villages as we make our way to Saigon.

This truely is the best way to travel around Vietnam. We get to see things you just dont see in the big cities and we can ask any question as we go along which helps immensely. Highly recommend easy rider - thanks Ponts and Kristy for the tip!!