Nha Trang is very much a tourist destination. It’s a big city on the beach. My next destination would be more remote. I would ride to a small village at the end of the nearby Hon Gom Sandbar today. Right after my breakfast of bánh mì ốp la.
It was only 100 km away, but it was a spectacular ride. I headed north along the coast, taking the scenic route. On the way I planned to visit the Ba Ho waterfalls. To get there I had to go far down a side road, which turned into dirt and mud. Normally I enjoy exploring the hinterlands like this. But I didn’t have a prace to stay tonight and still had practically my whole drive ahead of me, so I was a little worried about not having enough time.
The dirt road was really bad, with huge holes taking up the whole road and filled with water. In Cambodia I could always go around water filled holes, but I had to plow right through these. There was nothing or nobody around, and I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way.
After going a long way I turned back. Then a taxi slowly made its way by. I figured a taxi in the middle of nowhere must be full of tourists, so I turned back around and kept going. Shortly I arrived at the waterfall site.
It turned out I had a 30 minute trek to get to the waterfall. The “trail” eventually petered out, and I had to scramble up cliffs, holding onto vines. I climbed pretty high, but the foliage blocked the views of the waterfalls far below me.
I eventually could see people swimming down there. Middle aged Russians in bikinis enthusiastically made their way down the treacherous hill. But I was worried about time and not as enthusiastic about the scrambling required, so I headed back to my motorbike.
I rode back to AH1, the main highway. Even though this was a big road, it was still spectacular. I went past green fields and mountains. I stopped for pho for lunch.
I turned off on the sandbar. That was amazing too. I stopped at many beaches, photogrtaphig the fishing boats. I followed a weird empty new four lane road to the end, where the tiny fishing village of Sơn Đừng is located down a steep path. The lady at Vườn Xoài restaurant let me set up my tent there.
This remote place is far off the backpacker trail. But it is on the Vietnamese tourist trail. During the day, boats bring tourists here. There are a few seafood restaurants for them, and workers are busy hauling and bulldozing sand next door to make a beach. They are also building a new road down into the village.
Despite the construction during the day, Sơn Đừng was a peaceful place to spend the night on a beach.
