Mui Ne to Gia Ray

I have to leave Mui Ne this morning if I am to make it to Saigon tomorrow night.

Chris is feeling much better in the morning, but still not 100%. After considering the options of either staying in Mui Ne for an extra day to recover or go with me, he decides on the latter.

We eat a light breakfast and set out early, before it gets too hot. Taking it slow, we pass the city of Phan Thiet and go towards Saigon. By ten o'clock, we have covered twenty kilometers.

As the day heats up, we stop frequently for fluids. Chris is still dehydrated and tired from the ordeal yesterday, so the breaks are crucial. Stopping every ten kilometers or so, we make slow but steady progress. The scenery today is pretty boring, just drab towns along the way.

A little after five o'clock, we get into the town of Gia Ray. I ride in front and Chris trails behind. As we come to a fork in the road, I hear the sound of bike hitting concrete and a yell from behind me. Stopping and turning around, I see Chris and his bike flat on the ground. I run back. Chris lies on the ground, cursing. Apparently, fatigued and riding in the fading daylight, he ran over a rock on the road and completely wiped out. After a while, he gets up, and checks to make sure that he hasn't broken anything. Miraculously, he hasn't. While his helmet is cracked open, Chris comes out a little stunned but relatively unscathed, with only superficial scrapes on his arm and leg. A bunch of women sitting across the road in front of a bridal shop run over. They help him push his bike to their shop and start to bring out little bottles of solutions to clean his scrapes.

With Chris' road rash taken care of, we thank the women and walk for what seems like an eternity to the only hotel in town. Knowing that they are the only game in town, the receptionist tells us that they only have single rooms for 200,000 dong each. After such a long day, Chris is in dire need of a good shower and some basic level of comfort. With no other option, he checks into the hotel. I walk down the street to find a room at a very basic guesthouse down a dark alley for a quarter of the price.

By the time we settle into our respective places, it is already late. We will see how we feel and decide how to get to Saigon in the morning.

Stats:
Distance: 114.3 km
Time: 5h 49m
Average speed: 19.6 kmph
Maximum speed: 47.5 kmph
Odometer: 1590.1 km