to Hue

The ride out of Phong Nha National Park was flat easy riding, and with the weather not that great we put our heads down and just pedalled. We decided we should do the 120km to the next bigish town marked on our map, and stay there overnight. As we got closer to our destination the rain got heavier and our legs more tired, but we consoled ourselves with the promise of a hot shower and a rest.

We arrived wet and tired in Ben Quan as darkness descended (it gets dark so early and fast) and asked about a hotel. First bombshell...the only hotels are in the next town 20km away. Lucky for us a local family was able to accomodate us above their rice and noodle restuarant. Not quite the comfort we were craving but we were thankful for the roof over our heads. Infact all night we contemplated this roof, a tin one, since the bucketing rain made such a noise falling on it!

With the rain still pouring down in the morning we were not sure what to do. We decided to write off seeing the Vinh Moc tunnels and cycle the 40km to Dong Ha where we would either get a bus or cycle the remaining 65km to Hue. We arrived in Dong Ha soaked to the skin for an early lunch and decided we would push on by bike to Hue. We motivated our tired legs down National Highway 1 with the thought of the dry hotel room that definately existed in Hue, and the rest we would finally get whilst our visas got extended. The string of + 100km days and nights free camping was taking its toll, but end was in sight...

Or so we thought! As we rode down the State Highway we noticed the rivers we were passing were very full, with some having burst their banks. Areas of rice paddies were looking more like big lakes, and about 20km from Dong Ha the water level was approaching peoples houses. The further south down the road we got the worse the situation became...we passed a flooded school, and some of the villages on either side of the highway were surrounded by water. Next we passed a stopped train, and were glad we had not tried to take the train to Hue...in a few kilometers it became apparent why it was stopped; the railway line was under water.

We eventually reached the outskirts of Hue, but here the water was covering the road. Cycling until the water was knee deep it became apparent we were not going to be able to pass down the road. It was difficult to get information with the language barrier...was the whole of Hue flooded or just this road? Could we take a different route in? People indicated the water in Hue was chest high, and so the realisation that the flood was pretty serious sank in. Hue under water We turned back and rode back 20km to the first largish town, and since it was about to get dark we looked for accomodation. A local guy helped us search, but all was full, so he kindly invited us to stay in his home.

Once again we were grateful to have a roof over our heads, but the situation was pretty bad. His home was very small; 2 rooms for his family of 5 and 2 of us. His 3 year old daughter was petrified of us and screamed unconsolably if she even saw us, so we were confined to one room whilst she stayed in the other. We couldn't easily communicate with the family since they spoke no english, but they fed us and a nieghbour with minimal english came for a short chat. In the morning Claire's shoes had disapeared from outside the house.

We thanked the family and gave them some money and left before 7am, to go and check the situation of the road into Hue. For the 3rd day in a row it was still raining heavily so it was not looking good. The previous night we had watched TV news reports of the floods in Hue and further down the coast so we were not holding out much hope. Sure enough the water was around the same level and after riding to knee deep again we were told the water was waiste high further ahead, and so turned back. We were offered a ride on a truck heading into the city but turned it down cos we didn't really know what we would be arriving into.

We pondered on our options...make for higher ground inland, or head back up the coast? We found an internet cafe where we tried to get mere information on the situation. The weather forcast was for more rain, and much of the central coast area was flooded. We called one of the hotels in Hue and asked advice concerning the fact that our visa was expiring in 4 days. They seemed pretty relaxed about it all, suggesting we wait one day and come to Hue the following day to extend our visas. We decided to head back up north on Highway 1 and look for a hotel, but didn't find one until almost back in Dong Ha, so went the 65km back to Dong Ha and checked in.

We turned our room into a drying room cos everything we owned was wet, and tried to find out if it was possible to extend our visas in Dong Ha. We were getting conflicting information so decided to give it a try. Two visits to the Immigration department and to some travel agents proved that it is not possible, so we decide to wait another day in Dong Ha and then decide whether to try Hue for the visa extension or go somewhere else. In the end we figured we should just aviod the central coast area by taking a bus south to Dalat where we would have one day to extend the visas. this gives us more time to cycle around the south of vietnam and will mean we can spend some time around the Mekong Delta.

The 24 hour bus journey was not actually that bad, and more comfortable than the train journey of the same length we took in China. From the bus we saw that many villages and roads were still flooded. We had learnt on the news that more than 60 people had died and many had lost their homes. It is especially sad that it is those with the least lose the most since their houses are not so strong and often close to the river banks.