Today was one of those adventurous days. After an exceeding long commute yesterday (30 hours of ferry, bus, plane, and shuttling) and an ecstatic reunion with Kurtis in Hue (Vietnam), I was very happy to see a bed last night. But it was up early this morning to rent bikes and hit the road.

Now if you've never seen or heard of the motor bike situation in Vietnam, I'm not quite sure how to explain it...chaos does not do it justice. 80% of the vehicles on the road are bikes of some sort and they carry everything from families of five to refrigerators. Stop lights and signs are only suggestions and you basically enter massive roundabouts at a cruise and navigate your way out at the other side.
To make our day interesting, it was also raining...like pouring...honestly for a while it was a monsoon. We took off from Hue, wrapped in rain gear and purple ponchos, gassed up (for something like $4 or 80,000 dong) and hit the trail. We took roads along the coast and it was honestly a surreal experience.

The first quarter of the trek took us through village type settings. Despite the rain the were people everywhere and it made for an interesting time getting used to the roads. Next we jumped out on to the highway and got to cruise along at a good speed and get pelted by rain and wind, pretty much soaking us all the way through. The third portion was the most amazing. We travelled across the Hai Van Pass. None of our pictures do it justice because of the rain and clouds but the hills, valleys, and views of Da Nang were absolutely surreal. Midway we stopped in Da Nang for lunch and to connect with one of the friends the other guys had made on the trip. Finally, the last portion took us through Da Nang and to Hoi An where we are spending the next few days. This also took us through the real bike traffic. Luckily after the pass the weather cleared up.

The trek was absolutely amazing. I was definitely second guessing the decision as well as my scooter abilities coming off the long commute yesterday, but I couldn't be happier that I did it now. The biking is quite the experience, but one that I won't soon forget. It's almost like driving by feel - if that's a thing, you just gotta go with the flow and it all works out.

Looking forward to a few days with the boys. Probably get some custom suits in Hoi An and then possibly some more scuba diving. But you never know...
Watch for updates and keep it weird.