After 30 hours on the train from Hanoi we were glad to escape our 6 person sleeping compartment. The only downside was that it was pouring rain. We thought things were sure to be flooded (as we experienced in Thailand) but it really wasn't that bad. Night was falling so we checked in to a hotel near the station and enjoyed our freedom!!

The next day we began a short jaunt down the coast. Vietnam is dominated by two cities. Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. The lifelines of the country are the railway and the road that connects these two cities The road is called Highway 1 and biking down it gives an interesting peek into Vietnamese society. Town line the road, as do rice paddies where there is always someone hard at work.

Our jaunt was a short one. Two days of biking. Apart from what we saw the best thing was that it was flat. Really flat. So we cruised along and made it to Phan Rang on the second day in record time. While it was a bit of shame we couldn't do more of the coastal road we were excited to head inland to the Central Highlands and one of the most appealing Vietnamese cities; Dalat.

The beach in Nha Trang was beautiful