rod mclaughlin

Phu Cat to An Khe (23 mar 18)

I spent two nights in a hotel in Phu Cat in Binh Dinh province. There was a cafe that did paninni. I also had dinner at restaurant Danh Thuc Ban Linh, next to restaurant Nhà Hàng Hải Yến, which is on Google, but isn't open. The first time I ordered duck and pointed to a picture of duck on the menu, but got chewy beef. The second night I ordered roast duck and got deep-fried duck, which was no good at all. 

I then followed a Google map through the countryside but got lost. Eventually I found QL19, and ended up at a place called Phu Phong, in a hotel just south of the bridge. The internet didn't work, but this gave me a chance to read a book (Mastering Bitcoin) and start to learn to play my clarinet. I got some basic food (see picture) - babecued pork with cucumber and congee.

Today I climbed the pass on QL19 heading west, and got to An Khê before lunchtime. This place is much nicer than anywhere else I've stayed since Hue. An Khê hotel is decent at 160,000 dong ($7). 

By the way, the weather has been perfect (apart from the strong southerly wind along the coast). Nice and cool - nowhere else in SE Asia is like this right now.

Portland

London