5 January, Vinh to Vio, 91km
Truong Hai Guest House 250,000VND (also available by the hour)

Her response to Charl’s query about whether or not there was a guest house nearby was fairly graphic. It involved a loosely curled fist filled by a poking finger. Her pimp pointed Charl in the right direction. One can be blind to so much. After this encounter, we for the first time became aware of how many “coffee shops” there were on the outskirts of town, each with several young women hanging about outside. Our guest house offered rooms by the hour. We negotiated the standard night rate down to 250,000VND, but at that price were asked to check out by 07:00! Our day was not particularly inspiring. The AH1 continued mainly flat, passing now and then through marginally prettier scenery. At one point we heard a woman yelling and looked up to find her chasing a bullock running fast toward the highway a dog on its heels. Charl crossed the road on his bike and stopped just where the bullock would have entered the road. And at that point a woman also alerted by her neighbour’s calls, appeared and grabbed the rope through the bullock’s nose, bringing him to a halt.