23 January, Binh Dinh to Song Cau, 65km
Hotel Laura 200,000VND

Westerners fresh from a more rule-bound road system tell us they think the Vietnamese are terrible drivers. We disagree. If you have read our previous snippets, you will know that we have distilled one simple, elegant rule of the road: if it’s in front of you, don’t hit it. We have now, I think, distilled the purpose that informs the rule: keep all traffic flowing. This requires both awareness and tolerance. It requires everyone to make minor adjustments in speed and direction to avoid forcing anyone to make the major adjustment of stopping. We have begun to suspect that how the Vietnamese drive in fact symbolises a philosophy of life: be tolerant, make small adjustments to allow others space, keep the world spinning. So... we feel safer on the seemingly chaotic streets of Vietnam than in the theoretical order pertaining on South Africa’s roads. Near our hotel we encountered a lit restaurant sign pointing down a path so dark and narrow we enquired of the young barber nearby if it was the right path and he kindly led us down it to the sea. We ordered clams (chewy and tasteless) with greens and rice; and were also served unordered “century eggs”. I could not get beyond the appalling smell of this “special treat”; Charl bravely had one taste, but then no more. “Century” eggs are duck, chicken or quail eggs preserved for several weeks in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime and rice hulls. This process turns the yolk a creamy, dark greenish-grey and the white into a dark brown translucent jelly. The eggs smell of sulphur and ammonia. 

Between Binh Dinh and Song Cau

Century eggs