On my last post, I highlighted a few recommended activities while you’re in Son Trach Commune in Central Vietnam.  In this post, I wanted to give you our 3-day itinerary while we were here.  However, if you can stay longer, I really recommend it because there’s so much to do here.

Day 1 – Mountain Biking 

We rented bikes at Phong Nha Farmstay and rode to the Wild Boar Farm, stopping frequently to take photos of the amazing scenery.  The path itself is mostly dirt road, with quite a few bumps and ruts.  It is relatively flat as you ride through the rice fields, and then you will find short, steep spurts as you move further along.  Since this is a multi-use pathway, it is shared by people, motorbikes, chickens, dogs, cows and large buffalo.

Speaking of buffalo…  We were riding along happily when we encountered a herd of about a dozen buffalo coming towards us.  The path was narrow, with vegetation on either side of us.  Quickly assessing our options, there really wasn’t much choice – so we dismounted and stood as far to the left of the path as possible.  Self-preservation was on the top of my mind when I figured that placing my little mountain bike between myself and the oncoming herd was a fantastic idea.  It was like a slow-motion reel at this point as I watched them pass Kevin & meander towards me.  I was so frozen in fear I completely forgot I had the camera & could have captured this amazing moment.  The buffalo stared at me and I stared back…  And in about 4 or 5 min, it was all over.  I breathed out a sigh of relief, and got on my bike again.  This is when I realized the beauty of the countryside.  The wildlife here really don’t care much about me, and we can totally co-exist in peace.  🙂

As you can see in the map below, there is an option to cross a stream, or take an easier & more direct path.  To add spice to our day, we chose to cross the stream.  🙂   When we got there, out of nowhere, a large dump truck decided to cross as well.  We waited our turn & made it across, passed the Pub with Cold Beer and continued making our way to the Wild Boar Farm.

We were greeted by the owner (Cuong), who led us to a nice lookout area where we ordered 3 cokes and some freshly roasted peanuts.  We were exhausted, hungry and dehydrated.  This is a great place to cool down from your ride and relax a bit.  We had a chance to lay back and really enjoy the fact that we were in the middle of  the countryside in Vietnam.  Everything just slows down – you forget all the things that stressed you out before you got here, and you can appreciate a simpler life.

When we were ready for our ride back, Cuong motioned us over to the wild boars.  He uprooted a small tree to reveal some sort of root vegetable at the roots (looked kind of like sweet potatoes?).  This is what we used to feed the boars.  And before we left, Kevin got to pet the head of the resident buffalo.  🙂

It is a very scenic & adventurous (for a novice biker) ride, so definitely worth spending a leisurely morning or afternoon out on your bike.  I took a photo of the map we used & our route is highlighted in aqua.  The entire ride roundtrip (with breaks) took about 4 hours.

To continue reading, see Part 2 of our Itinerary.