Hải Vân Pass... again!

Even though I'd already done it twice back in February, I really wanted to ride the Hai Van Pass again. The start of the pass is just north of Da Nang and soon we arrived at the shack I stopped at last time. Other than moving the toilet and adding a rope to help tourists climb up to the rock for photos, it was unchanged eight months on. I showed the owner a photo from last time and she says that she remembers me and my friends but I'm pretty sure she was just saying that. The views haven't lost their appeal, it's such a nice ride.

After the pass we continued heading north and a group of Easy Riders (the generic name for guided motorbike tours here) passed us and I saw them turn off the main road to Elephant Springs. Last time I wasn't impressed by the springs as they weren't in their natural state at all, but I figured it might be fun to see it with the tour guides, so I suggested we follow them. After buying the entrance ticket, Rachael's bike didn't start; in fact there was just no power at all. Rather than panic, we left the bike while we explored the springs. I had a swim (Rachael's leg was still recovering so she couldn't get it wet) and dozens of little fish nibbled at my feet for a good while. A free fish pedicure!

Luckily one of the tour guides kick-started Rachael's bike and we were able to get back on the road without calling an engineer. Unfortunately the broken fuel-gauge on the bike meant that she ran out of fuel up the mountain on the way back. I had to drive to the next stall to buy a bottle to take back. Partly to save fuel but mainly because I enjoyed it so much last time, we turned off our engines and let gravity take us back down to Da Nang.

At dinner we were befriended by two tables of locals enjoying seafood and beer. They really wanted us to drink more and then told us that in Vietnam the man always pays for everything, suggesting I should pay for Rachael's dinner. Afterwards we went to a Couchsurfing meet-up which was fairly small but still a great mix of people.