Leaving the temperate mountain air of Dalat to descend down the mountains back to hot and humid coastal Vietnam was slightly difficult. After almost two years of living in heat and humidity of Saigon it is a welcome relief sometimes to escape the closeness of the air in that sweatbox of a city.

Temperate mountain terrain

Nha Trang lies some 140kms to the northeast of Dalat. Cycling the whole distance, while possible, is not recommended due to the road and traffic conditions. Phat Tire Adventures drove my friend Diana and I about an hour outside of Dalat, around 35kms, to where the road begins to quieten.

Diana cycling through the pine forests.

I’d been told by friends who had riden from Dalat to Nha Trang that the road is all downhill until the bottom where you then cycle through some rolling hills. After riding up and down some hills, with a final punishing ride up a steep mountain, I came to realise that perhaps they started their trip further from Dalat than we did.

Mountain stream.

The 30km descent from the top of one of the mountains, where my friends quite obviously began their trip, down into the valleys closer to Nha Trang was spectacular. The air was still crisp and fresh at the top, with pine forests on either side of the road. The temperature gradually started to increase until we passed that invisible barrier where the cool mountain air could no longer hold the humidity back.

The start of the 30km descent.

Once the mountains had given into the rising push of the hot and humid air, the terrain changed from temperate forest, to tropical jungle. Tall old trees gave way to lush tropical jungle that threatened to take back the road at any moment.

The tropical jungle edging closer to the road.

Threatening the road.

After the 30km descent the rolling hills combined with the midday heat got to me. I didn’t quite make it to the stopping point, Diana had long since given up her bike, instead choosing to snooze in the car.

Nha Trang Beach

Relaxing at Nha Trang Beach