Vietnam: Quy Nhon > Kon Tum

Apr 22-23 2025 |

Section 5 of my Vietnam 2025 journey. Off the coast and into the mountains, on to the Ho Chi Minh Road. And Kon Tum exceeded expectations, even though I whizzed through town, 1 night only.

Leaving Quy Nhon you ride by an epic Champa-era temple on a hill, about 30 mins out of town. Soon after you do a long climb up to the high flat plateau, with views of the mountains in the distance. This is Montangard country, tribal people who live in the mountains. One easy to spot difference is high roofed houses, like found in Sumba.

I considered riding to Kon Tum via Pleiku, but instead turned off a rural road. Good choice as there are some great views along the way.

Once in Kon Tum, I booked a room at Window 2, a decent old local traveller hotel. Then checked out a couple of tourist attractions in town, an old bridge and a tribal village, both near town.

The tribal village was interesting, but I felt like an interloper at a human zoo as I rode through town (an older European couple was also there at the same time, in a flashy minivan, they were dressed in safari suits). The poverty level here was shocking. Some people had layers of dirt on their clothes and bodies, like they hadn't washed in literally months. Many of the houses were dirt-floor huts, co-inhabited with chickens and goats. Some adults were tiny, literally the size of a pre-teen child, suffering from stunted growth, I assume. It was all a bit disturbing, the worst poverty I have ever seen in Vietnam.

One highlight of my stay was finding Mini House, a craft beer bar and restaurant that serves a vast array of sausages. Not what I expected in tourist sparse Kon Tum. I met a Scottish guy there enjoying the brews; he was doing a similar route as mine from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang - on a bicycle. Honestly, I think people doing cycling trips in places like the mountains of Vietnam must be slightly insane (and he was throwing in the towel and putting his bike on a bus the next day).

Ride: 191 km / 4 hrs

Stay: Window 2 Hotel / $12 / ***

Route and stops

Questions or comments?

Drop me a line terraxplor1@gmail.com