Riding abroad was something I had always wanted to do, but never knew where to even begin. I’m one of those who could easily spend hours reading trip reports, and gaze forever at the photos. My questions were pretty typical for anyone who hasn’t been to that part of the world.. What’s it cost? How hard is it to get by without knowing the language? Will I get sick? What happens if I get into an accident? Will I survive through the chaotic traffic? And one general question that looms over me.. Is it safe. From the day I started my research to the day I came back home, I learned there’s nothing to fear.
I forget exactly what it was that made me get up and do it.. oh wait, now I remember. It was that pesky Vietnam Special from Top Gear. Saw it online, linked from BARF, even. I was sold. Yes, Im not special, I admit it. So thats what did it. Kind of an anti-climactic revelation eh?
planning and costs
I went with www.offroadvietnam.com . Few others on here and SBR have used them before. That was good enough for me.
They prepare rides “a la carte”, meaning they help you tailor your own ride, and they make it happen for you. Cost ranges from 199USD per day per person, to 115USD per day per person. If you want your own personal tour, its 199, if you get at least 6 people, its 115. Gas, bike, guide, hotel, and food are all provided at this cost. Drinks and wooden model ships are extra. ;) The trip I did was actually a “late available” ride. A group had decided to leave their ride open, so others can join it to max out the group size of 6 people and everyone can share the savings. I joined up REAL close to the trip date.
An, the owner/operator, has instructions on how to book. 500usd deposit sent Western Union, and the remaining balance in cash, when you get there. He also instructs you to travel very light, since you’ll be carrying everything on the back of your bike. If you want to stay longer and bring other things, you can, and your hotel will hold your stuff, but I dont like the idea of leaving expensive stuff in the hands of strangers. Im sure for extras like clothes, its fine.
Beyond that, a tourist visa from the Vietnamese embassy in SF, a renewed passport, and a master list of the items I would be bringing along with me. Bought some fancy pants technical underwear that can be handwashed and dries quickly. And a little reading material. Bought a Lonely Planet.
And now the wait. Even tho I booked late, it was 2 weeks away and the wait was excruciating.. I was really excited.
They prepare rides “a la carte”, meaning they help you tailor your own ride, and they make it happen for you. Cost ranges from 199USD per day per person, to 115USD per day per person. If you want your own personal tour, its 199, if you get at least 6 people, its 115. Gas, bike, guide, hotel, and food are all provided at this cost. Drinks and wooden model ships are extra. ;) The trip I did was actually a “late available” ride. A group had decided to leave their ride open, so others can join it to max out the group size of 6 people and everyone can share the savings. I joined up REAL close to the trip date.
An, the owner/operator, has instructions on how to book. 500usd deposit sent Western Union, and the remaining balance in cash, when you get there. He also instructs you to travel very light, since you’ll be carrying everything on the back of your bike. If you want to stay longer and bring other things, you can, and your hotel will hold your stuff, but I dont like the idea of leaving expensive stuff in the hands of strangers. Im sure for extras like clothes, its fine.
Beyond that, a tourist visa from the Vietnamese embassy in SF, a renewed passport, and a master list of the items I would be bringing along with me. Bought some fancy pants technical underwear that can be handwashed and dries quickly. And a little reading material. Bought a Lonely Planet.
And now the wait. Even tho I booked late, it was 2 weeks away and the wait was excruciating.. I was really excited.
Time to go. Day -1
After a 13 hour plane ride, I was there. I have a hard time sleeping on planes that hop timezones, so when we arrived at the destination, the combination of culture shock and sleep deprivation made for a very delirious first few hours. About 30 mins total of going through customs and getting my bag, I navigate my way to the arrivals lobby of NoiBai airport. As crowded as it was, I was almost sure there was going to be a long wait before I find the driver. Surprisingly though, I instantly found him. He was the fellow frantically waving and holding up a piece of paper that had my last name “SAIRIN” written on it with a sharpie. After some enthusiastic introductions, he proceeded to load my chrome messenger bag and helmet into the back of his minivan. If I hadn’t been delirious from the flight, I would have thought that a complete stranger in street clothes picking me up from the airport in an unmarked minivan was just about the shadiest thing ever. I sat in the back and just stared out the window without feeling the need to say anything. I was just trying to come to grips with my surroundings.. Trucks, cars, people on motorbikes everywhere... 20 mins of silence and staring out the window go by and we enter the surface streets and I notice how compact the neighborhoods are. The neighborhood we entered was lively with people and tourists. He drops me off in front of my hotel. An payed for the trip, but I insisted a tip for him. Gave him 5 bux..
An extra day in Hanoi to relax before the ride. Day 0
I set my plane trip 2 days before the start of the ride so I can relax and get my bearings before moving again. My hotel was the Camelia 4 in the Old Quarter, in the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi. I guess you can imagine the area as sort of the tourist hub of Hanoi. You have the lake central to it all, tons of shopping, bars and nightclubs, street vendors and street food, you name it. And, I experienced my first street crossing pretty quick. I cringed so bad the first few times I did it and it was a strange feeling to see all the scooters and mopeds navigate around you. I got used to this pretty quick though and people aren’t moving so fast that they can’t negotiate people and traffic. I walked around the city a bit. The interior streets are really small. Probably no wider than 2.5 cars. People, motorbikes, carts, and cars all share the streets and traffic moves at something like 10 mph. I see many western tourists around me doing the tourist thing.. sitting at bars drinking, walking around, shopping, taking pics, etc. It was easy to blend in. I stopped at a bar to grab a drink. I got charged somethign like 90,000 VND (about $4.30) for a gin and tonic, and while thats still cheaper than the US, I still got ripped off. I didn’t care. I was slowly getting comfy here. I walked around, took pics, looked at goods, merchants spoke broken english trying to cut me a deal on stuff.. I learned how to be a tourist fast.
Meeting An, paying the balance, trip itinerary.
I met up with An the night before the ride. He’s very nice and is soft spoken, but he’s a stand up businessman and all around a really great person. It was very nice to meet him. I payed the remaining balance of 535usd, got the route map, and he gave me some final tips about money exchange, the bikes, handling traffic, what to expect, etc.
He told me to be back at 8am the next morning to get the bike and meet the guide. Afterwards, street food and more bars!
Here's the trip map. North to South in 9 days.
He told me to be back at 8am the next morning to get the bike and meet the guide. Afterwards, street food and more bars!
Here's the trip map. North to South in 9 days.
Day 1
Outside his office I see the other guys on the trip just hanging around talking to one another. I make my introductions. 4 friends from Quebec, all retired firefighters, and one cabbie from Manchester England. They all seemed really cool. I ended up talking to Al, the Brit, mostly because he and I were the “strangers” of the trip. Usually happens that way, right?
Our bikes roll in. They look like late 90s Honda GL160s.. thats right, 160ccs of fury! At least they were thumpers. And finally we meet our guide, Quynh. (pronounced Quinn) The canadians apparently traveled with him before. They had a nickname for him, “The Mighty Quynh”. He had us all strap our bags to the rear bag holders using bungee cords he supplied. He also covered all of our bags with plastic film. The weather was slightly drizzly but not cold. After all was set, we all ride out onto Hanoi streets, single file. I was ecstatic to finally be rolling.
The first hour or so of the trip involved us getting used to our bikes and city traffic. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, and it definitely felt far less dangerous than lane splitting the San Francisco Bay Bridge. I definitely saw the western driving mentality in our group. We all gravitated toward riding in staggered format. The locals must have thought we were in a funeral procession or something. After getting out of the bustle, we all started to relax a bit and I saw everyone starting to gaze around..
The weather was still somewhat damp, and I was starting to look like Mad Max. First stop of the day, had some coffee, and a smoke break at a cafe. Ca Phe Sua Nong is what Vietnamese coffee is called. As a coffee lover, this is some of the best stuff there is! The plan for the first day of the trip was to end up in Mai Chau, to visit the isolated Hmong, Dao, and Thai villages and stay overnight at a Thai homestay. For a few hours we rode mostly through single lane goat trail up into and alongside the mountains. The scenery was lush, and the mountains high and pointy. The air was clean and misty. We stopped and took pictures a few times.
As we closed in on Mai Chau, we descend down mountain roads and we see civilization between the mountains.As the roads start to flatten out, we approach a long driveway into a village. And we finally park behind what looked like a large bamboo cabin. This was our stop. The house we stayed in was built on stilts, out of bamboo, overlooking ride paddies. We had a wonderful home cooked dinner, drank rice wine, and the village children performed a dance act. After an applause by us and other guests, I vaguely remember us drinking more rice wine(moonshine) out of a huge gourd. I didn’t take pics because it felt a bit intrusive to do so, and quite frankly, my drunken motor skills would prevent me from doing so anyways. I do remember crashing hard afterwards.
Our bikes roll in. They look like late 90s Honda GL160s.. thats right, 160ccs of fury! At least they were thumpers. And finally we meet our guide, Quynh. (pronounced Quinn) The canadians apparently traveled with him before. They had a nickname for him, “The Mighty Quynh”. He had us all strap our bags to the rear bag holders using bungee cords he supplied. He also covered all of our bags with plastic film. The weather was slightly drizzly but not cold. After all was set, we all ride out onto Hanoi streets, single file. I was ecstatic to finally be rolling.
The first hour or so of the trip involved us getting used to our bikes and city traffic. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, and it definitely felt far less dangerous than lane splitting the San Francisco Bay Bridge. I definitely saw the western driving mentality in our group. We all gravitated toward riding in staggered format. The locals must have thought we were in a funeral procession or something. After getting out of the bustle, we all started to relax a bit and I saw everyone starting to gaze around..
The weather was still somewhat damp, and I was starting to look like Mad Max. First stop of the day, had some coffee, and a smoke break at a cafe. Ca Phe Sua Nong is what Vietnamese coffee is called. As a coffee lover, this is some of the best stuff there is! The plan for the first day of the trip was to end up in Mai Chau, to visit the isolated Hmong, Dao, and Thai villages and stay overnight at a Thai homestay. For a few hours we rode mostly through single lane goat trail up into and alongside the mountains. The scenery was lush, and the mountains high and pointy. The air was clean and misty. We stopped and took pictures a few times.
As we closed in on Mai Chau, we descend down mountain roads and we see civilization between the mountains.As the roads start to flatten out, we approach a long driveway into a village. And we finally park behind what looked like a large bamboo cabin. This was our stop. The house we stayed in was built on stilts, out of bamboo, overlooking ride paddies. We had a wonderful home cooked dinner, drank rice wine, and the village children performed a dance act. After an applause by us and other guests, I vaguely remember us drinking more rice wine(moonshine) out of a huge gourd. I didn’t take pics because it felt a bit intrusive to do so, and quite frankly, my drunken motor skills would prevent me from doing so anyways. I do remember crashing hard afterwards.
Day 2 - down to Tan Ky
The next morning, we all woke up with our headaches (except for Al) and showered up in the bathrooms below the house. We had a breakfast of baguette, ham and eggs. And more vietnamese coffee.. yum.
We got back on the road, and I felt completely refreshed. The wine at night and the Jet A1 strength coffee in the morning definitely rebooted me. This was the first day I woke up feeling completely happy and energized to explore and ride. We rode more mountain roads and then descended down a bit to ride along the Ma river and then to stop for lunch along the road. I notice alot of the food we have has a slight gamey grisle to it and you’ll realize why. Behind many of the cafes are pens where they keep pigs, chickens, etc.. The food was excellent and was truly fresh. This food is more local than california local.. it comes from the back of the place! The rest of the day was pretty much just natural scenery, sightseeing, and smoke/picture stops. Early into the evening, we finally we roll up into the parking lot of a hotel. Meh, the hotel wasn’t anything special. Seemed slightly run down, but livable and has hot water. This was truly in the middle of nowhere. We spent some time in the evening playing pool at a local bar and had Bia Saigon. (Beer Saigon) At this point Al was getting good at ordering beers in Vietnamese.
We got back on the road, and I felt completely refreshed. The wine at night and the Jet A1 strength coffee in the morning definitely rebooted me. This was the first day I woke up feeling completely happy and energized to explore and ride. We rode more mountain roads and then descended down a bit to ride along the Ma river and then to stop for lunch along the road. I notice alot of the food we have has a slight gamey grisle to it and you’ll realize why. Behind many of the cafes are pens where they keep pigs, chickens, etc.. The food was excellent and was truly fresh. This food is more local than california local.. it comes from the back of the place! The rest of the day was pretty much just natural scenery, sightseeing, and smoke/picture stops. Early into the evening, we finally we roll up into the parking lot of a hotel. Meh, the hotel wasn’t anything special. Seemed slightly run down, but livable and has hot water. This was truly in the middle of nowhere. We spent some time in the evening playing pool at a local bar and had Bia Saigon. (Beer Saigon) At this point Al was getting good at ordering beers in Vietnamese.
Day 3 to Phong Nha
I wake up a bit late, and rush down to meet the guys for breakfast. Many of the hotels have private rooms for groups like ours to sit and have breakfast. Seems like the standard breakfast we have consists of roll of Baguette, sunny side up egg, maybe some pate, some melon, and some coffee or tea. I discovered a great drink this morning, called 'tra gung mat ong'(pronounced Cha Gung) its basically tea, mixed with ginger and honey. Very good and quells any stomach aches and headaches. By the way, up to this point, I haven’t had any “travelers” sickness of any kind. I stick to the mantra, “dont drink tap water or add ice”. Lots of riding on flat lands and rice paddies during the second half of the day. Before sundown, we hit a huge space and see these mountains in the background. And they have words on them that make the Hollywood sign seem lame. This is the entrance to a large national park. Quynh tells us that this is where many Vietnamese come and visit during vacation season. Since it wasn’t the right time of year, the inside of the park was very empty, with only people running local businesses inhabiting the place. We park our bikes and Quynh has the fellows next door wash our bikes for us. Decent hotel room, and I shared it with Al. We as a group take a walk down to a local eatery to enjoy some awesome food. Something with beef and lemongrass.. Can’t remember.
Day 4 Ke Bang Caves then down to Dong Hoi.
In the park also contains Ke Bang, the biggest cave in Vietnam that also very old and has been evolving since the Paleozoic times, some 400 million years ago. It extends all the way to the border of Laos, including some 65km of cave networks and underground rivers. We took a little boat ride to the entrance of the cave where Quynh pays our tix, and we climb some 400 or so steps up to the entrance. To be quite honest, I just wanted to move on. While it is an impressive cave, its like a bigger version of the many caves Ive been to in the past. The stories that came with the cave were interesting though. Once we got out of it, it was already around noontime and we had to make up time to get down to Dong Hoi.
After the cave excursion we were back on the road again, what a relief! I wish I had vid to show you guys. We were finally riding the main North/South Rte 1, full of cars busses and trucks playing chicken with one another trying to pass. Once we reach Dong Hoi, We notice that the city is very modernized, and you can feel the history behind it, since it’s very close to the Demilitarized zone that seperated what was once North and South Vietnam. The weather is considerably different, since this is our first encounter with the coast. It was bright and sunny. We parked our bikes at the hotel, and Al and I go take a walk. We come across some ruins from the war turn into exhibits. We also come across a site in construction of what appeared to be a war museum. Out in front we saw various US tanks, helis, and planes. Seeing this doesn't strike any kind of emotion with me, since I was born in 79 which I believe was the last year of the war. These remnants while still scattered and plentiful, are still just a tiny percentage of all there is to see in this city. Beaches, floating restaurants, seafood and produce markets, shops, electronics, fashion, etc.. At this point I was bummed that my camera batt ran out. We walked back, and relaxed a bit before having dinner in an upscale restaurant serving "Western food". I still had Viet food and the guys tried get Quynh to eat a hamburger without much success.
After the cave excursion we were back on the road again, what a relief! I wish I had vid to show you guys. We were finally riding the main North/South Rte 1, full of cars busses and trucks playing chicken with one another trying to pass. Once we reach Dong Hoi, We notice that the city is very modernized, and you can feel the history behind it, since it’s very close to the Demilitarized zone that seperated what was once North and South Vietnam. The weather is considerably different, since this is our first encounter with the coast. It was bright and sunny. We parked our bikes at the hotel, and Al and I go take a walk. We come across some ruins from the war turn into exhibits. We also come across a site in construction of what appeared to be a war museum. Out in front we saw various US tanks, helis, and planes. Seeing this doesn't strike any kind of emotion with me, since I was born in 79 which I believe was the last year of the war. These remnants while still scattered and plentiful, are still just a tiny percentage of all there is to see in this city. Beaches, floating restaurants, seafood and produce markets, shops, electronics, fashion, etc.. At this point I was bummed that my camera batt ran out. We walked back, and relaxed a bit before having dinner in an upscale restaurant serving "Western food". I still had Viet food and the guys tried get Quynh to eat a hamburger without much success.
Day 5 - To Khe Sanh
For those that don't know, Khe Sanh was once a battleground for one of the most deadly battles during the Vietnam war. The worst went on from January to July 1968. To this day, there are still Vietnamese and American families looking for remains of their loved ones. At this point, especially after visiting the memorial and gravesite, my trip became "real", as in Im experiencing it all. To explore a culture doesnt involve just sun, mai tais and scenery. It involves it's history as well and all its grim details.
Getting back on the road, things started getting interesting. The previous day heading into Dong Hoi, my bike had developed an intermittent electrical problem where the ignition would completely shut off. The bike wash had something to do with this, and Quynh managed to fix it in the morning. But after about an hour back on the road from the memorial on the way to Khe Sanh, my bike completely lost power at one point. I tried to restart over and over, but it wasn't turning over, and it definitely wasn't electrical.
We were stranded for only a short while. Quynh comes over and checks the bike out, and deemed it impossible to diagnose the problem. So he takes out a 20 foot rope and rigs it to the front of my bike. On the road, you'll come across signs that say "Xe May" quite often. It means "motorcycle" and it usually means they repair motorcycles.So Quynh has me get on his bike to tow him. His 160cc bike was screaming in 4th gear at 30-40kph. It was fun actually. Not even 1km down the road and we see a shop and as we roll up, the owner comes out and points us in. He assumed correctly that we were in need of help. Seeing the old man's shop, it looked like shambles. We were in the country, with country folk. He dragged out a big blanket full of tools and layed everything out. He had a mixture of normal hand tools as well as some improvised ones he welded together. Watching this man at work was like magic. He took apart the motor in 20 minutes flat, with a cigarette in his mouth! He pretty quickly finds the problem: a cam chain tensioner bolt had worked its way loose and that explained why there was no compression upon kickstart. The chain plopped off and left the valves open. He finds a new bolt and has it back together quick. The bike ran fine, and we pack up and roll out. I was relieved! It was just a hiccup, nothing to worry about, and it adds a bit to the journey, right? Continuing on rte QL9 its all beautiful scenery and fun twisty roads. Then it happens again. The same damn thing. No compression at all. This time were about 10km from the shop, so towing it back was going to feel like an eternity. Sure enough we roll back into town and the same pedestrians that saw what happened witnessed the circus show again. The rest of the guys decide to march on and find the hotel, while Quynh and I dealt with my bike. The mechanic mentions that he'd better keep the bike overnight to see why the bolt keeps coming loose. So he loans Quynh his personal 100cc 2 stroker. This thing was awesome! We get to the hotel.
The hotel is very nice and had an outdoor balcony, along with a bar and restaurant downstairs. We all shower up, get in our street clothes, and all meet downstairs for beers, food, and checking up on emails.
Getting back on the road, things started getting interesting. The previous day heading into Dong Hoi, my bike had developed an intermittent electrical problem where the ignition would completely shut off. The bike wash had something to do with this, and Quynh managed to fix it in the morning. But after about an hour back on the road from the memorial on the way to Khe Sanh, my bike completely lost power at one point. I tried to restart over and over, but it wasn't turning over, and it definitely wasn't electrical.
We were stranded for only a short while. Quynh comes over and checks the bike out, and deemed it impossible to diagnose the problem. So he takes out a 20 foot rope and rigs it to the front of my bike. On the road, you'll come across signs that say "Xe May" quite often. It means "motorcycle" and it usually means they repair motorcycles.So Quynh has me get on his bike to tow him. His 160cc bike was screaming in 4th gear at 30-40kph. It was fun actually. Not even 1km down the road and we see a shop and as we roll up, the owner comes out and points us in. He assumed correctly that we were in need of help. Seeing the old man's shop, it looked like shambles. We were in the country, with country folk. He dragged out a big blanket full of tools and layed everything out. He had a mixture of normal hand tools as well as some improvised ones he welded together. Watching this man at work was like magic. He took apart the motor in 20 minutes flat, with a cigarette in his mouth! He pretty quickly finds the problem: a cam chain tensioner bolt had worked its way loose and that explained why there was no compression upon kickstart. The chain plopped off and left the valves open. He finds a new bolt and has it back together quick. The bike ran fine, and we pack up and roll out. I was relieved! It was just a hiccup, nothing to worry about, and it adds a bit to the journey, right? Continuing on rte QL9 its all beautiful scenery and fun twisty roads. Then it happens again. The same damn thing. No compression at all. This time were about 10km from the shop, so towing it back was going to feel like an eternity. Sure enough we roll back into town and the same pedestrians that saw what happened witnessed the circus show again. The rest of the guys decide to march on and find the hotel, while Quynh and I dealt with my bike. The mechanic mentions that he'd better keep the bike overnight to see why the bolt keeps coming loose. So he loans Quynh his personal 100cc 2 stroker. This thing was awesome! We get to the hotel.
The hotel is very nice and had an outdoor balcony, along with a bar and restaurant downstairs. We all shower up, get in our street clothes, and all meet downstairs for beers, food, and checking up on emails.
Day 6 - to Hue
There's something about Vietnam mornings. Theyre always refreshing and cool, and misty. In Los Angeles, you just can't go outside in the morning and take a deep breath without coughing and gagging. Quynh took an early run before we all woke up to go and get my bike, and I notice my bike is parked in the driveway. "It works" he says. After having a bowl of rice noodles and chicken with vietnamese coffee we were good to go.
We back track from Khe Sanh to hit the Ho Chi Minh Highway and the unthinkable happens. My bike goes yet again. Quynh gets on the phone with Anh back in Hanoi and me and the guys hang out and interact with locals. Meanwhile, I'm starting to feel a bit sick. The clouds have burned off and it's getting hot. My bike is broke and Im starting to feel a little queasy. I hope this isn't a bad sign. Quynh gets off the phone and he tells me Hue isn't that far away and that it would be much easier to repair the bike properly in the city. So out came the trusty rope. Martin jokes that Id better hope that the rope doesnt break. At this point my nausea gets slightly worse.
It took us a few hours to get to Hue, and the whole time, the other guys kept stopping to take pics, then slingshot past us, stop again, rocket off, etc.. They thought it was amusing. This definitely made the ride more interesting and fun right? It felt like a proper "journey". Who am I kidding? It got old quick! We finally start entering Hue and the roads become wider, smoother and traffic gets thicker and thicker. Just as we start entering the city's arterial roads, Quynh motions to stop. He takes the rope off and packs it away. I ask him if he's going to get a truck to load the bike, and he says "no, Im going to push you buy sticking my leg out and pushing your passenger foot rest." My mouth was gaping as I was trying to envision how to do this. He instructed me to keep the bike as stable as possible not making sudden turns as he will do his best to keep with me as he keeps constant pressure from his right foot. As were putting along, were moving slow, like less than 30kph. Swarms of scooter traffic go around me like a huge school of fish, with their passengers looking back at us seeing what was going on.. I had no time to take in the sights of the city while concentrating, but the city appeared beautiful. It was bustling, but there was a different vibe compared to the north of Vietnam. This must have come from France's influence.
I manage to awkwardly navigate us around to the hotel and afterwards we both sigh a big relief. That being over, my stomach was killing me and I had to go find something fast. I figured it was in due time since travelers sickness is somewhat expected. Al calls it the "proper shits". So I check in, wash up, and walk the streets to find a drug store. As I walk the streets, I notice Hue has a distinctive mixture of quaint European and Asian thriving bustle to it. The streets were small and some areas were also cobble stone. The buildings too, were layed out very French style. I badly did not want my killing stomach to degrade any of my experience here. So I managed to find a stand with an old woman working behind it. She spoke enough english to understand what I needed, and seeing as she gets alot of tourists, she had no problem picking out exactly what I needed, some Immodium. Bought it, went to a cafe and got some Tra gung tea to take the meds.
We had lunch at a french vietnamese restaurant and the French-Canadian guys had a ball conversing with the french owner. I ordered something or other, something pretty good, but small portioned. After that some more walking about. Al and I again headed off in our own direction and walked the streets. This city had so much to do, lots of great parks, shops, cafes and of course history, mainly the Citadel. And of course, street food. The main reason I kept my lunch light. It was great to go venture out and try a bunch of stuff. What I didn't get was how it seemed Al and I were among just a few tourists to venture out and try stuff on our own. The other guys went to go back to the tourist pubs. Why come all the way out here to eat spaghetti and drink Budweiser? Its a pretty common sight in cities with tourists. When in Rome,... right? Meeting again for dinner, we wound up in some place that served, dun dun dun- Italian. Again I ordered just an appetizer and "Peroni", and after Quynh picked up the check, Al and I split and walked about. What I like about asia in the evenings is the street vendors come alive.. Garish neon lit tents, with people everywhere standing around just having a good time with one another eating and chatting. We stopped at a tent that served "Bun Bo Hue", or rice noodle soup, Hue style. We were the only tourists there, sitting under a green tent in those tiny red plastic chairs. And boy was the food awesome. Al wasn't too keen on some of the ingredients though. Still a champ for giving it a shot. The night ends pretty late as there was lots to see in Hue. I already knew this was my favorite of the cities so far.
We back track from Khe Sanh to hit the Ho Chi Minh Highway and the unthinkable happens. My bike goes yet again. Quynh gets on the phone with Anh back in Hanoi and me and the guys hang out and interact with locals. Meanwhile, I'm starting to feel a bit sick. The clouds have burned off and it's getting hot. My bike is broke and Im starting to feel a little queasy. I hope this isn't a bad sign. Quynh gets off the phone and he tells me Hue isn't that far away and that it would be much easier to repair the bike properly in the city. So out came the trusty rope. Martin jokes that Id better hope that the rope doesnt break. At this point my nausea gets slightly worse.
It took us a few hours to get to Hue, and the whole time, the other guys kept stopping to take pics, then slingshot past us, stop again, rocket off, etc.. They thought it was amusing. This definitely made the ride more interesting and fun right? It felt like a proper "journey". Who am I kidding? It got old quick! We finally start entering Hue and the roads become wider, smoother and traffic gets thicker and thicker. Just as we start entering the city's arterial roads, Quynh motions to stop. He takes the rope off and packs it away. I ask him if he's going to get a truck to load the bike, and he says "no, Im going to push you buy sticking my leg out and pushing your passenger foot rest." My mouth was gaping as I was trying to envision how to do this. He instructed me to keep the bike as stable as possible not making sudden turns as he will do his best to keep with me as he keeps constant pressure from his right foot. As were putting along, were moving slow, like less than 30kph. Swarms of scooter traffic go around me like a huge school of fish, with their passengers looking back at us seeing what was going on.. I had no time to take in the sights of the city while concentrating, but the city appeared beautiful. It was bustling, but there was a different vibe compared to the north of Vietnam. This must have come from France's influence.
I manage to awkwardly navigate us around to the hotel and afterwards we both sigh a big relief. That being over, my stomach was killing me and I had to go find something fast. I figured it was in due time since travelers sickness is somewhat expected. Al calls it the "proper shits". So I check in, wash up, and walk the streets to find a drug store. As I walk the streets, I notice Hue has a distinctive mixture of quaint European and Asian thriving bustle to it. The streets were small and some areas were also cobble stone. The buildings too, were layed out very French style. I badly did not want my killing stomach to degrade any of my experience here. So I managed to find a stand with an old woman working behind it. She spoke enough english to understand what I needed, and seeing as she gets alot of tourists, she had no problem picking out exactly what I needed, some Immodium. Bought it, went to a cafe and got some Tra gung tea to take the meds.
We had lunch at a french vietnamese restaurant and the French-Canadian guys had a ball conversing with the french owner. I ordered something or other, something pretty good, but small portioned. After that some more walking about. Al and I again headed off in our own direction and walked the streets. This city had so much to do, lots of great parks, shops, cafes and of course history, mainly the Citadel. And of course, street food. The main reason I kept my lunch light. It was great to go venture out and try a bunch of stuff. What I didn't get was how it seemed Al and I were among just a few tourists to venture out and try stuff on our own. The other guys went to go back to the tourist pubs. Why come all the way out here to eat spaghetti and drink Budweiser? Its a pretty common sight in cities with tourists. When in Rome,... right? Meeting again for dinner, we wound up in some place that served, dun dun dun- Italian. Again I ordered just an appetizer and "Peroni", and after Quynh picked up the check, Al and I split and walked about. What I like about asia in the evenings is the street vendors come alive.. Garish neon lit tents, with people everywhere standing around just having a good time with one another eating and chatting. We stopped at a tent that served "Bun Bo Hue", or rice noodle soup, Hue style. We were the only tourists there, sitting under a green tent in those tiny red plastic chairs. And boy was the food awesome. Al wasn't too keen on some of the ingredients though. Still a champ for giving it a shot. The night ends pretty late as there was lots to see in Hue. I already knew this was my favorite of the cities so far.
Day 7- through Da Nang and to Hoi An
The previous day, Quynh had ordered a flatbed to take my bike to a shop, but apparently it was being shipped back to Hanoi and at the same time another truck had departed earlier on that day with a new bike. It was a little bit of a surprise since Quynh hadn't told me anything. Here's the new ride, oh yeahhhh..
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Honda XL125 dirtbike!! I was excited but damn what a tiny motor! This was my first time ever on a dirtbike. Note the front brakes. The drum looks like the size of tuna can! I was excited and I think either it was the only bike Anh had left or it was a "gift" upgrade because my old one died on me.
The guys this morning went to visit the Citadel without me since I told them Id be resting up to take it easy on my stomach. When they got back we hitched up our gear and left Hue. I gotta admit I really liked this town and I was gonna miss it. First place ever since arrive to the country that I said to myself "I could actually live here." Though it was sad to leave, exiting town was just gorgeous. This was the start of the mountainous curvy roads along side the ocean. It truly was like rider paradise. The XR was a fun bike, but man it was gutless. I was riding last, and I had to wind it out to catch up with the guys. Going up hill left me straggling way behind only to have a chance at catching up by opening up the throttle and riding full tuck going down hill. But none of this mattered because it just hit me that we had entered the start of the beautiful Hai Van Pass.
Courtesy of http://www.culturejourneytravel.com
Maybe youve heard of it, its the road that connects between Hue and Da Nang. I can't even begin to describe the sublime experience I had riding through this part of the trip. Imagine riding some of the most amazing twisty roads on some of the most beautiful terrain that takes you up close to low level clouds, AND off to your left is the glimmering turquoise South China sea, lined with uninhabited white sand beaches.. I kick myself for not having pictures for it, but if you put yourself in my shoes, you could probably imagine how difficult it would be to whip out your camera while youre completely speechless and in awe(and trying to keep eye on the road). Please go check out Flickr and search Hai Van Pass.
Hai Van Pass is pretty short however.. only 21km long. Once it was over, the riding was pretty standard straight road. Far from boring though, because Rte 1 is just insane. Its pretty much the main highway that runs north/south. You can expect busses, vans, cars, trucks just blazing by, all driving like there's noone in front of them. At one point even I saw a bus overtaking another bus in the opposite lane. And behind him was a bus trying to pass him even further to the left!! It was pure insanity! There's just one rule out there and that there are no rules. We all ride with full vigilance and our heads on swivels. This is truly defensive riding at its most extreme. The majority of 2 wheeled vehicles are completely aware of who's behind them and you'll find that its commonplace for bikes and scooters to be riding the shoulder. Its almost like its become a lane for 2 wheelers. While we have already hit sections of Rte 1 further back on our trip, I have to mention that my particular situation is extremely dangerous now because the passing power of my XL125 is very limited. With the GL160, passing buses and trucks was no big deal at all, but with the 125, I would have to make sure there was a wider margin between the vehicle in front of me and the next oncoming vehicle. There were a few times during a bus pass, Id have to nail the brakes to abort the pass because a truck was just coming up too quick. Gotta know what youre doing. If you can ride here, you can ride anywhere. Except for maybe India, dunno. Other than this, things were smooth into Hoi An.
When we enter the town, there's something really quaint and upscale about it. It is a very popular destination for tourists, and you will find quite a few luxury hotel resorts here, and prices that would probably rival Days Inn. This also is the place to go if you want top quality garments custom made for amazingly good deals(relative to custom work done here in the US). Again, we park at the hotel, wash up and we all split up and go walk into town. Al and I again head into town. Very pretty town, and amazingly quiet for being such a tourist town. Apparently in this area, they crack down on illegal solicitors. One needs to have a license from the tourism board to provide services to tourists. Personally, I didn't care.. To me the chaos adds to the bustle, which in my eyes is kind of neat. Al and I end up finding a bar where we sit around and have beers and chat. Later we meet back at the lobby to grab dinner Quynh has planned for us. Another upscale joint, but this time serving french and vietnamese dishes. A place that had everything for everyone. French for the Canadians, Vietnamese for me and Quynh, and a pint for Al. ;) Afterwards, Al and I do the same routine. Walk about and enjoy. I found a little cart that served something similar to Taro Boba tea, but a little thicker.
alt="" />Honda XL125 dirtbike!! I was excited but damn what a tiny motor! This was my first time ever on a dirtbike. Note the front brakes. The drum looks like the size of tuna can! I was excited and I think either it was the only bike Anh had left or it was a "gift" upgrade because my old one died on me.
The guys this morning went to visit the Citadel without me since I told them Id be resting up to take it easy on my stomach. When they got back we hitched up our gear and left Hue. I gotta admit I really liked this town and I was gonna miss it. First place ever since arrive to the country that I said to myself "I could actually live here." Though it was sad to leave, exiting town was just gorgeous. This was the start of the mountainous curvy roads along side the ocean. It truly was like rider paradise. The XR was a fun bike, but man it was gutless. I was riding last, and I had to wind it out to catch up with the guys. Going up hill left me straggling way behind only to have a chance at catching up by opening up the throttle and riding full tuck going down hill. But none of this mattered because it just hit me that we had entered the start of the beautiful Hai Van Pass.
Maybe youve heard of it, its the road that connects between Hue and Da Nang. I can't even begin to describe the sublime experience I had riding through this part of the trip. Imagine riding some of the most amazing twisty roads on some of the most beautiful terrain that takes you up close to low level clouds, AND off to your left is the glimmering turquoise South China sea, lined with uninhabited white sand beaches.. I kick myself for not having pictures for it, but if you put yourself in my shoes, you could probably imagine how difficult it would be to whip out your camera while youre completely speechless and in awe(and trying to keep eye on the road). Please go check out Flickr and search Hai Van Pass.
Hai Van Pass is pretty short however.. only 21km long. Once it was over, the riding was pretty standard straight road. Far from boring though, because Rte 1 is just insane. Its pretty much the main highway that runs north/south. You can expect busses, vans, cars, trucks just blazing by, all driving like there's noone in front of them. At one point even I saw a bus overtaking another bus in the opposite lane. And behind him was a bus trying to pass him even further to the left!! It was pure insanity! There's just one rule out there and that there are no rules. We all ride with full vigilance and our heads on swivels. This is truly defensive riding at its most extreme. The majority of 2 wheeled vehicles are completely aware of who's behind them and you'll find that its commonplace for bikes and scooters to be riding the shoulder. Its almost like its become a lane for 2 wheelers. While we have already hit sections of Rte 1 further back on our trip, I have to mention that my particular situation is extremely dangerous now because the passing power of my XL125 is very limited. With the GL160, passing buses and trucks was no big deal at all, but with the 125, I would have to make sure there was a wider margin between the vehicle in front of me and the next oncoming vehicle. There were a few times during a bus pass, Id have to nail the brakes to abort the pass because a truck was just coming up too quick. Gotta know what youre doing. If you can ride here, you can ride anywhere. Except for maybe India, dunno. Other than this, things were smooth into Hoi An.
When we enter the town, there's something really quaint and upscale about it. It is a very popular destination for tourists, and you will find quite a few luxury hotel resorts here, and prices that would probably rival Days Inn. This also is the place to go if you want top quality garments custom made for amazingly good deals(relative to custom work done here in the US). Again, we park at the hotel, wash up and we all split up and go walk into town. Al and I again head into town. Very pretty town, and amazingly quiet for being such a tourist town. Apparently in this area, they crack down on illegal solicitors. One needs to have a license from the tourism board to provide services to tourists. Personally, I didn't care.. To me the chaos adds to the bustle, which in my eyes is kind of neat. Al and I end up finding a bar where we sit around and have beers and chat. Later we meet back at the lobby to grab dinner Quynh has planned for us. Another upscale joint, but this time serving french and vietnamese dishes. A place that had everything for everyone. French for the Canadians, Vietnamese for me and Quynh, and a pint for Al. ;) Afterwards, Al and I do the same routine. Walk about and enjoy. I found a little cart that served something similar to Taro Boba tea, but a little thicker.
Day 8 Hoi An to Quy Nhon
Hoi An felt really short and it would have been nice to spend time there in daylight, but we had to make it down to Nha Trang in just 2 more days. Today was just going to be more highway riding unfortunately. But what made today an adventure wasnt the road, but a string of events that lead up to my changing the way I thought about travel forever.
It was around midday, somewhere about 1/3 of the way to Quy Nhon, when Al, Me and Martin stop because we noticed noone was behind us. We ended up backtracking a few kms we find Guy towing Quynh on Guy's bike! I couldnt help but chuckle to myself at first. After a group stop, Quynh's plan of action was to let Guy take his bike and have us all trek forward and find the hotel in Quy Nhon by ourselves some 200km ahead while he got the bike repaired with the help of a flatbed and a local mechanic. Quynh assured us it was fairly easy to get to, and he gave Claude the hotel address. Al, Martin, Real, Claude, Guy and I regroup and move forward. It was actually fun to go without a guide for once since now it was fun challenge to make decisions ourselves. We made stops and had lunch using pidgin english and limited Vietnamese.. the locals had fun trying to talk to us as we did trying to get our words across. Just about one of the funniest things to watch was Martin trying to ask for milk for his coffee. He made motions of milking a cow and just about all the staff belly laughed as they got him his order. At this point, Im realizing that having a guide is a nice safety net, but riding with a group of friends with no help in a country halfway around the globe is priceless.
On the road again, I had a hard time keeping up since everyone felt like they could open up the throttle and ride like as if we were back in North America. I had jsut about the hardest time keeping up with my bike. The guys did slow down for me periodically and when they did I just threw my hands up in the air and pointed at my bike. So we ended up playing this game of speed off, wait for me, I catch up, speed off.. It was annoying, but what the hell. When traffic thickens up, and they speed off Im muttering the entire time because god knows how hard it is to catch up to them in traffic. Real was nice though, since he kept with me. When the traffic cleared they were nowhere in sight.. I motion a WTF gesture to Real and keep the throttle WOT while keeping an eye out for them. 20 minutes pass. No group. Keep going.. 30 mins. Noone. I had a sinking feeling we were lost. Some 100+km to goto Quy Nhon and we were lost.. This was not good. We stop and I thought about it for a minute. "Lets just go and find Quy Nhon ourselves, fuck it". They know where to go, and we at least have phone numbers incase we need directions to the hotel. An hour goes by of riding and I decide to stop and ask some locals. I ask a cafe owner "Quy Nhon?" He points to keep going while he speaks to us in Vietnamese. I tell Real, "guess we'll keep going, maybe we'll find signs at a junction". 15 mins later I stop and ask another local. "Quy Nhon?" No english and don't know. Ride 10 more mins, stop. "Quy Nhon?" No english and points to keep going. Even though I'm visibly starting to feel a bit desperate, I notice Real was a man of few words and this entire trip, he always acted relaxed and happy, almost in an aloof way. And even now he's relaxed. Despite me being kind of frustrated, his calmness rubbed off on me. As we keep riding, I spot a blue sign that said "<--- Quy Nhon 30km" Woo yeah! Big sigh of relief, and I see the intersection up ahead. I point to the sign and gesture to make a left. Real follows. At this point I figure what the hell, we'll just keep doing this till we get there, and later we'll try to call Quynh for the hotel address. As Im riding, Im thinking to myself, this really is not as bad as it seems. Im sure if I called friends and family back home and told them I was lost in Vietnam they would flip out. But just about every single soul Ive met along the way has been so kind and cooperative that I just had no worries anymore, even with the language barrier. The town we were riding through was populated and it kept on getting more dense. Real and I were just 2 lost fish in a giant school of scooters. This has to be Quy Nhon or at least a neighboring city. There was a man who appeared to own a TV shop having a smoke break outside. I stop and go through the motions again. "Ummmm.. (hands up in air) Quy Nhon? (point left, point right, hands up in air)" I motion. "Quy Nhon?" he replies. "(nod) yes! Quy Nhon! (point in all directions)", I ask again. "What are you looking for in Quy Nhon? Youre in Quy Nhon! Do you speak English?" he replies. I look at a smiling Real with a sort of 'well fuck!' look on my face. "yes, were looking for a hotel in Quy Nhon!" He proceeds to tell me there are a ton of em around here, but he figures he knows Im looking for a touristy part of town. "Go 2 blocks and make a right at the church. There's a beach front with a strip of hotels. That maybe what youre looking for." he instructs me. I thank him graciously and Real and I move out. I let him lead this time and sure enough we were in town. This HAS to be it. I see palm trees on the beach, people jogging, buildings, hotels, cars, taxis, this place looks like Miami. Now we had to find out what hotel we were supposed to be at. We cruise the strip up and down looking for parked motorcycles.. no dice. Then we look for any hotel named "Hotel Quy Nhon" since I vaguely remember Quynh saying those words. We find one of 3 hotels with "hotel quy nhon" in part of the name, so I figure why not ask them if we could use their phone. Real gives me a card with Quynh's number on it and I go in and ask the receptionists if I can make a phone call.. 20000 dong and Im patched through. Thankfully he picks up since there was the chance he was riding and wouldnt be able to hear his phone going off. He seemed kind of puzzled and started speaking to me in Vietnamese, even though I kept on reiterating that it was Adrian and I needed to know what the address was. I tell the receptionist our story and I give her the phone. After she hangs up, she tells me that Quynh is on his way, and yes this was the hotel we were looking for.
Thats right! yep! THIS WAS THE HOTEL. I felt like dancing in the lobby. Boy was I relieved. I share the news with Real, and he was glad too. Now the only thing we could do was wait and hope that the guys knew to just move forward and meet us here. I knew back there that the risky thing to have done was play the whole, 'lets go back and look for them game'. We had no idea where we got seperated, and we risked putting around missing each other while it got dark. So Real and I waited for about 30 mins before... Lo and behold! A convoy of what looked like rejected auditioners from the set of MAD MAX, it was them rolling in! Man, what a party it was! Hugs around, and just a collective sigh of relief. We had tons to talk about that night. So we do our thing by checking in, washing up and walking about before meeting up at 8pm in the lobby.
It was around midday, somewhere about 1/3 of the way to Quy Nhon, when Al, Me and Martin stop because we noticed noone was behind us. We ended up backtracking a few kms we find Guy towing Quynh on Guy's bike! I couldnt help but chuckle to myself at first. After a group stop, Quynh's plan of action was to let Guy take his bike and have us all trek forward and find the hotel in Quy Nhon by ourselves some 200km ahead while he got the bike repaired with the help of a flatbed and a local mechanic. Quynh assured us it was fairly easy to get to, and he gave Claude the hotel address. Al, Martin, Real, Claude, Guy and I regroup and move forward. It was actually fun to go without a guide for once since now it was fun challenge to make decisions ourselves. We made stops and had lunch using pidgin english and limited Vietnamese.. the locals had fun trying to talk to us as we did trying to get our words across. Just about one of the funniest things to watch was Martin trying to ask for milk for his coffee. He made motions of milking a cow and just about all the staff belly laughed as they got him his order. At this point, Im realizing that having a guide is a nice safety net, but riding with a group of friends with no help in a country halfway around the globe is priceless.
On the road again, I had a hard time keeping up since everyone felt like they could open up the throttle and ride like as if we were back in North America. I had jsut about the hardest time keeping up with my bike. The guys did slow down for me periodically and when they did I just threw my hands up in the air and pointed at my bike. So we ended up playing this game of speed off, wait for me, I catch up, speed off.. It was annoying, but what the hell. When traffic thickens up, and they speed off Im muttering the entire time because god knows how hard it is to catch up to them in traffic. Real was nice though, since he kept with me. When the traffic cleared they were nowhere in sight.. I motion a WTF gesture to Real and keep the throttle WOT while keeping an eye out for them. 20 minutes pass. No group. Keep going.. 30 mins. Noone. I had a sinking feeling we were lost. Some 100+km to goto Quy Nhon and we were lost.. This was not good. We stop and I thought about it for a minute. "Lets just go and find Quy Nhon ourselves, fuck it". They know where to go, and we at least have phone numbers incase we need directions to the hotel. An hour goes by of riding and I decide to stop and ask some locals. I ask a cafe owner "Quy Nhon?" He points to keep going while he speaks to us in Vietnamese. I tell Real, "guess we'll keep going, maybe we'll find signs at a junction". 15 mins later I stop and ask another local. "Quy Nhon?" No english and don't know. Ride 10 more mins, stop. "Quy Nhon?" No english and points to keep going. Even though I'm visibly starting to feel a bit desperate, I notice Real was a man of few words and this entire trip, he always acted relaxed and happy, almost in an aloof way. And even now he's relaxed. Despite me being kind of frustrated, his calmness rubbed off on me. As we keep riding, I spot a blue sign that said "<--- Quy Nhon 30km" Woo yeah! Big sigh of relief, and I see the intersection up ahead. I point to the sign and gesture to make a left. Real follows. At this point I figure what the hell, we'll just keep doing this till we get there, and later we'll try to call Quynh for the hotel address. As Im riding, Im thinking to myself, this really is not as bad as it seems. Im sure if I called friends and family back home and told them I was lost in Vietnam they would flip out. But just about every single soul Ive met along the way has been so kind and cooperative that I just had no worries anymore, even with the language barrier. The town we were riding through was populated and it kept on getting more dense. Real and I were just 2 lost fish in a giant school of scooters. This has to be Quy Nhon or at least a neighboring city. There was a man who appeared to own a TV shop having a smoke break outside. I stop and go through the motions again. "Ummmm.. (hands up in air) Quy Nhon? (point left, point right, hands up in air)" I motion. "Quy Nhon?" he replies. "(nod) yes! Quy Nhon! (point in all directions)", I ask again. "What are you looking for in Quy Nhon? Youre in Quy Nhon! Do you speak English?" he replies. I look at a smiling Real with a sort of 'well fuck!' look on my face. "yes, were looking for a hotel in Quy Nhon!" He proceeds to tell me there are a ton of em around here, but he figures he knows Im looking for a touristy part of town. "Go 2 blocks and make a right at the church. There's a beach front with a strip of hotels. That maybe what youre looking for." he instructs me. I thank him graciously and Real and I move out. I let him lead this time and sure enough we were in town. This HAS to be it. I see palm trees on the beach, people jogging, buildings, hotels, cars, taxis, this place looks like Miami. Now we had to find out what hotel we were supposed to be at. We cruise the strip up and down looking for parked motorcycles.. no dice. Then we look for any hotel named "Hotel Quy Nhon" since I vaguely remember Quynh saying those words. We find one of 3 hotels with "hotel quy nhon" in part of the name, so I figure why not ask them if we could use their phone. Real gives me a card with Quynh's number on it and I go in and ask the receptionists if I can make a phone call.. 20000 dong and Im patched through. Thankfully he picks up since there was the chance he was riding and wouldnt be able to hear his phone going off. He seemed kind of puzzled and started speaking to me in Vietnamese, even though I kept on reiterating that it was Adrian and I needed to know what the address was. I tell the receptionist our story and I give her the phone. After she hangs up, she tells me that Quynh is on his way, and yes this was the hotel we were looking for.
Thats right! yep! THIS WAS THE HOTEL. I felt like dancing in the lobby. Boy was I relieved. I share the news with Real, and he was glad too. Now the only thing we could do was wait and hope that the guys knew to just move forward and meet us here. I knew back there that the risky thing to have done was play the whole, 'lets go back and look for them game'. We had no idea where we got seperated, and we risked putting around missing each other while it got dark. So Real and I waited for about 30 mins before... Lo and behold! A convoy of what looked like rejected auditioners from the set of MAD MAX, it was them rolling in! Man, what a party it was! Hugs around, and just a collective sigh of relief. We had tons to talk about that night. So we do our thing by checking in, washing up and walking about before meeting up at 8pm in the lobby.
Day 9 - The final destination, Nha Trang.
I leave Quy Nhon with a certain sense of pride knowing that our little excursion, while it seemed kind of mild in retrospect, was a great lesson and mini achievement. In a way I see it now as a little bit of an initiation for future travels. Im in no way a true Adventure rider like some that cross continents, but I feel I have the beginning requirements to do a crazy solo adventure later in the future.
At about noon time we hit some really nice curvy canyon roads again, reminiscent of Hai Van Pass. Once we hit a descent, I see a town off in the distance with many fishing boats anchored in the water, what an awesome picture! As always I straggle behind on my 125 and by the time we hit the little town which I believe is called Ninh Ma, I dont see the guys in front of me anymore.. WTF? Again?! Nope wait. There's Quynh waiting for me up ahead. He told me to turn around, and so I followed him into a parking lot. We stopped at a restaurant on a white sand beach and had local seafood. Very nice.
By this point in the trip, I was tired and was glad the end was near, but at the same time I was having so much fun I didn't want it to end. I was already thinking that I had to come back again maybe on my own, who knows. We see signs to Nha Trang, getting closer. Once we were roughly 15km out, Guy's bike goes out again. Man oh man. I know Anh is not having a good time with this. All of us at this point were kind of giddy. We didn't care what happened, just having fun and taking it as it came along. Again, Guy gets on Quynh's bike, and Quynh wraps the rope around the handlebar and rides the towed bike.
Once we get in, Nha Trang is like any old modern beach town. Much like Quy Nhon, but just more happening. Just more of everything. Sheratons, bars on the beach, etc. But we head straight for the train station, where we need to load the bikes for their journey back to Hanoi. After the train station we all get into a taxi.. Our bums at this point appreciated a nice soft chair vs a buzzy and bumpy saddle. It takes us back to our hotel, where we get a nice 6th floor overlook of the beach.
Later that evening we all have our final dinner together and afterwards go walk the city. Again, Al and I go walk up and down the strip, while the others go split up and do their own things. We head over to this beach bar/restaurant called "The Sailing Club". The entire place is filled with westerners and I end up sitting at the bar with Al and end up talking to an Aussie, an American veteran, and 2 Aussie girls. I try this local cocktail, and after that, about all I remember was the 2 girls taking off with the old veteran, Al got pinched in the tit by the Aussie dude and I went to the room and crashed hard.
We all grab breakfast on our own dime this time and I order my usual Baguette, egg, pate, ham, and Vietnamese coffee. I think it'll be like this from now on. This morning ritual is now ingrained into me and I think it results in a guaranteed good day.
Guy, Claude, Martin, Real, Quynh and I all get a taxi to the airport where all of us except for Quynh hop on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Quynh flies home to Hanoi.
Al hops on the train to Hue, to meet a friend of his who flew in from the UK.
For me, I was only half way through my trip. The rest was going to be on foot in Ho Chi Minh City for a few days, then Bangkok Thailand for a few more, than an easy few days back in Hanoi where I go explore Tet decoration around Hoan Kiem and visit Ha Long Bay.
This 9 day trek was a life changer for me, and definitely whets my appetite to do more exploring. In the future I can see North Vietnam, China, India, South America, Japan, and perhaps a few places in Europe. Maybe some of them will just be a bike rental where I go solo, maybe some guided. But for sure its gotta be on 2 wheels.
At about noon time we hit some really nice curvy canyon roads again, reminiscent of Hai Van Pass. Once we hit a descent, I see a town off in the distance with many fishing boats anchored in the water, what an awesome picture! As always I straggle behind on my 125 and by the time we hit the little town which I believe is called Ninh Ma, I dont see the guys in front of me anymore.. WTF? Again?! Nope wait. There's Quynh waiting for me up ahead. He told me to turn around, and so I followed him into a parking lot. We stopped at a restaurant on a white sand beach and had local seafood. Very nice.
By this point in the trip, I was tired and was glad the end was near, but at the same time I was having so much fun I didn't want it to end. I was already thinking that I had to come back again maybe on my own, who knows. We see signs to Nha Trang, getting closer. Once we were roughly 15km out, Guy's bike goes out again. Man oh man. I know Anh is not having a good time with this. All of us at this point were kind of giddy. We didn't care what happened, just having fun and taking it as it came along. Again, Guy gets on Quynh's bike, and Quynh wraps the rope around the handlebar and rides the towed bike.
Once we get in, Nha Trang is like any old modern beach town. Much like Quy Nhon, but just more happening. Just more of everything. Sheratons, bars on the beach, etc. But we head straight for the train station, where we need to load the bikes for their journey back to Hanoi. After the train station we all get into a taxi.. Our bums at this point appreciated a nice soft chair vs a buzzy and bumpy saddle. It takes us back to our hotel, where we get a nice 6th floor overlook of the beach.
Later that evening we all have our final dinner together and afterwards go walk the city. Again, Al and I go walk up and down the strip, while the others go split up and do their own things. We head over to this beach bar/restaurant called "The Sailing Club". The entire place is filled with westerners and I end up sitting at the bar with Al and end up talking to an Aussie, an American veteran, and 2 Aussie girls. I try this local cocktail, and after that, about all I remember was the 2 girls taking off with the old veteran, Al got pinched in the tit by the Aussie dude and I went to the room and crashed hard.
Day 10 and on
We all grab breakfast on our own dime this time and I order my usual Baguette, egg, pate, ham, and Vietnamese coffee. I think it'll be like this from now on. This morning ritual is now ingrained into me and I think it results in a guaranteed good day.
Guy, Claude, Martin, Real, Quynh and I all get a taxi to the airport where all of us except for Quynh hop on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Quynh flies home to Hanoi.
Al hops on the train to Hue, to meet a friend of his who flew in from the UK.
For me, I was only half way through my trip. The rest was going to be on foot in Ho Chi Minh City for a few days, then Bangkok Thailand for a few more, than an easy few days back in Hanoi where I go explore Tet decoration around Hoan Kiem and visit Ha Long Bay.
This 9 day trek was a life changer for me, and definitely whets my appetite to do more exploring. In the future I can see North Vietnam, China, India, South America, Japan, and perhaps a few places in Europe. Maybe some of them will just be a bike rental where I go solo, maybe some guided. But for sure its gotta be on 2 wheels.
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