Vung Tau

The forecasted tropical storm – Haikui – never arrived on our path and Petri and I did not need our rain gear this time. The ride to Vuang Tau was by now typical, smaller country lanes through villages and farms and bigger main roads through busy towns.

The entry to the Vung Tau city was impressive. Several lanes wide roads with separated wide motorbike lanes lined with palm trees, leading to the city. Also the city itself has these wide avenues crossing the city and making moving about very easy. Also the traffic was much more peaceful than in most other towns.

Everything seemed rather recently built and very clean. Vung Tau is a holiday resort for HCMC professionals and expatriates. There is even a catamaran running between Vung Tau and HCMC several times a day and sailing only takes 2 hours.

A very pleasant town where the afternoon was very hot and the evening brought people for an afternoon dip in the ocean and to the streets roller skating, exercising and dancing in the parks.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ride to HCMC was propably the dustiest and busiest of any approaches to any city on this trip. Well, HCMC is also by far the biggest city with some 8,5 million inhabitants. CT01 -road is off-limits to motorbikes and the alternative route took us along dusty side roads busy with trucks and motorbikes.

As motorbikes can not use the bridge on the CT01, there is a ferry crossing at a very busy commercial harbour with large container ships sailing the ferry’s route. Cost of the ferry was 3000 dong, about 11 euro-cents. Near HCMC even the motorbike lanes were four lanes wide and full!

HCMC looks very different with new sky scrapers being under construction everywhere in the city. HCMC is also more western (?) in a sense that there are many tourists and expatriates living in Asia visiting the city.

Vendors of anything touristy are everywhere. My hotel happens to be near Ben Thanh Market, which could be said to resemble the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, only smaller. A lively night market opens as the market halls close.

 

Traffc in HCMC is intense, aggressive and much more fast paced than elsewhere. And there is a lot of it! Traffic lights (when someone stops), easily create a 50 m jam in an instant. Traffic light have time signals generally everywhere in Vietnam, indicating how long the lights last before changing again. Green starts a race – or perhaps a jump start a little earlier.

Someday I wanted to ride through Vietnam.

Vietnamese are lovely and genuinely nice people. As the case is in Asia, average age is very young, which also brings a lively and progressive atmosphere. You see progress everywhere.

Arrival to Ho Chi Minh completes my Someday-trip, starting from Hanoi, crisscrossing the country. Not bad for an old guy – as the friendly bartender told me in Hanoi at the start of my trip!

Morning in Nha Trang was sunny and warm. Quick coffee, laundry return – one of life’s practicalities easily sorted in Vietnam – and on the road. The ride to Da Lat would be only some 140 km inland towards the hills.

Navigating out on Nha Trang was easy enough, I had my mobile navigating using google maps and had ear pieces giving instructions. In the busy traffic no need to keep on eye on the map on the screen. Works really well!

We progressed quite fast into the countryside and to green hills, but after some 70 km there was a road block. No passing through after typhoon Damrey. No choice but to turn back.

Just as we turned back, I felt the bike acting funny – Flat tire! All we needed just now! Some 50 m down the road a bike shop mechanic happily took the tire off and only THEN told me he could not fix it – No electricity, no air.

Luckily we were now two bikes, my friend had joined me in Nha Trang and I took his bike and the loose wheel and started to my return ride to Nha Trang. I was told that would be the only way.

Okay, I rode 100 down the road to another mechanic. He said he can help, took his air compressor on his bike and rode away, only to return with the compressor tank full of pressurised air. A quick fix  with “camel shit” and the tire was good enough to hold air and let me continue my journey. A journey which was now getting much longer as we had to find an alternative route to Da Lat.

The 140 km we started, turned into nearly 300 km before we arrived to Da Lat. But the ride over the hills was great and the town seemed clean and nice. Check into our hotel and a quick dash to find the Honda garage for tomorrow.

Actually, it is sometimes really hard to find your way even with the address and all the technology in Vietnam. For some reason address takes you wrong and helpful locals guide you even when they have no clue. But eventually we found everything we needed.

The dinner was one of the best during the trip and enough to put us asleed around 9 pm…

The following day was bike service followed by The Elephant Waterfalls combined with some city sightseeing. A great little city of some 200.000 inhabitants.

 

 

Cat Tien

Road to Cat Tien National Park was a 180 km mix of country hills and main roads. As we are now further south and closing Ho Chi Minh, the towns started following each other very quickly and getting bigger in size.

Our accommodation, Green Bamboo Lodge was at the edge of the park, right on the river Dong Nai and obviously,  made of Bamboo! This will be a good base to explore the park and to rest for two nights.

The forecast is yet for another tropical storm… Who lives, finds out!

 

 

Departing Hoi An

An Bang Beach, rather, was my base at Hoi An. A very peaceful oasis during the Typhoon,. The weather had chased most tourists away from the beach. Early afternoons at The Deck House, sampling Jurgen’s cuisine and a few beers watching the sea roar. Just great!

My accommodation for the few days of the typhoon was the Sand Dune, a homestay with only three rooms just 2 min from the beach. Linh and Phien took care of the house and prepared our breakfasts.

Into the Rain towards Qui Nhon

It was still raining when I left – It was also raining when I arrived at Qui Nhon and it never paused raining on the way! What an exhausting day of some 350 km. First hour was spent trying to find a way out – Roads were just under water, no way passing through. I progressed some 5km in the first hour.

Once on the main road, progress was a bit faster, still flooding at places and raining all the time.

Qui Nhon

Qui Nhon was also badly damaged by the flooding but water was now subsiding. Rode to the beach and …. the rain and wind just stopped. Great, time for some street gastro on plastic chairs before the rain chased me to my hotel. No problems catching sleep tonight!

 

 

 

Ride to Nha Trang

The following morning broke sunny and warm. A cup of Vietnamese coffee with local sweet condensed milk was fantastic before the day’s ride. And what a contrast with the day before – all day sunshine, marvelous road, gentle breeze all the way to Nha Trang through the Damrey path.

Time to hit the beach and relax for a while. Nha Trang is a tourist resort apparently very popular among Russian and Vietnamese tourists.

Very lively and fun city, this Nha Trang. But as Vietnam goes, this may not be the best place to come. Not much very Vietnamese or original here v. other places I have visited on the road. Menus and signs are also in Russian and Chinese with western or tourist-Vietnamese food. Much more interesting places are available  if you look for a Vietnamese experience. Well, this is a party town.

Phong Bha-Ke Bang National park

After a cool morning and a rainy and windy ride, the last 20 km leading to Phong Bha-Ke Bang National Park in a now dry weather, were a welcome change to the wet and busy main roads, which I took to avoid riding in the rain all day.

My gear is not exactly “touring quality” but a flimsy rain poncho flying in the wind! Well, it kept me reasonably dry at places at least(?!) This is likely to be the coolest day this week at the region.

I am staying at Phong Nha Coco House, which is a cozy homestay by the river Song Con. So much nicer than the hotel complex yesterday!

 

Phong Bha-Ke Bang National Park is an Unesco world heritage site and a popular destination for the western backpackers. While towns along the main roads are dirty and busy, this is again a very tranquil and also a very clean place.

Karst mountains are typical for Vietnam and they rise from otherwise flat sea or rice fields and have a lot of caves for tourists, carved by water!

Back on the Road – West or South?

I had planned to stay at Coco Home for at least two nights but as this is a homestay and the family was having a day off tomorrow, I had to change plans. The weather was also turning cooler with rain and it was likely to continue such for the next days.

The rain had already wreaked havoc in the mid-western parts of the country and I decided to take a road that leaves my options open – either to go to the western regions or to continue further south and eventually, to the beach for some R&R.

After a few hours riding in the rain, my poncho-cape had done all it could and it was clear that I needed some dryer and warmer climate – So, south it is!

Somewhere before Hue, I met some fellow Harley riders on the road, lifting my spirits. Hanoi Chapter was riding to Ho Chi Minh and back. Looking from my 150cc Winner, their bikes looked just magnificent, even majestic.

It turned out a long day in the rain and eventually reaching Hue, the rain stopped. Hue was again something different. An old town, former capital 1802 to 1945. It looked to me that the city was surrounded by walls as rode in the city through big gates. A large citadel with a moat and walls was in the center of Hue.

I now took a very small road towards Da Nang on the islands furthest in the sea.

 

Hai Van Pas

Eventually I got to one of the awaited highlights, Hai Van Pas of Top Gear fame. A great ride with mountain and ocean views leading to Da Nang, where I decided to stay overnight.

It had already been a long and exhausting day and my bike’s oil change was due. Conveniently, Da Nang also had the official Honda service.

Da Nang turned out to be good fun and after a day on just coffee, I had the perhaps fattiest soup I have ever had. With beer, it brought a smile on my face!

Hoi An

I was at the Honda service at 7am and out 7.15. Oil change, general check-ups and tightening the chain did not take long – very efficient!

 

APEC conference is about to start now and police convoys are everywhere. Still it was easy enough to cruise in the sunshine for the 30 km to my new hotel, another homestay, The Sand Dune, just two minutes from the beach. Now, I will stay put for a few days, get a good massage and relax all the aches away.

Marble Mountain

Time for some Tourist Action on a day (mainly) off the bike. Marble Mountain is near Da Nang and one of the assigned tourist attractions in the area. The hill has some Buddha statues, Thai Padoga and temples and statues. And many very active vendors of marble souvenirs.

Good exercise to climb up to Heaven’s gate i.e. top of the mountain for good views of the area.

Hoi An Old Town

Hoi An old town is spectacular and another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has survived bombings during the war and has some distinct Japanese, Chinese, French influences. Besides a busy town, it is like a living museum with walking districts and a regional entry ticket.

Typhoon Damrey

No riding today due to the tropical storm locally and typhoon Damrey to the south. But my worries are small, there a people in real danger just a little more south from here. I am at the An Bang Beach area of Hoi An, some 30km south of Da Nang. The storm has been bounding all night and the rain remains heavy all morning. beaches are cleared of any loose items and people are bracing themselves for the storm, although in this area we do get off lightly compared to some distance south.

Video footage From local news, click here

https://youtu.be/zjDB6S5AYdc

 

 

 

Sobering thoughts by my waiter in Hanoi

“Oh, you will be biking across Vietnam. Hmmm… ride slow, it is dangerous and you are old. It is usually younger people who do that”.

What can I say? Youth is wasted on the young!!

Motorcycling through Vietnam?

Inspired by Top Gear? Cheap bikes to buy at every street corner? Careless cruising across Vietnam?

So, I need a Bike

Although the web is full of accounts of fantastic rides crossing the coutry on a (Chinese) second (read: fifteenth) hand bike bought from whoever, do think twice. Young backpackers on an adventure, free of all worries, had problems with their bikes but just did not labuor the point much. Then again who would, when the story is about the fantastic journey they made?

Soon enough it became clear that instead of a crappy unreliable Chinese bike (still called a Honda), you can actually get a reliable Japanese Honda as well. Properly maintained and from a reliable source, who can help you on the way when needed. A Japanese Honda also costs about the same or even less!

Typically a Chinese bike costing 250 – 300 USD would require the same amount for repairs on the road. Repair shops may be easy to find but that kind of money buys a lot of maintenance in Vietnam. Read: Spending time at the repair shop, being charged tourist rates.

After searching my options, I went for Tigit Motorbikes . Their site is impressive and after emailing with Jon a few times, I decided to get my ride from them. All communication is in English and even payments are in pounds.
And my ride? A Honda Winner 150cc! This should take me where I want to go.

Although the traffic in Asia in general seems chaotic, it is also often relatively slow paced. A light bike is also easier to handle should the terrain turn more challenging. No dirt-biking in plans though.

Cost of the bike? 350USD for 35 days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, I also need a Route

This was more challenging. The big picture is to ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon.

As I wanted to avoid the main roads and biggest traffic hazards,but it may not be possible all the time. Motorways are anyway off-limits for motorbikes, it is actually not legal to ride them! Vietnam is also a very thin country and getting from inland to the shore seemed easy. Therefore the plan is to ride along the western side of the country, perhaps enjoying some mountains on the way, and to visit the beaches every so often. Or the other way round!?

The rainy season should about to have just passed but rain is expected. I hope it will not be too cold though. In any case it should get dryer and warmer moving south.

Details of the route will unfold along the way.

Hanoi

Got the bike from Tigit and did some rounds around Hanoi to get used to the traffic, or chaos, rather. Bikes are usually parked under the watchful (?!) eye of a parking attendant and these bike parking areas are around everywhere. Overnight parking was 30.000 Vietnamese dong, approx 1,2 euro.

Hanoi is a lively city and the old town area seems to be where the party is. Vietnam is a favourite amongst backpackers, perhaps mainly due to it’s affordability. As a standard measure, a bottle of beer around 50 cents. If you go fancy, one euro.

Hanoi – Cat Ba

Tigit’s advice was to double or triple what ever Google Maps suggests as travel time. This seems right and as new roads and bridges are constantly being built, you are bound to get lost a few times to add to the travel time.

Heading east from Hanoi started by crossing the Red River. Chaotic traffic was quite something to get used to. Eventually I found my way and things got a lot less hectic. Closer to the sea, the road leading to the new bridge to Cat Hai was particularly difficult to find. I used Maps.me to save bytes and should have used Google maps which had the new bridge.

To Cat Ba, there is a final crossing on a ferry. Mine was a small one and took three cars and seven bikes. Up to capacity.

Generally the roads are new and in great condition or old and in poor conditions. You will get everything. Outside the city expect cows, goats, chicken, dogs,… the usual.

Cat Ba – Lan Ha Bay – Ha Long Bay

Bikers day off – Cruising this time on the world heritage Lan Ha Bay and Ha Long Bay. Truly an experience made even better by a chance choice of tour operators. I went with Cat Ba Green Trail Trekking and they did a grand job. They operate their own boat and our guide Thank went out of his way to make us feel happy and safe. Thank you Thank!

Tam Coc / Ninh Binh

It is time for Dry Ha Long Bay, which is the name for the Ninh Binh area. It is not exactly dry but is on dry!? land, i.e. not by the sea. Rock formations rise from lakes and rice fields. Just by looking around, the area is more affluent and clean. Tourism, rice and wood carving seem to be the local thing.

The scenery is beautiful and the locals have truly embraced tourism, as every single local shouts Hello! when they see me. Makes a tourist feel welcome. I stayed at the Tam Coc Bungalows and once again, very friendly staff took care of me.

I always like to try the local specialities when it comes to food. This time it was goat. Once again, perhaps I could have had something more to my taste, but I know I would have regretted not trying. Points for presentation though – Fried goat, tomato – cucumber salad and mixed fruit. My three course dinner was pricey, with two beers 170.000 dong, around €6,50 or $7,50.

Cửa lò

Cửa Lò near Vinh is a seaside resort, which I arrived off-season. The hotel is four star luxury but the city is deserted and looks rather run-down with all the amusement rides dismantled and the beach empty. No traders, bars or anything. But there is the South China Sea!

Forecast for tomorrow is cooler and even rainy. Perhaps time to review route plans.

About costs – Meals and Hotels

Based on what I have seen so far…

Comparing prices is tricky, since you have the very cheap ones (under a fiver!) and European prices are available as well. Generally accommodation is very affordable, with good, clean rooms with own bathroom starting around $10. Hotel in Hanoi was $13, In Ha Long Bay my room with sea view was $20 per night. Room with a view behind the hotel was $11. Tam Coc waterfront Bungalow was $34 including breakfast, so slightly higher. Dorms starting at $5. Four star luxury off-season waterfront hotel at Cửa Lò, whopping $26 incl. breakfast!

In a restaurant, cup coffee, a beer, soda or water cost 10k to 20k VND (€0,40 – €0,80). More expensive up to 30k – 35k VND (€1,20). In shops, water 0,5l starts from around 5000VND (€0,20) and beer 0,75l 10.000VND (€0,40).

Coffee

Coffee tastes great and Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world. Coffee is usually served with sweet condensed milk, which goes well with the local coffee. It is reallllly good!

The coffee also comes with ice cubes and sometimes with green tea. Don’t ask, don’t know why.

Many restaurant owners are particularly proud for their coffee and how they brew it is a secret. Some seem to add chocolate and apparently when the beans are being grind, butter may be added! In any case it is very tasty and one cup is never enough!

Honda Winner

After a few days ride, I must say that my Honda Winner must have the most uncomfortable seat of any bike I have ridden. A real pain it the butt + plus any organ thereabout!

On the positive side, the bike works well and I would not want to trade it with some of the bikes I’ve seen travelers using. It is not just the general reliability but also a safety issue. Besides, it is not so cool to be pushing the bike past ten pubs trying to get it started. Then again, perhaps you make new friends when everyone lends a hand – or a foot, rather – trying to kick start the bike (battery is naturally long since flat).