Motorbiking down Vietnam - Days 190-205
Well, hello there! This is fellow traveler, Taylor Warden, hopping on the guest blog writing train. If you’ve been following along closely, you might have seen my name a time or two in the past blogs. That’s because I had the pleasure of traveling with Ben and Meghann for 3 full months, meeting them in Kathmandu in late September and leaving them in Ho Chi Minh City in late December.
This all came about as I was asked to join them in the Himalayas for the Annapurna trek (Later changed to the Manaslu). Of course I accepted, and then tacked on another 2 months of trip crashing with the Brudens. These three months of joint travel ended with a 17 day trip down Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, by motorbike.
Before I jump into the meat of that trip, I just want to take the time to thank both Ben and Meghann for not just allowing me to join them, but encouraging me to. While travel plays a major role in my life, I would not have taken such a trip without initially getting an invite to join them in Nepal. I gained so much from this trip and know that I owe much of that to them.
Before trip crashing, I had played the role of roommate, teammate, officiant, friend, and most importantly, Taco Bell Sunday partner. So, I like to think they had a decent idea of what they would have to put up with, but spending everyday with someone for three straight months takes things to a whole new level. Therefore, I would like to give an extra thanks for putting up with me for that long and at least pretending to still like me when all was said and done ;)
A Bit of Stats: - 17 Days
- Total Distance: 2,397km (1,489 miles). To put this into perspective, that’s like driving from my apartment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Miami Beach, Florida. Instead of on flat and straight interstate highways, we were moving through winding roads in jungle, mountain and ocean front terrain. - Flat Tires: 3 - Total Repair Costs: $1.50 (50Cent would be proud of the cost to patch a tire)
- Weddings Crashed: 1 - Police Checkpoint Blow Bys: 1 - Lost Passports: 1 - Found Passports: 1 - Potholes: 4,689,230 (estimated through no legitimate process) - Dogs Sleeping in the Road: 37 (estimated through no legitimate process) - Chickens Attempting to Cross the Road: 48 (estimated through no legitimate process). Chickens are dumb. You see a chicken crossing the road. They are almost across and you feel safe driving by on the opposite side. Then as you get closer they sprint back the other way seemingly trying to sneak between your front and back wheels. - Sore Butts: 3
- Crashes: 0
Day 1:
Day 1 of this trip had a lot of similarities to day 1 of the Manaslu trek. Feelings of, what the hell are we getting ourselves into, are we really prepared for something like this, and cautious excitement all mashed into a ball of confusion. We had the luxury of learning how to ride semi-automatic bikes in the traffic of Hanoi. Where you quickly become just another molecule among many, flowing through the streets with limited control over the actual direction of the flow...I lost Ben and Meghann within 3 turns. Despite having been in Hanoi for nearly a week leading up to this, once I jumped on a bike and joined the masses in the streets, I felt like I was experiencing it for the first time all over again. Something about pulling up to a stoplight with to an entire family on one bike in front of you, a chicken farmer with her chickens on the back of her bike to your right, a businessman in a suite just next to her, and a student jamming to some tunes to your left really gives you the true feel of Hanoi.
After completing our driving for the day, we ended up at an inn just off of the Ho Chi Minh Highway in a small dusty town. In search of a place to eat, we confused a wedding rehearsal dinner for a restaurant (ask us about how), and ended up being invited to join them. We were fed a wide range of traditional food, slammed an untold amount of rice wine shots, and danced to live karaoke until we felt we might be pushing our stay. The family was amazing and the experience was of once in a lifetime quality. In the end I think we were all pleased to have confused the event for a restaurant.
Day 2: Day 2 had a lot to live up to after the way we ended day 1, and it most certainly did....NOT.
The highlight was experiencing our first roadside restaurant order, where the owner took our orders by pointing at pictures of food on her wall advertisements and waiting for us to nod yes or no. Our driving ended at an odd and mostly abandoned resort that felt like a creepy Wisconsin Dells knockoff. The dinner menu clearly employed a low quality translation tool, as the English offerings included Thai Beef Salad Squeeze, Leather Ball, Tortoise Frequency Herbs Chicken, and Chicken Disturbance. Don’t forget to try the Tortoise Cooking Bananas for desert.
Day 3: On Day 3, we left Creep Resort driving through mist, which slowly turned into a downpour while we made our way to Phong Nha. The terrain went from relatively boring to absolutely magical, as we drove on winding roads through limestone mountains covered in lush vegetation. While rain isn’t the ideal weather for riding a motorcycle, it made for quite the mystical ride. The lush jungle greens deepened and the low lying mist mingling with the mountains and cliffs. Around each corner was a new landscape masterpiece to behold. I honestly think I preferred the rain. Not sure Ben and Meg felt the same on the matter. This amazing ride ended in a wonderful little town made for travelers. It had a lively environment and some of the better food we had on the trip, including some really solid pizza.
Ben and Meg made it to Phong Nha without a hitch, while I ended up losing part of my bag during a roadside coffee stop. Long story short, the people of this small village were amazing and helped me find the top of my bag, fed me, gave me a rain jacket, and refused to accept anything from me for their troubles. More details on the story can be gathered over a beer or coffee with yours truly.
Day 4: Phong Nha was a perfect place to take a break from the road. My day began with an early morning ride back to coffee break village to pick up my goods, while Ben and Meg eased into things in Phong Nha. We spent the afternoon at the world’s biggest dry cave, Paradise Cave. We were one of just a few groups in the cave, and with it’s expansiveness, it felt like we had the cave to ourselves.
The views on the drive to and from Phong Nha were some of the most impressive in Vietnam. There were many moments over the trip where I felt a true sense of freedom. Driving through that terrain that evening was surely one of them.
Day 5:
Phong Nha to Khe Sanh via the Western Ho Chi Minh Road What a ride! In my journal I mentioned that I expected this portion of the ride to go down as my favorite of the trip. Not sure it pulled that off, but it was surely top 3. It took us about 7 hours in total, which is a lot for the butt to handle. Luckily we were distracted by spectacular scenery, moving from low river valley jungle to mountain ridges overlooking sprawling valleys. Winding past waterfalls and over bridges with silhouetted mountains in the distance. Many sections reminded me of imagery I’ve seen of Yosemite. The variety in the terrain was spectacular.
We pulled over and grabbed lunch by an unknown river. Bahn Mi and Pizza. Something about eating on the road like this just makes everything taste a bit better.
This was the first day we saw sun in what felt like forever but was more like 3 -4 days. I can’t explain how much better it felt to be riding with a warm sun on your back...bones took a bit to thaw out.
Day 6: Khe Sanh to Hue was surely less scenic than the day before, but still provided winding roads through the mountainous terrain...something I will never get sick of. Our stop for lunch was a bit eventful, as the first place we stopped had nothing even close to being recognizable on the menu. Google translate provided little help, as it suggested one of the menu items was “warehouse”. We moved down the street to the next option and eventually had some beef and noodle soup delivered. This only occurred after the server walked us back into the kitchen to take advantage of the point and nod method of selecting food.
Day 7: We decided to take a much needed rest day in Hue. In my opinion, this was the perfect size for a city in Vietnam. Not so big that you get swallowed up by the crowds and not so small that there is little to do and subpar food options.We had lunch at the famous Dong Ba Market, where Anthony Bourdain found the “greatest soup in the world,” Bún bò Hue. We found a little stall in the crowded market to give it a go as well. While not our favorite soup of the trip, it was still an amazing soup and surely a memorable experience. Outside of food, this market had just about anything you could need, assuming you were willing to haggle and find your way through the many tiny market alleyways.We later visited the Imperial City, had an amazing sampling of Vietnamese traditional foods for dinner and ended our night with plastic chair street beers while live band Karaoke took place on the street. The Vietnamese sure do love with live Karaoke.
Day 8: The ride from Hue to Hoi An continued to impress, as we road over the Hai Van Pass, a ride so fun and scenic that it was in an episode of Top Gear. The stretch surely lived up to the hype. Winding roads up and down a mountain with oceanfront on either side, making for spectacular view throughout.
We made a pit stop in Da Nang for lunch. Hitting up a local favorite spot, Banh Xeo Ba Duong, that did not disappoint. Once we made it to Hoi An, we spent a good chunk of the evening picking out fabric for some custom tailored short-sleeve button ups. As you might expect from our amazing sense of fashion, they turned out awesome! Hoi An is known for being a place you can get anything you want tailor-made for you. Tailors were everywhere, so I fit right in.
Day 9: Another rest Day! Hoi An is a quaint little town on the river with French influenced architecture that really lights up at night, with lanterns filling the alleyways and the river walkways.
Hoi An is also the site of the best Bahn Mi sandwich I will ever have. Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen is the full name of the joint, and I can’t argue with the title at all...she is surely the queen of the Banh Mi. Her sandwich was heavenly that it required multiple multi-sandwich stops and her hours of operation became a key driver of our itinerary for the day.
We ended the evening with a free cooking class, provided by our hostel, where we learned how to make spring roles. The evening ended in a bit of a bar crawl with fellow travelers. Always a great way to experience a new city.
Day 10: Today we rode from Hoi An to Quang Ngia via the “Beach Bum
Route,” which made for an enjoyable ride through a small fishing village, as well as a portion where we road on a path right on the beach before stopping for subpar coffee.
Today we experienced our first equipment setback when I got a flat tire. Luckily there are mechanic shops all over the place and getting a flat patched will cost you less than $0.50 USD. Makes for a cool experience, as the mechanic is inevitably surprised to see a westerner at their door and you get to find a way through the interaction without a single word being understood by either party.
Quang Ngia wasn’t our favorite stop of the trip, but the excitement shown by the owners of the hotel, as we rolled up is something I will always remember.
Day 11: Today was the day I made a terrible choice and took the more direct route from Quang Ngai to Quy Nhon and missed an amazing coastal road that had a massive Buddha statue that Ben had the pleasure of experiencing (Meg got ended up off of that route for a little as well). We got to Quy Nhon relatively early in the day, which allowed us some time to explore. This was a pretty cool little beach town with great infrastructure and a gorgeous beachfront. It’s a popular beach destination for Vietnamese, but for some reason is less visited by westerners.
While on the beach, we amazed the locals with a plastic disc that can be thrown back and forth through the air... a frisbee. We also were approached by 3 separate groups who just want to “practice their English with us.” We were the first Americans one of the individuals had met. While the conversations were a bit long for how labored they were, it was a cool experience and neat to see how excited the locals were to see Americans there.
Day 12: Quy Nhon was a cool place and worth more time than just an afternoon, but we had driving to do. Off to the Miami of Vietnam, Nha Trang. This drive will surely go down as one of my favorites. It began with a couple wrecked tanker sightings, as a result of the most recent typhoon that hit that area of Vietnam a month earlier. Then we moved on to riding through a tiny fishing village on the most ridiculous dirt roads before hitting more coastal road that would give Highway One a real run for its money. On the way I got separated from Ben and Meg for a bit and happened upon an amazing beach. I then looked to contact them to let them know they should join me...they happened to be stopped just a couple blocks down on the same beach. We then pulled the classic, strip down to your underoos and get in the ocean. For me it felt a bit like a last chance spontaneous action, knowing I had to hop on a flight back to the states within a week.
My favorite portion of the day was when we took a pit stop at a lighthouse. The lighthouse brings no special memories to mind, but the cliffside it stood on top of was spectacular. We took our time climbing on the cliffs, taking in the ocean breeze, and watching as waves smashed into the cliffside coves.
The night ended in Nha Trang, where we made our own mini street
food tour that didn’t disappoint. Outside of that, Nha Trang will be remembered for it’s lack of easy to find fish ice cream treats and it’s odd attractive to Russian tourists, who made up a vast majority of tourists in the city.
Day 13: On the 13th day of the ride, we made our way from the Russian filled Miami of Vietnam (Nha Trang) to the Colorado Mountain town of Vietnam (Da Lat), a pleasing change if you ask me.
This ride took us back into the Vietnamese mountains and made for more mind- blowing views and roads to ride. Riding in mountains can do a number on your gas-milage and that was something we all experienced to some extent, having to refill at a front porch gas station. These are quite common in these parts and consist of a manual pump and barrel system sitting right in front of a little house right off the main road. Gas at these places cost almost double what you would spend at an actual gas station, but it feels a bit better handing the money to a little woman on her front porch, and the experience is surely unique.
The day ended with a free family dinner provided by the hostel owner at his oddly luxurious secondary hostel that had a pool in the basement.
Day 14-15: Da Lat is a special place in Vietnam and required two rest days be spent there. It’s crisp mountain air, pine trees, French architecture and incredibly well kept sidewalks and gardens made it feel like you weren’t even in Vietnam anymore. Don’t worry, the scooter traffic, street markets, and amazing food found a way to remind you just where you were.
The first rest day was mostly spent cafe hopping, taking it easy and just enjoying the city. The next day we took in a disappointing flower garden (I think it was just the wrong time to be there), found more amazing and cheap food and took in the night market that had a really likely feel to it.
Day 16: It was a bummer to leave Da Lat, especially since it meant we were only 2 days from Saigon and the end of this journey. Today we planned to drive to Pongour Falls and then get as far as we could towards Saigon, stopping in the last sizable city before sundown, that ended up being Long Khanh.
It wasn’t the easiest place to get to, but Pongour Falls provided an amazing place to stop and have some road Bahn Mis. After a couple flat tire patches (Meg and I) and a lot of riding. We ended up making it to Long Khanh just as the sun was going down and were treated to a breathtaking sunset as we road into town.
Long Khan wasn’t an exceptionally interesting place, but provided us with quite the interesting dinner. We popped into the busiest spot on the block and said, “We’ll have what they’re having,” through the usual method of pointing and holing up fingers for how many orders we wanted. We ended up with quite the mystery soup. In the end we could be sure it was noodle soup that contained blood curd and pig snout, but the three other sausage/meatball type things in the soup will forever remain an unknown to us...one kinda tasted like fish.
Day 17: The Final Day :( Today we got an early start to get to Saigon for a fancy little last day brunch and to give me a bit of a chance to experience the city before my 4am wakeup call so I could catch my flight back home. Riding into Saigon was a cool experience, involving a little dodging of the local police, riding a ferry packed with the local motorbike commuters, and getting a little taste of the craziness that is Saigon traffic.
I spent that afternoon visiting the War Remnants Museum. Getting an up close reminder of everything that occurred in this country I just spent the last 17 days driving through, and seeing all that resulted from actions taken by the country I am proud to call my own produced a feeling that is tough to describe. It’s amazing how quickly a country can heal. We ended the day, and the 17 day trip :(, in search of great street food and some tasty drinks...we succeeded and I had a lovely send off.
Day 17.5: That next morning, before the sun came up, I hoped on the back of a motorcycle taxi with a bag on my back, one in my arm, and one between the legs of my driver. As we flew down the streets of Saigon, I wasn’t quite sure I would end up at the airport. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting ending to the journey.
I can’t thank Ben and Meg enough for taking that journey with me. I will never forget the experiences I was able to share with them on this trip. Not many people could put up with me for as long as they did, and they did so without making it totally obvious that they were sick of me by the end ;) For those thinking about visiting Vietnam, DO IT! I believe it’s in the perfect state for tourism. Tourism is common enough that people know how to deal with those who don’t speak English, but they aren’t so used to tourism that you miss out on the cultural experiences. For those concerned about being an American visiting. We didn’t take the “Tell them you’re Canadian,” approach and all I know is that throughout the trip, I only experienced love from the locals who were not only okay with us being Americans, but seemed pleased that that was the case.