Written by Elise

Elise's View From The Backseat

Riding a motorbike from the North to the South of Vietnam was an amazing experience. Now, while I didn’t ride the motorcycle myself (Anthony did an amazing job!) it is still something that will remain with me for the rest of my life. Each day we were faced with new challenges and amazing sights making the journey all the more incredible. I think what made it so momentous was the simple fact that we were in control of where we wanted to go on the trip. It didn’t have to be governed by train and bus timetables (how we normally get from A to B). We were able to stop anywhere we wanted to and take our time to stop and smell the rice paddies! It was hard to pinpoint my favourite memories, but for anyone thinking of doing a trip similar to this, I hope this post inspires you! It was an amazing journey and loved every minute of it!

Rice Paddies

Working In The Fields

I had always wanted to see the bright green rice paddies that I seen in so many photos and our time in Vietnam I defiantly got what I asked for! We would ride for hours and hours through countless rice paddy fields, each one greener than the last. The fluorescent colour of the neat fields would be on either side of us. We stopped often just to stare at the endless plains of the newly growning rice.

Road Butterflies

When we were riding on the Ho Chi Minh Road, there would be stretches of the trail where hundreds of butterflies would flutter up from the road and surrounding trees and shrubs. We would sometimes find ourselves riding through almost hundreds of them-I felt like I was in the forests of Narnia! Anthony said they were just moths but I still protest that they were beautiful butterflies just fluttering by!

Chasing the Rain and Getting Caught Out

For over half of our trip we were lucky enough to escape any downpour. There would be days we would be riding with foreboding clouds above us, but we never felt a drop. That is until the day we left Hoi An for Dak Glei!

We were only about 1 hour away from the town we chose stop at for the night when we turned round a corner of a mountain and right in front of us were heavy black clouds. We could hear the thunder and see the lightening but didn’t feel any rain. Then without warning the skies opened up and the biggest water droplets ever splashed down on us. Of course, that was the day we didn’t have our wet weather gear out and ready! As fast as we could we put our jackets and pants on, already saturated and continued slowly in the rain.

We didn’t need to be told again to always have our rain gear out and ready with our bags wrapped up!

Us In Our Rain Gear

Iced Tea

A common drink in Vietnam is Iced Tea or Tra Da, and it quickly became our favourite drink to rehydrate with whilst on the road. Rather than being a sweet tea it is usually just green tea or another kind of herbal tea with ice added. So thirst quenching and refreshing! We would stop at little roadside cafes regularly to grab one of these cheap and satisfying drinks. Many a time the owners would continually top up our glasses with a big grin. They seemed to be so proud to serve us. At one town, Kham Duc we stopped in and got ourselves tea from a family. Minutes later the wife brought out some freshly baked teacake for us to eat with cream-scrumptious! We had about three glasses of tea each and chatted to the family in broken English. When we were ready to leave and went to pay they would not take our money. No matter how much we plead with them, they would not take our cash. This was true Vietnamese hospitality that we had experienced and were so grateful for.

Beep Beep, Honk Honk!

We passed so many buses and trucks on our trip and at times I really did think I burst an eardrum! The horns they use on their vehicles were so loud and they would go for so long. It didn’t mater which way they were coming from the drivers would be sure to blow their horn at least three times if they were passing you or nearing you. Sometimes the horns were unnecessary and were more annoying than anything. We were thankful when we were along the Ho Chi Minh Road and would not hear a horn for hours on end or even pass anyone else on the road!

A Quieter Road Ahead

Getting Dirty

One day we were taking our motorbike through the countryside around Hue so we could independently visit some tombs and mountains. Since I was in charge of the map it was my job to get us to where we wanted to go. (That was our first mistake!) Bumping along a dirt road I soon realised we were going the wrong way and the actual track was on the opposite side of rice fields. The only way across them was on a muddy road full of puddles! We sloshed our way slowly through but unfortunately our little bike ‘Bullet’ couldn’t handle all the mud and we fell off the road into a muddy rice field below! We weren’t hurt-just dirty, but that didn’t stop us from continuing the day to see the tombs!

Girl Falls Off Motorbike

Being on the open road in Vietnam was unbelievable. Noisy at times, busy most of the time but such a great trip. We did over 3500km in the two months we were there. I love thinking that in years to come I can look back on my trip with Anthony on our trusty ‘Bullet’ and have great stories to tell the Grandkids!

Thinking of travelling to Vietnam? Contact Us for any questions you need answered!

Hanoi - Mai Chau - Son La - Dien Bien Phu - Sapa - Hanoi  

Explore Vietnam's remote northwest - the historic battlefields of  Dien Bien Phu, the thriving hilltribe markets of Sapa and the stunning mountain scenery of Son La and Lai Chau.

Road map Northwestern Trail

The remote northwest of Vietnam appeals to those wanting to get off the beaten track in one of Vietnam's most beautiful, unaffected and untouristed areas.

Mai Chau, Northwestern Trails

The travellers who do venture to Mai Chau, Son La and Dien Bien Phu often do so by way of a hired jeep and driver or do it by motorbike, while those striking straight north to Vietnam's hilltribe capital of Sapa avail themselves of the comfortable and efficient overnight train to Sapa. Whichever way you're headed, prepare yourself for stunning scenery as you pass through spectacular ravines and over breathtaking passes.

Sapa, Vietnam

Best known for the burgeoning trekking centre of Sapa, there is a lot more worth investigating in this part of the country. The remote French firebase of Dien Bien Phu remains a drawcard, but it's as much the attraction of the trip there as the town itself that is worth visiting. A trip to Dien Bien Phu is easily combined with an approach to Sapa via "the back way" over the Fansipan pass (Vietnam's highest), allowing for more stunning scenery and the opportunity to see some of the less touristed parts of the country.

Tram Ton Pass

Another popular destinations is Mai Chau whose day-trekking and stunning scenery have helped it develop into a small tourist centre en-route to Dien Bien Phu -- many trips from Hanoi run out to Mai Chau -- and with good reason. It also forms a comfortable spot to rest those weary limbs before continuing onwards and up into the hills.

Road to Son La, Vietnam

More and more travellers are now heading up into this part of the country, in part due to the long-awaited opening of the border crossing into Laos near Dien Bien Phu -- yes, it's true, you really can cross here now!

This is a time consuming part of Vietnam to visit, but if you have the time, the northwest is well worth adding into your trip plans.

Ethnic minorities in Sapa

Now if you’ve seen that episode then you’ll know just how amazing that experience looked. After seeing the episode for the first time, the initial awe of the entertainment, and speculation as to the reality of personally carry out something like this soon passed, after realization of the fact that this was a incredibly well funded show and each trip has a small army for back up and support.

Discover Vietnam’s rugged and scenic northwest and its people first hand with ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA. By taking to the roads and riding from the capital Hanoi to the remote area of the northwest we can see life as it truly is for the Vietnamese. The perfect itinerary and the support crew ensure you get the most out of the trip in terms of comfort, enjoyment and adventure. Along the way we encounter dramatic landscapes and sweeping panoramas as the rural population goes about its business. 

Highlights 

• Stunning scenery
• Challenging roads
• Stunning Pha Din Pass and Tram Ton Pass
• Terraced valley of Sapa
• Colorful ethnic minorities

Adventure travelers, take note: Vietnam has some great mountain biking.

Mountain Biking Dalat

You’ll find it Dalat, a mountain town in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, a 6-hour drive from Saigon, or an 8-hour bus ride, the way many travelers get there. Known for it’s cooler, misty mountain air – an absolute gift if you’re coming from the sweltering heat of Saigon – Dalat is a popular getaway for tourists, but even more so for Vietnamese. The French influence on this place is unmistakable: they established it in the late 1800s as a holiday town, and not surprisingly, you’ll find gardens, wide streets, villas, a picturesque, manmade lake, and a communications tower that – comically, to me – closely resembles the Eiffel Tower.

Biking in Dalat Town

 Oh, the French. Among other Vietnamese towns, it sticks out like a sore thumb, but in a good way: planned, organized, charming, and…cooler. Honestly, I cannot overstate how welcome the weather here is. And, why anyone in Vietnam would choose to live anywhere else.

A few years back, my sister and her husband traveled to southeast Asia on their honeymoon, and Dalat was one of their favorite spots. Among other things, they did an all-day mountain bike ride, almost entirely downhill, from Dalat’s perch in the mountains to the coastal town of Mui Ne. LOVED IT. One of the best things they did, my sister told me.

As a cyclist and traveler, I recommend you may sign up for a tour with ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) one of the Indochina's leading adventure travel companies. ATA offers a wide selection of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia adventure tours, including hiking and trekking, biking, motorcycling, kayaking, overland touring and family travel packages . These guys are the real deal: cool excursions, reasonable prices, well-trained guides, and tasty lunches (including, I might add, awesome baguettes purchased from the local market each morning). To get a sense for their stature in Dalat, all you have to do is look at the trip booklets in the front offices of all the other operators;  Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right?

For a glimpse at mountain biking in Vietnam, in the highlands surrounding Dalat, scroll down to the photos below. 

Biet, getting it done on the biggest climb of the day

…and past small farming towns, high up in the mountains.

  

Rickety bridge crossing.