3 hours ago, chrissables said:

Day 13. 27 April. 284 km

Nha Trang to Phang Rang and back.

 

Another hot ride along the coast today and and a loop towards Dalat on the back roads.

I was a little upset seeing “Charlie” on the way to his final destination on the back of a motorbike!

Maybe Charly isn't really dead? ?‍♂️

Thanks a lot for the great report and the many great fotos.

How many rolls of film did you use ? ??

Wow! Hell of a trip and a brilliant report! Really enjoyed it. Some great information for others to follow. Thanks for taking ghe time to put it together. Cheers.

Cheers chris, great narrative and photos, thanks.

Another great trip in Vietnam. Thanks for sharing again. ? 

 

What visa did you get?

Another great trip in Vietnam. Thanks for sharing again. ? 

 

What visa did you get?

Nice one Chris, looks like a great trip, Thanks for putting all the time and effort to post,  I'm curious why you decided to do it in the middle of the rainy season though...

 

2 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Maybe Charly isn't really dead? ?‍♂️

Traveling in coffin on the back of a motorbike he soon will be hahaha

2 hours ago, maximillian said:

Thanks a lot for the great report and the many great fotos.

How many rolls of film did you use ? ??

Digital ? Thousands though.

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Wow! Hell of a trip and a brilliant report! Really enjoyed it. Some great information for others to follow. Thanks for taking ghe time to put it together. Cheers.

Thanks, it was a great trip and the places to see there are so good. I just need a more comfortable bike next time.

36 minutes ago, grollies said:

Cheers chris, great narrative and photos, thanks.

Thanks ?

16 minutes ago, rhodie said:

Another great trip in Vietnam. Thanks for sharing again. ? 

 

What visa did you get?

I got a 3 month multi entry, but in the end i stayed in Vietnam for the whole trip.

18 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

Nice one Chris, looks like a great trip, Thanks for putting all the time and effort to post,  I'm curious why you decided to do it in the middle of the rainy season though...

 

Actually the rainy season was out of season and early. I planned on riding north ahead of when it normally rains, that worked mostly. Only in the mountains that run south to north would storms usually come late pm.

In the north the rains arrived early, but mostly i was ok and really i was quite lucky. The ride back also was good.

Maybe because she wasn't a boy? There is no such thing as an aged 20 year old lady.

5 minutes ago, oldrunner said:

Maybe because she wasn't a boy? There is no such thing as an aged 20 year old lady.

?

 

 

Thanks for posting, I enjoyed reading that.

 

 

I have to ask (but you don't need to answer ? ).................. you were away for 3 months..... sex ?.........

 

 

 

5 hours ago, chrissables said:

Day 20. 04 May. 196 km

 

I rode south from Hoi An today before a right onto QL14E. This leads up to the HCM road, here I turned right and enjoyed a wonderful ride through the jungle on mainly very good roads.

When I got to QL14b I left the HCM road and headed back towards Da Nang and then Hoi An.

From this junction there was not one sign for Hoi An all the way back, it’s incredible how bad the lack of correct sign posting is. It seems to me the people in charge of the signage need some educating.

 

 

Vietnamese version of brake failure?

4 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Vietnamese version of brake failure?

I would presume so!

Wow Chris you did it again. Another very enjoyable post and fabulous photos and best of all your daily travelog. Well done and thank you very much I enjoyed that tremendously .

Great reporting and really nice pics. Thank you very much, gives me an idea what this ancient country looks like today. Sorry about the claustrophobia, I used to have it. Got rid very slowly avoiding any situation that might start it again. Funny how important beer is to you.  Wish you many good rides to come.....

 

 

1 hour ago, chrissables said:

?

 

 

There's always one.

40 minutes ago, holymoly said:

Great reporting and really nice pics. Thank you very much, gives me an idea what this ancient country looks like today. Sorry about the claustrophobia, I used to have it. Got rid very slowly avoiding any situation that might start it again. Funny how important beer is to you.  Wish you many good rides to come.....

 

 

I have it for a long time now, but never like that, it was very strange and as i said enough to make me vomit.

 

I like a beer everyday, but rarely get pissed and after riding all day i don't fancy a cup of tea! ? Here in Pattaya i am up at 6am and very rarely have a beer before evening time, just my way of relaxing.

1 hour ago, Randell said:

Wow Chris you did it again. Another very enjoyable post and fabulous photos and best of all your daily travelog. Well done and thank you very much I enjoyed that tremendously .

Cheers! Its a great escape from Thailand, but glad to be back!

Great story, I live in Vietnam 3 months a year and haven't done a ride such as this.  Will rectify that next year with the Motorcycle Tour Company  - 75 days thru out the country  - I like structure and their tours are well organized...........Thanx for the inspiration!!!

 

Wonderful trip, wish I could do it!

 

Once or twice you got a bit lost. Can you get as good SatNav as you do in Thailand?

7 hours ago, chrissables said:

Day 44. 28 May Sapa to Hanoi

392 KM. 11 hrs

It was cold and raining at 6am when I left in the morning. A bus tried to wipe me out too, the damn idiot!

In the traffic in Hanoi a taxi hit me and received some explicit language in return! I stayed at the hotel I stayed before but this time the member of staff refused to park the bike because he had a fever! So I gave him the keys with a “thanks” and gave him no choice.

Day 45 to 49, 29 May to 02 June

Around Hanoi

My mate Jeff arrived from the UK and we spent a lot of time drinking too much and eating steak suppers, great fun!

We also collected his bike for the trip. And were looking forward to riding into the mountains.

I was actually re-tracing my previous route of Mai Chau to Sapa, but still looking forward to it.

One of my all time favorite cars. You used to see them in old French movies as police cars with Le flic riding on the running board that many of them had. When I was based in Singapore in 1963 in the RN there was an officer in the dockyard with a beautiful cream colored specimen. I often wonder what happened to that beauty as the next year we gave them independence, or we closed the dockyard. Classic styling.

I enjoyed your write up and the lovely variety of photos. I have seen a lot of Vietnam and the pics brought back good memories. Though I was somewhat mystified by your insistence on wanting to enter China illegally, especially as the Chinese do not look kindly on foreigners entering their country this way. I would imagine you might have found yourself locked up in a pretty nasty dirty dark cell which would probably initiate your claustrophobia......somehow I don't think you thought your actions through to this possible conclusion and in this case were very lucky to avoid that nasty experience.

The trip sounds fabulous.  While I'm not personally a motorcyclist, I appreciate your effort in putting the report together, as I am sure many readers will.  Great experience for you.

 

A question for you.  I get conflicting reports as to whether self-drive car rental is available for foreigners in Vietnam.  The internet seems to suggest yes, but tour guides I've spoken to in Vietnam say no.  Did you come across any non-Vietnamese with rental cars on your journey?

 

Kudos!

 

6 hours ago, Jip99 said:

Thanks for posting, I enjoyed reading that.

 

 

I have to ask (but you don't need to answer ? ).................. you were away for 3 months..... sex ?.........

 

 

 

Didn't you read, he had his moobs tampered with!!

 

Thoroughy enjoyed your post Chris , thanks for sharing.

 

Brave chap to take on that journey on a Click style mc.

4 hours ago, chrissables said:

I have it for a long time now, but never like that, it was very strange and as i said enough to make me vomit.

 

I like a beer everyday, but rarely get pissed and after riding all day i don't fancy a cup of tea! ? Here in Pattaya i am up at 6am and very rarely have a beer before evening time, just my way of relaxing.

Not pleasant I imagine, surprised you didn't get more confused. 

 

I had an experience, woke up in the middle of the night in a hotel with no stationary around and had no idea where I was. Phoned reception to ask where I was, answer Queens Hotel, OK but where?, Nuera Leah, where's that?, Sri Lanka - OK thanks.

 

Probably too many beers also....