23 hours ago, Paulinho said:

Sounds great. Where is the delta region? Far from coast? 

 

Someone raved about Nha Trang also. 

 

Would love to see the pics. 

 

Pm me and I'll send you my email 

 

Thanks, the cyclist! 

 

P. S. I love cycling too. Did you get yours in VN? Mines back home and maybe I'll ship it over as its a nice one. Did you mainly use road or off road? I have bikes for both. Wonder which is best for VN. 

The delta region is the southernmost part of Vietnam and is surrounded by coast. 

I bought my bicycle in Thailand years ago, and when I left Thailand I packed my panniers and biked through Cambodia to Vietnam. 

Both mountain bikes and sturdy road bikes are OK for Vietnam, just the thin-tired racing bikes are less than ideal as many of the rural roads are heavily potholed:The infrastructure is still decades behind Thailand. 

[email protected] 

13 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Interesting that that you say that, because I've been doing a little research and so far Danang is the one place in Vietnam that I'm interested in checking out. Before I've only been to Hanoi and Halong Bay which was great as a tourist but wouldn't want to live there. I'm far from sold on Vietnam as a retirement destination though. They don't appear to offer any path to long term residence stability which is something that would be something I'd really want if I left Thailand (which doesn't either) for another country other than my home country.

The visa situation is rapidly improving here in Vietnam, while it is getting more and more of a hassle in Thailand. Best for long term retirement visas is Malaysia. 

I would choose Danang over Hanoi/Saigon for long stay any day, and with low cost airlines flying direct from Bkk to Danang it is a cheap option for a visa run or short trip. 

7 hours ago, thecyclist said:

The delta region is the southernmost part of Vietnam and is surrounded by coast. 

I bought my bicycle in Thailand years ago, and when I left Thailand I packed my panniers and biked through Cambodia to Vietnam. 

Both mountain bikes and sturdy road bikes are OK for Vietnam, just the thin-tired racing bikes are less than ideal as many of the rural roads are heavily potholed:The infrastructure is still decades behind Thailand. 

[email protected] 

Sounds fabulous. 

Will email you soon. 

Thanks cyclist. Am preparing to get my bike over from UK. Cheers, P

On 10/18/2018 at 9:49 AM, thecyclist said:

If I were you, I would bike around a bit first and see where I like it best and settle there 

Some posters mentioned Nha Trang :I disagree, nice beaches but overrun with tourists especially Russians, too many rip-offs, food more expensive than elsewhere. Hoi An is even worse :the rip-off capital of Vietnam. 

I love the Delta area :People are very welcoming, friendly and honest. Never gets cold like in Hanoi in winter. 

Danang is another option :Awesome city, great biking routes around. 

Vung Tau great too:tourist town but mainly Vietnamese tourist on weekends, otherwise quiet, although some overcharging of farang. 

In general, Vietnam should tick many of your boxes :Vegetarian restaurants everywhere, cheap gyms in all towns, no hassles with visa renewals etc 

If you interested I can send you some pics of my biking tours in Vietnam for a first impression/orientation 

Nha Trang was lovely 20 years ago. I would not want to go back. We lived in Tuy Hoa. I haven't been back for over a decade. I remember T.H. as a nice local town with almost no foreigners at that time. But I'm certain time hasn't stood still there either. 

We also lived in Siem Reap when there were hardly any tourists. On a visit 5 years ago I couldn't believe the masses of tourists. Crime was a problem then, esp. burglaries. And Cambodia was never a cheap place to live unless you ate the food at the Old Market. They chopped the veg on the floor with the rats watching and waiting.