Vietnam Trip Report

[recom273]

One thing I didn't mention was the coffee..........it was SH1T...so we improvised to at least make it drinkable. The coffee was supplied with it's own little aluminium percolator which had coffee in the top and condensed milk in the cup underneath, which ended up as a very sweet heavy, strong and rather bitter drink. Not my cup of tea at all and because the percolation took about 15 minutes to work, the coffee was cold too, so time for another top tip!!

Buy your coffee and order a big glass on boiling water. Scoop most of the condensed milk out and into the boiling water and then put the percolator onto the big glass and wait for your new, consumer friendly coffee to brew.

No way!! One of the best things about VN is the coffee. I bought a trade pack of those percolators and bags of the civet coffee.

Yes, it's supposed to be thick and dark. I guess its upto your personal taste, but I loved it.

Someone asked about bike hire, I know in Hanoi you can rent bikes from Flamingo travel - You can rent a wave 110 for 200B a day, he has other bikes unto 400cc available, at 2000B a day, it seems a bit pricey.

I think when we hired a Minsk in Sapa, it was $10 a day, Flamingo is asking $18.

[AllanB]

Yes, that is possible Recom, we didn't inquire.

These lads from Brum, bought their bikes in Saigon and I think they said they paid around $200/250 each for them, they were going to sell them again in Hanoi. That said they did shell out a bit on repairs, didn't say how much and I am told tourist do their own trading with each other both in HCM and HN. So another option, which could work out as a free hire if you know your stuff and are a tough negotiator. It also means you won't have to bother with putting your bike on the train. So you can fly home direct, sell the bike cheap and even dump the bike if you are really desperate.

Lots of options really if you are a smart cookie.

As for the coffee, yes each to their own, but I am pretty sure it wasn't coffee, it was really cheap and they don't grow the beans their. 10,000 dong is only 15baht, so that doesn't compute when it is made that strong. In the farang bars it was 30,000 for a Cappuccino which uses less grounds.

Edited February 21, 2015 by AllanB

[BKKdreaming]

Yes, that is possible Recom, we didn't inquire.

These lads from Brum, bought their bikes in Saigon and I think they said they paid around $200/250 each for them, they were going to sell them again in Hanoi. That said they did shell out a bit on repairs, didn't say how much and I am told tourist do their own trading with each other both in HCM and HN. So another option, which could work out as a free hire if you know your stuff and are a tough negotiator. It also means you won't have to bother with putting your bike on the train. So you can fly home direct, sell the bike cheap and even dump the bike if you are really desperate....................

That is how we did it back in the Hippie Bus days of touring Europe , we bought our VW camper from outside Australia house in London , drove it 17.000 miles and 9 months later sold it at the same place !

there were a lot of people touring Europe then,,,,,,,most of us wanted nothing to do with Vietnam then we were trying to not get drafted to go there !

And now after the Top Gear show everyone wants their "tour" of Vietnam , and with luck no guns or tanks !

Edited February 21, 2015 by BKKdreaming

[AllanB]

Yes, that is possible Recom, we didn't inquire.

These lads from Brum, bought their bikes in Saigon and I think they said they paid around $200/250 each for them, they were going to sell them again in Hanoi. That said they did shell out a bit on repairs, didn't say how much and I am told tourist do their own trading with each other both in HCM and HN. So another option, which could work out as a free hire if you know your stuff and are a tough negotiator. It also means you won't have to bother with putting your bike on the train. So you can fly home direct, sell the bike cheap and even dump the bike if you are really desperate....................

That is how we did it back in the Hippie Bus days of touring Europe , we bought our VW camper from outside Australia house in London , drove it 17.000 miles and 9 months later sold it at the same place !

there were a lot of people touring Europe then,,,,,,,most of us wanted nothing to do with Vietnam then we were trying to not get drafted to go there !

And now after the Top Gear show everyone wants their "tour" of Vietnam , and with luck no guns or tanks !

Then you would be an Ausi, or Kiwi then, Jeeze there were some real sheds for sale then, more like a scrap yard, little did you know you could have done better with the Autotrader. But then it was all about the "crack" back then, in the Irish meaning of the word.

Don't really understand why the trend died out, still, as you say there is now VN and then Myanmar in a big truck and after that Argentina... but be careful of your number-plate.

[papa al]

Allan.

I understand bkkdreamer's post, but cannot understand your reply at all.

[AllanB]

1. Hippy buses sold outside Australia House were generally a bit crap.

2. Top Gear Vietnam on bikes, Myanmar/Thailand in trucks and Patagonia....with reg number H1982FLK = 1982 Falklands.

[papa al]

1. My impression was that BBKd was well served by the microbus he bought.??

2. Still no clue what you are trying to convey with this sentence fragment.

[AllanB]

1. My impression was that BBKd was well served by the microbus he bought.??

2. Still no clue what you are trying to convey with this sentence fragment.

1. That may or may not have been the case, but my few trips to London in search of a Camper was that I found a street full of overpriced sheds. I was hitch-hiking in Holland back then and a bus stopped, we didn't notice it was RHD (British) and couldn't find the door to jump on board, so it just took off burying all of us in a huge cloud of smoke. You have to take my word for it Al these vehicles were 90% sheds.

2. He was referring to everyone copying Top Gear by doing VN on a small bike, so that was the theme of my follow up. If my sentences are not perfectly formed put it down to poor education, or dyslexia...or these very thick glasses I am wearing.

Edited February 22, 2015 by AllanB

[Gweiloman]

Thank you for writing and publishing your inspirational story.

Hey, I'm a billionaire, I can do that. Well in Dong at least.

I have long thought that the huge 'adventure' bikes are a bit silly in this sort of environment. Whatever whizzo gadgets they may have cannot compensate for the adverse effects of the weight once the going gets tough. And somehow I doubt the local bike shops are going to be plugging their laptop into your ECU to do some diagnostics.

Maybe a Wave with knobblies would be the weapon of choice.

I think it also depends on the kind of "adventure" that one wants to do. Sticking to paved roads and civilisation is one thing, planning most of one's ride off road and camping is another. One needs the right "tool" for the job.

Great write up so far AllanB. Waiting for the next instalment.

I think Ed March would take issue with you there and having seen a few of his videos, I would concur. He is currently riding from northern Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina on his old C90, accompanied by his GF on hers. Done a lot of other stuff too.

People do these journeys on horseback, on pushbikes and even walk, so a C90 would be a doddle.

Travelling light is the key to success, on 2 wheels, 4 wheels, or even 4 hooves, especially when the going gets tough.

I once competed in the Ladoga Trophy in Russia and the Quads walked it, the little Suzukis and Ladas skipped it, but the big stuff got bogged a lot, as did I in my LR90.

Very true of course. It depends on the level of determination as well as what one wants to get out of such a trip.

I guess what I meant to say was it's up to the individual, the kind of adventure they would like to have. For eg, I could go on a 30 day round Thailand trip on my PCX and enjoy it. However, I would have a lot more fun doing it on the Versys just because there will be certain stretches of road which will be a lot more enjoyable on the Versys than on the PCX.

[papa al]

1. My impression was that BBKd was well served by the microbus he bought.??

2. Still no clue what you are trying to convey with this sentence fragment.

1. That may or may not have been the case, but my few trips to London in search of a Camper was that I found a street full of overpriced sheds. I was hitch-hiking in Holland back then and a bus stopped, we didn't notice it was RHD (British) and couldn't find the door to jump on board, so it just took off burying all of us in a huge cloud of smoke. You have to take my word for it Al these vehicles were 90% sheds.

2. He was referring to everyone copying Top Gear by doing VN on a small bike, so that was the theme of my follow up. If my sentences are not perfectly formed put it down to poor education, or dyslexia...or these very thick glasses I am wearing.

Ok.

The part in 2. after the "...." is too esoteric for me to get, I guess.

[AllanB]

Thank you for writing and publishing your inspirational story.

Hey, I'm a billionaire, I can do that. Well in Dong at least.

I have long thought that the huge 'adventure' bikes are a bit silly in this sort of environment. Whatever whizzo gadgets they may have cannot compensate for the adverse effects of the weight once the going gets tough. And somehow I doubt the local bike shops are going to be plugging their laptop into your ECU to do some diagnostics.

Maybe a Wave with knobblies would be the weapon of choice.

I think it also depends on the kind of "adventure" that one wants to do. Sticking to paved roads and civilisation is one thing, planning most of one's ride off road and camping is another. One needs the right "tool" for the job.

Great write up so far AllanB. Waiting for the next instalment.

I think Ed March would take issue with you there and having seen a few of his videos, I would concur. He is currently riding from northern Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina on his old C90, accompanied by his GF on hers. Done a lot of other stuff too.

People do these journeys on horseback, on pushbikes and even walk, so a C90 would be a doddle.

Travelling light is the key to success, on 2 wheels, 4 wheels, or even 4 hooves, especially when the going gets tough.

I once competed in the Ladoga Trophy in Russia and the Quads walked it, the little Suzukis and Ladas skipped it, but the big stuff got bogged a lot, as did I in my LR90.

Very true of course. It depends on the level of determination as well as what one wants to get out of such a trip.

I guess what I meant to say was it's up to the individual, the kind of adventure they would like to have. For eg, I could go on a 30 day round Thailand trip on my PCX and enjoy it. However, I would have a lot more fun doing it on the Versys just because there will be certain stretches of road which will be a lot more enjoyable on the Versys than on the PCX.

Yes, after I posted my reply I meant to add the fun aspect, I have an old 400 Honda and doing the hills and twisties on that is infinitely better, the Wave would be just a way of getting there.

The minute we are allowed to bring our bikes into VN, I will be there on a big bike looking for the steepest hill to climb. Lets hope the SE Asian EU gets it's act together soon.

[Gweiloman]

I think Ed March would take issue with you there and having seen a few of his videos, I would concur. He is currently riding from northern Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina on his old C90, accompanied by his GF on hers. Done a lot of other stuff too.

People do these journeys on horseback, on pushbikes and even walk, so a C90 would be a doddle.

Travelling light is the key to success, on 2 wheels, 4 wheels, or even 4 hooves, especially when the going gets tough.

I once competed in the Ladoga Trophy in Russia and the Quads walked it, the little Suzukis and Ladas skipped it, but the big stuff got bogged a lot, as did I in my LR90.

Very true of course. It depends on the level of determination as well as what one wants to get out of such a trip.

I guess what I meant to say was it's up to the individual, the kind of adventure they would like to have. For eg, I could go on a 30 day round Thailand trip on my PCX and enjoy it. However, I would have a lot more fun doing it on the Versys just because there will be certain stretches of road which will be a lot more enjoyable on the Versys than on the PCX.

Yes, after I posted my reply I meant to add the fun aspect, I have an old 400 Honda and doing the hills and twisties on that is infinitely better, the Wave would be just a way of getting there.

The minute we are allowed to bring our bikes into VN, I will be there on a big bike looking for the steepest hill to climb. Lets hope the SE Asian EU gets it's act together soon.

I'll join you, haha

[BKKdreaming]

Hi

well the VW bus outside Australia house worked out pretty good , but I worked on Vws before so knew about them

I did change the clutch disc and put fresh air heating on the motor on Thanksgiving morning in the parking lot across from the VW dealer in Southern Germany,

And listening to Thanksgiving Football on Armed Forces radio , the VW mechanics thought I was crazy !

after that drove down Yugoslavia to Greece and then Istambul..... then back and the ferry to Italy

but by the time I was finished with it , the poor bus was pretty much worn out......

Good times when you are young and really opens your eyes to the rest of the world

[AllanB]

Hi

well the VW bus outside Australia house worked out pretty good , but I worked on Vws before so knew about them

I did change the clutch disc and put fresh air heating on the motor on Thanksgiving morning in the parking lot across from the VW dealer in Southern Germany,

And listening to Thanksgiving Football on Armed Forces radio , the VW mechanics thought I was crazy !

after that drove down Yugoslavia to Greece and then Istambul..... then back and the ferry to Italy

but by the time I was finished with it , the poor bus was pretty much worn out......

Good times when you are young and really opens your eyes to the rest of the world

So you sold a knackered bus for what you paid for it? Tut tut...17,000 miles that is a lot. What used to be Yugoslavia is more difficult now, especially getting through Serbia where you also need a 100 euro green card, so I think everyone sails from Brindisi, to get to Greece now. Sailing from the 2nd best food country in the world to the best, what must that boat be like. Going their this spring, but in my £500 Peugeot 206, wish it were a bike, but no licence.

Good times when you are older too if you ask me, I had a smile on my face most of the trip even on the crappy little bike. I think it all about new places, and new experiences or perhaps it is just riding.

Just waiting for a new petcock for my bike and I am off...I think the Gasahol destroyed it inside, lesson learned.

[BKKdreaming]

gasahol screws up a lot of stuff here , fuel lines turn to mush......but we have to keep corn farmers in new Ford pick Up trucks so they force everyone to use it.....

I have traveled 200-300k miles in Europe most in old VW buses..

As far as the VW bus, bought it for $400 sold it for $200 as it was more worn out and we needed to fly home with our 8 weeks old English sheep dog puppy , Yugoslavia back then was just dull and grey as it was early December , we just wanted to get south where it was warmer.....

if I could get one of the Thai girls a Visa I would love to do it with them , for a month or so just to see it again through fresh eyes ,

anyway enjoyed your trip report , do another report even if its just in Thailand

Cheers

[AllanB]

gasahol screws up a lot of stuff here , fuel lines turn to mush......but we have to keep corn farmers in new Ford pick Up trucks so they force everyone to use it.....

I have traveled 200-300k miles in Europe most in old VW buses..

As far as the VW bus, bought it for $400 sold it for $200 as it was more worn out and we needed to fly home with our 8 weeks old English sheep dog puppy , Yugoslavia back then was just dull and grey as it was early December , we just wanted to get south where it was warmer.....

if I could get one of the Thai girls a Visa I would love to do it with them , for a month or so just to see it again through fresh eyes ,

anyway enjoyed your trip report , do another report even if its just in Thailand

Cheers

I am told (and hope it's true) you can get a Schengen visa for your girl at the French consulate by telling them you are going camping, as this is very popular in France. We will go down this week and get my wife's UK Visa (her 6th) and then do the same again with the Schengen visa (her 1st), two visits to BKK then.

You just have to tell a feasible story, say you are touring France and Spain, then you can go to anywhere which is signed up to the Schengen treaty. I am pretty sure this means the Brindisi boat though.

However, "one of the Thai girls" indicates you don't have a steady GF, let alone a wife, so you had better get busy making it look that way.

That said she can go to Turkey without a visa...how does Turkey sound? I am told it is good and you could hire a bike and tour on that, springtime is nice summer is blisteringly hot.

[simple1]

<snip>

As for the coffee, yes each to their own, but I am pretty sure it wasn't coffee, it was really cheap and they don't grow the beans their. 10,000 dong is only 15baht, so that doesn't compute when it is made that strong. In the farang bars it was 30,000 for a Cappuccino which uses less grounds.

For me the coffee sold on the streets was delicious, as you say each to their own . BTW Vietnam is one of the world's largest growers of coffee beans.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25811724

I visited Vietnam for 3 weeks with Thai wife and we both loved the place. Visited HCMC, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Sapa. Got to say you and your wife are brave, I wouldn't travel around on a motorbike in Vietnam.

[AllanB]

<snip>

As for the coffee, yes each to their own, but I am pretty sure it wasn't coffee, it was really cheap and they don't grow the beans their. 10,000 dong is only 15baht, so that doesn't compute when it is made that strong. In the farang bars it was 30,000 for a Cappuccino which uses less grounds.

For me the coffee sold on the streets was delicious, as you say each to their own . BTW Vietnam is one of the world's largest growers of coffee beans.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25811724

I visited Vietnam for 3 weeks with Thai wife and we both loved the place. Visited HCMC, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Sapa. Got to say you and your wife are brave, I wouldn't travel around on a motorbike in Vietnam.

Okay I was misinformed mate, so now it down to the preparation that didn't suit our pallets. You are not French are you?

I have biked and driven in many countries over the years and the first thing I do it try and get into the "swing" of things. Difficult to explain, but it is like using "The Force" (Star Wars) then the driving or riding feels right, so having now said that I will probably come a cropper the very next time.

But really it was fun...well for at least.

The reason she comes with me is that she want us to die together.

[Gweiloman]

Thank you for writing and publishing your inspirational story.

Hey, I'm a billionaire, I can do that. Well in Dong at least.

I have long thought that the huge 'adventure' bikes are a bit silly in this sort of environment. Whatever whizzo gadgets they may have cannot compensate for the adverse effects of the weight once the going gets tough. And somehow I doubt the local bike shops are going to be plugging their laptop into your ECU to do some diagnostics.

Maybe a Wave with knobblies would be the weapon of choice.

I think it also depends on the kind of "adventure" that one wants to do. Sticking to paved roads and civilisation is one thing, planning most of one's ride off road and camping is another. One needs the right "tool" for the job.

Great write up so far AllanB. Waiting for the next instalment.

I think Ed March would take issue with you there and having seen a few of his videos, I would concur. He is currently riding from northern Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina on his old C90, accompanied by his GF on hers. Done a lot of other stuff too.

People do these journeys on horseback, on pushbikes and even walk, so a C90 would be a doddle.

Travelling light is the key to success, on 2 wheels, 4 wheels, or even 4 hooves, especially when the going gets tough.

I once competed in the Ladoga Trophy in Russia and the Quads walked it, the little Suzukis and Ladas skipped it, but the big stuff got bogged a lot, as did I in my LR90.

Your reply set me thinking so I thought I would ask the question on a reputable adventure rider forum. This is the best reply I received:

"Time is the main reason.

Its a huge ride and the season is limited. You have about a 4 month window to complete it. You cant really start much earlier than beginning of May, and you need to finish by about the beginning of September in Magadan.

XXXX and I ride aggressively and it took us just over 90 days to get to Yakutsk from the Poland Ukraine border. Getting to Magadan from the start of the route, actually following the route and doing almost exclusively off road travel, will take around 100 days on a high speed, high performance rally style adventure bike. (about 65 on the road and 35 days as rest days or maintenance days or bad weather days). Lyndon Poskitt, a professional rally rider, rode a similar route to us, with the addition of the Stans in 2014, on a fully prepared rally style bike, doing speeds of up to 165 km/h off road and it also took him till mid September to reach Magadan.

The off road route is very scenic and interesting, but it is far from direct. You need to be able to average around 300 -320 km a day offroad, every day, to finish it in a season.

You can do that sort of offroad distance day in day out on a well prepared bike, with full sized wheels, good suspension travel and with an off road cruising speed of 100 km/h plus. To cope with those sort of speeds, the bike then needs to have very good quality suspension and wheels.

So with reference to the C90 .... yes it can do the route (you might need a snorkel system for water crossings, and fuel range enhancement) but its not realistic to do it in a season. More realistic would be sticking to the asphalt roads on a C90 and just doing occasional offroad (even doing 10% of the trip offroad would be 2000 km of offroad). The route as it stands is over 90% offroad.

There is a small possibility to do it in a way that breaks the trip part of the way into it and try to do it in 2 seasons on a c90. If you do that, then bearing in mind the tighter customs regimes en route, Tajikistan is probably the only place you could break the trip and leave the bike for the winter, returning the following year."

Another good reply as follows:

"Sure it can be done provided you give it plenty of time and don't push the bike too hard for hours on end. These little motors have a reputation of being bullet proof which is true up to a point. They don't like wide open throttle for hours on end and will fail if thrashed. They hold just under a litre of oil which needs changing regularly and often to give reliable service. I rode up through SE Asia from Australia on my CT110 and it went fine for 15,000 km only failing when I got pushed for time and committed all of the above sins"

Edited March 2, 2015 by Gweiloman

[AllanB]

I am sure there are routes around the world that cannot be accomplished on a C90, but it seems a pretty versatile machine as is demonstrated here.

I did a similar trip to this in an old 1972 Rangerover back in the mid 90's (but without the impressive romper suit) and the big problem was staying on the road in the perpetual darkness. The extreme cold wasn't that apparent, even sleeping in the vehicle in -36c as the RH was low, though lower temperatures and the wind chill on a bike are dangerous, which may be the case on the trip you mention, done out of season.

In such out of season conditions progress will be slow too and some communities do kind of hibernate, making finding supplies very difficult, so yes the bike this guy used may have been the best option, possibly the only one.

That said, travelling at those sort of speeds is in itself a big risk, as can be seen on the Dakar each year, a risk increased by the lack of support and absence of publicity, i.e. warning the locals.

Sounds an exciting trip though, any pictures, report, video?