Motorbike travel around Vietnam

[KhunBENQ]

Big thumbs up for the wonderful pictures

 

What a pity that I can not just jump to the car and drive east ("only" about 500 km to the South China Sea).

[chrissables]

Day 72. Nov 25. 147 km

A beautiful day to ride back to Nha Trang, cold but sunny! Great views!

 

A coffee bush in the Dalat Highlands. 

[chrissables]

A great view in the Dalat Highlands on my way back to Nha Trang.

[chrissables]

Day 73. Nov 26. 156 km

I had a great ride along the coast to Ninh Van Beach today. Beautiful and isolated, no tourists at all!

 

Another isolated beach.

[chrissables]

The end of the road, Ninh Van beach.

[chrissables]

Ninh Van Beach, just great here! 

[chrissables]

Ninh Van beach. If they sold cold beer, perfect! 

[chrissables]

Day 75. Nov 27. 299 km

I rode South along the coast today with the idea of finding more isolated beaches. I got a bit carried away and headed inland up to the mountains.

Great riding roads to start, but eventually they got quite bad and slow going. There were also many landslides in the mountains.

The last hour of my trip was in the dark. Not recommended with no street lighting and many motorbike saving money by not turning on their lights, as well as riding on the wrong side of the road! I’m astonished there aren’t more accidents here!

 

Taken South of Nha Trang, looking back into Nha Trang Bay. 

[chrissables]

Heading up to the mountains towards Dalat again. 

[chrissables]

One of the many landslides I found on my trip in the mountains today. 

[chrissables]

Black storm clouds near Cam Ranh on my ride back to Nha Trang. 

[chrissables]

Day 76-80  Nov 28-Dec 1

Got drunk in Nha Trang, a lot. Rain every day and drinks are cheap!

 

Day 81. Dec 2. 237km

Rode South to Mui Ne, Heavy rain turned to scattered showers. Stayed on the AH1 most of the way, as the coast road was in the storms, so no views.

 

Day 85. Dec 6. 120? Km

A nice ride south from Mui Ne for a cable car ride up Ta Cu Mountain to see the Buddha statue there.

 

Buddhist Temple at Ta Cu Mountain. The coastline in the background. 

[chrissables]

The reclining Buddha at the top of Ta Cu Mountain 

[chrissables]

Dragon fruit

[chrissables]

Day 88 Dec 9. 217 km

Mui Ne back to Saigon, actually found my hotel very easily, which was more luck than planning!

 

Day 89 Dec 10.

Returned the bike, the finished millage for the trip was 10,200 km

 

Day 90 flew home to Thailand.

 

I met this Vietnamese monk of the flight back to Thailand, great chatting with him!

 

[chrissables]

30 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Big thumbs up for the wonderful pictures

 

What a pity that I can not just jump to the car and drive east ("only" about 500 km to the South China Sea).

Really such a pity! North Thailand, Laos and cross into Vietnam, ride South and return back through Cambodia. Maybe one day!

[watcharacters]

58 minutes ago, chrissables said:

Stormy today at Tuan An Beach, near Hue. 

 

 

This reminded me so much of a scene in the film Apocalypse Now, which included  the quote "I love the smell of Napalm.   

[chrissables]

Just now, watcharacters said:

 

 

This reminded me so much of a scene in the film Apocalypse Now, which included  the quote "I love the smell of Napalm.   

I think it was filmed not far from there. China beach maybe. I will google it later.

[LongTimeLurker]

3 hours ago, watcharacters said:

I pretty much fell in love with Vietnam but I admittedly  was there for only 22 days.     The one and a major one for me was the internet which I've been told is bungled by the Vietnam government.     On a "back of the bike" tour the fellow driving me  talked about how horrible the internet in Vietnam is.        When I had a blank box obstructing my phone screen and moving around on it  he just said that's the government doing that.   

How did you  find the internet in Vietnam?

 

Internet service in VN is much better than Thailand and much cheaper also.

 

Only issue is the blocking of the BBC, which can be avoided with a VPN. Much like the blocking of website here in Thailand.

[chrissables]

1 hour ago, LongTimeLurker said:

 

Internet service in VN is much better than Thailand and much cheaper also.

 

Only issue is the blocking of the BBC, which can be avoided with a VPN. Much like the blocking of website here in Thailand.

I agree, even the smallest guest house in the jungle areas had good internet.

[chrissables]

5 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

Well,  you went ahead and did it, chrissables, in more ways than one.    First you've created one of if not the most enjoyable thread I've read since I've been a member of TV.      And secondly, you achieved what I suspect was a long time dream/goal instead of just wanting and talking about it.

 

I'll post regarding several individual photos  as time goes by but I'd like to start off with your age.  

Until you posted a few snaps which I assume are of you, I figured you are in your early 20's.      I think I was mistaken.    I was going to commend you for grabbing the bull by the horns and accomplishing such a feat at an youthful age before it becomes a harder to realize thing.   I think you  did even better..

If you don't mind would you please give an approximate idea of your age?

 

I haven't read your thread completely and carefully yet but I will.       I don't see a year of travel.     You give the month and day but what year was this.

 

Did you make the journey as a solo traveler?    You mentioned the ha long bay trip was expensive because you were solo but what about the entire trip.

 

Did you  rely on maps or a GPS?

 

I pretty much fell in love with Vietnam but I admittedly  was there for only 22 days.     The one and a major one for me was the internet which I've been told is bungled by the Vietnam government.     On a "back of the bike" tour the fellow driving me  talked about how horrible the internet in Vietnam is.        When I had a blank box obstructing my phone screen and moving around on it  he just said that's the government doing that.   

How did you  find the internet in Vietnam?

Thank you, what a great compliment :)

 

I have posted other trips here. Last year Thailand, Malaysia and Laos. The year before Thailand and Laos. Links below.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/797874-small-motorbikes-and-travel-in-thailand-with-photos/

I do indeed tend to do things, not just plan and dream!

 

Early 20's hahaha I did the trip at the end of last year i was 54 :)

 

I traveled alone, which has both benefits and disadvantages.

 

The trip was actually not expensive at all. Most rooms were around $10-$15. Beer, food and petrol are cheaper there. Unless like me you enjoy French food and wine. But it is also a lot cheaper than Thailand.

 

No GPS, some crap maps i printed out of the Southern part of Vietnam, and a National Geographic map of the North. 

 

I did not even try to put the internet on my phone, but even remote guest houses had good quality wifi.

 

I was stopped by a Vietnamese couple in a remote area of the North of Vietnam who had maps on their phone, but needed my map to put perspective on where to head for.

 

Please feel free to ask whatever you would like to know, if i can help i will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thedemon]

Thanks very much for taking the time to post this Chrissables.

 

A fantastic trip. Thank God you made it all that way with just a couple of scrapes. Riding a bike on the highways of Vietnam is not for the faint of heart.

 

Congratulations!

[thaiguzzi]

Very very rare i bother to read all the pages of a thread on this forum. Even get past the first page. This one was the exception. Again, kudos.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Just now, chrissables said:

Day 73. Nov 26. 156 km

I had a great ride along the coast to Ninh Van Beach today. Beautiful and isolated, no tourists at all!

 

Another isolated beach.

 

Chris

 

First, great job.  I am a big fan of long distance touring on small bikes.  I love just stepping off when I see something interesting.

 

Secondly, I am a surfer.  I am VERY interested in the above photo.  Is there any chance that you could find the google map latitude and longitude coordinates from where you took this photo.

 

Cheers

 

BD

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Great photos and report. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed looking at them.

[chrissables]

12 hours ago, thedemon said:

Thanks very much for taking the time to post this Chrissables.

 

A fantastic trip. Thank God you made it all that way with just a couple of scrapes. Riding a bike on the highways of Vietnam is not for the faint of heart.

 

Congratulations!

 

12 hours ago, thedemon said:

Thanks very much for taking the time to post this Chrissables.

 

A fantastic trip. Thank God you made it all that way with just a couple of scrapes. Riding a bike on the highways of Vietnam is not for the faint of heart.

 

Congratulations!

Thanks, the fall could have been a lot worse due mainly to the remoteness of where i was. But although more intimidating initially, it is far safer than Thailand. 

[chrissables]

6 hours ago, Bulldozer Dawn said:

 

Chris

 

First, great job.  I am a big fan of long distance touring on small bikes.  I love just stepping off when I see something interesting.

 

Secondly, I am a surfer.  I am VERY interested in the above photo.  Is there any chance that you could find the google map latitude and longitude coordinates from where you took this photo.

 

Cheers

 

BD

Hi Bulldozer,

 

As near as i can tell if you open the link below you are on the road Jungle beach is very near where i took the photo. It's a pleasant motorbike ride from Nha Trang.

 

China beach i am sure is famous for surfing, that is in Da Nang further North.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1119789-d1119651-Reviews-Jungle_Beach_VietNam-Ninh_Phuoc_Binh_Thuan_Province.html#MAPVIEW

[abhaya]

What a great trip. Thanks for sharing!

[Mangkhut]

20 hours ago, chrissables said:

I think it was filmed not far from there. China beach maybe. I will google it later.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

 

"Apocalypse now"' was filmed in The Philippines - so definetively not there... ;-)

 

Anyhow - thanks a lot for sharing this nice roadtrip with us. Fantastic and enjoyable story and photos.

 

May I ask how much the cost of the bike was? And how is the general price level in Vietnam compared to Thailand?

How to get a 90 day visa to Vietnam?

 

 

[jerome2]

Great fotos thanks