Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City Motorbike Trip: January 2014

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Day 16 - Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

I woke up at 7am and had free breakfast at the hostel. They had something on the menu called soup and sausage. It was ramen with cut up hot dogs in it. I was hoping to get phở, but had no such luck.

I brought my motorbike to the train station and sent it to Hanoi for 860,000 VND. Then I walked to Ben Thanh market and bought some gifts for my friends back in Hanoi. That evening I took a cab to the airport and flew back to Hanoi.

There were terrible delays at the airport because everyone was trying to get home after the Lunar New Year’s Holiday (Tet Holiday). My flight was delayed 3 hours.

It was great that I had lived in Vietnam for 1 year before I took this trip. I was able to speak basic Vietnamese and that helped a lot. I was worried that people wouldn't be able to understand my accent because I speak with a Hanoian accent. That wasn’t an issue. The only people who couldn’t understand me were the oblivious ones who just don’t expect a foreigner to speak Vietnamese. There are plenty of them in north Vietnam too. The vast majority of people could understand me. That was comforting. Also, I was familiar with the driving and my bike. This allowed me to focus on other aspects of safety and I had less surprises on the road.

The scariest part of the trip was when oncoming busses would force me off the road. It seemed like the bus drivers really didn’t care if they killed me. I would be riding at highway speed and I’d have to slow down and get onto the gravel shoulder as the oncoming bus passed by within a few feet. It happened around 10 times on the trip. It’s really unfortunate that that happens. I felt angry at the busses that they would endanger my life by driving crazy. It’s totally unnecessary.

Overall, the trip was great. It was awesome to see Vietnam. I went back and fourth from the coast to the central highlands several times. I think that was a good choice because I enjoyed a variety of scenery. The weather got better and better as I went from north to south, so I’m glad I went in that direction. It was a good time of year to take the trip.

I didn’t plan or expect to perform on guitar all across Vietnam. It happened completely organically and it was really inspirational to me to realize that it was possible. I promised myself to keep performing.

I broke my sandals in Da Lat, so all together, I lost 2 pairs of shoes.

Getting the motorbike washed

At the Saigon train station

Preparing the motorbike for shipping

Dog in a chair

Day 15 - Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh City - 301km

In the morning I went to the beach in Mui Ne and found a lot of cool shells. I collected them with the intention to give them to my students back in Hanoi as gifts. Shells are usually my favorite thing about beaches. I like to look at their various shapes and colors. Each one is different so I could give each of my students a unique gift without showing favoritism.

While I was sitting on the beach I was approached by a Vietnamese family from Saigon and they asked me to come join them. I started talking to them and the father asked me if I wanted to date his daughter. I said “not really.” They told me I should meet with them in Saigon because they were going there later that day but I didn’t get their phone number.

After the beach I went back to the hotel, washed the shells, packed up, and paid for my room (200,000 VND). I was riding out of the city and I saw some Scottish girls who I had met in Da Lat. They were walking and I pulled up next to them to say hello. They asked if I wanted to join them for lunch and I did. They had seen me play guitar at V Cafe.

After we had lunch and said goodbye it was about 12:30pm so I wanted to get moving. I wanted to get to Saigon before it got dark.

I took the coastal road and it was beautiful. It wasn’t my favorite road only because it wasn’t matched to my bike. My motorbike was a little underpowered to fully appreciate the road. There were a lot of straight stretches and the turns were quite gradual. If I had been able to go faster, it would have been more exciting.

I rode to Vung Tau and ran up the hill to get my picture with the Jesus statue and say a prayer that I would make it to Ho Chi Minh CIty safely.

The road to Saigon got more and more urban and at the same time it got dark. My cell phone battery was getting low so I didn’t want to check the map too much. Consequently I took a roundabout way to the city center and it got a bit hectic. I rode parallel to the city for about 30 minutes; not getting any closer to my destination.

When I finally reached the city, I felt happy that I had made it there safely. On the way into town I drove past a grand opening for a McDonald’s. There were thousands of people, live DJ’s, and tons of crowd control security. It was a huge event.

I rode to the train station and asked if I could send my bike to Hanoi. They said no because it was too late. I would have to come back the next day.

I went to the Saigon Backpacker Hostel. I checked in. It was $8 per night. I met a group of 24 young Christian activists from the US who were attending art school in Germany. They were in Saigon to protest the human trafficking, prostitution, and child prostitution that goes on in Saigon. It was cool to talk to them and listen to them prepare to go out at night and do their activist activities. They were planning to protest on the streets with spoken word poetry, guitar performance, and other forms of art. They also planned to paint graffiti tags at 3am. They were so intense. It sounded like they were planning a sting operation on an international crime syndicate. It was interesting to see the interplay between the issues of Christianity, Vietnam, human trafficking, prostitution, and activism.

I showered in the hostel and then went out to look for the activists but they weren’t in the place where they had said they would be. I had fun walking around the streets. I talked to 5 groups of people. I had a good chat with some German and French tourists. I got a picture taken with 2 hot girls.

I went back to the hostel at 12:30am. I was really tired and had sunburn on the back of my neck.

Mui Ne beach

Dad of the family from Saigon with a jellyfish

Jellyfish

Playing with a jellyfish

Riding next to the coast

Vietnamese poster in Phan Thiet

Crossing a bridge in Phan Thiet

Next to a cow

Beef pho

Boat in a river

Vung Tao Jesus statue

Vung Tao

Flowers at Vung Tao

Banh Bao snack next to the highway at dusk

Saigon train station

Destination reached

Saigon girls

Day 14 - Da Lat to Mui Ne - 226km

In the morning I met up with Ramses, Koon, Gregory, and Oakar. We all had plans to ride motorbikes together to go see waterfalls. The 4 guys rented motorbikes and we took off out of town riding toward Elephant Waterfall.

We got about 5 kilometers out of town and Gregory went too fast on a dirt road. An oncoming bike caused him to swerve and he lost control and crashed. He cut his arm and his leg. Luckily, I had my first air kit. I administered first aid for his cuts. I cleaned, put antibiotic ointment on, and bandaged them. He decided to ride back to Da Lat. Oakar volunteered to ride back with him.

Ramses, Koon, and I continued to Elephant Waterfall. We took pictures and relaxed. It was a nice place to visit.

We rode on toward Pongour Waterfall. When we reached the main highway, Koon and Ramses decided to ride back to Da Lat instead of riding all the way to Pongour Waterfall and then returning to Da Lat when it was dark. We said goodbye and parted ways.

I had a lot of ground to cover to reach Mui Ne. I said goodbye to Koon and Ramses and took off. I went to Pongour waterfall and it was really beautiful. I was glad I took the detour to go see it. I took off my shoes and walked in the water.

I was aiming for Mui Ne but I ended going to Phan Thiet. On the way I rode the best road of the entire trip. It was about 50 kilometers of winding road that went through the jungle and gradually down in elevation. It was a great road for motorcycle riding. I saw very few other vehicles. On both sides of the road there were walls of jungle. The road was constantly turning, changing direction, and going up and down. It was a great opportunity to practice turing and finding the perfect balance between speed, balance, and lean. Towards the end of that stretch of road I was completely in the zone. I felt the road and the bike, heard the engine and the wheels, and saw the road ahead of me. All my senses were focused and every part of me and the bike were working together to slay the road. I almost ran out of gas, so I rode with the engine off as the road was all downhill. Then I could hear the jungle; birds, bugs, animals, and I was more aware of the presence of so many plants.

When I came out of the thick jungle and onto the the plains, I bought a little gas from a lady at a shack. It got dark and I ended up riding another hour after dark before reaching Phan Thiet.

I rode through the town of Phan Thiet and on to Mui Ne. I got a hotel near the beach and met an American couple who were about the same age as my parents and were on vacation. I chatted with them for about an hour. Then I went down the street and ate fried rice for dinner. I was mistaken for a Russian tourist at the restaurant. One of the waitresses started speaking to me in Russian. After dinner I headed to bed.

Gregory after his accident

Nice weather outside Da Lat

Koon

Koon cruising

Koon

On the road

Central highlands

Two cats

Countryside cats

Elephant waterfall

Pongour Waterfall

My shadow

Gatting gas

Dog and cat

Day 13 - Da Lat

I went on a canyoning tour. Ramses, Koon, and Paul also joined the tour. In the morning, we took a van to a random spot on the highway outside Da Lat and walked into the pine forest. They taught us how to rappel using ropes and harnesses. Then we went to a small “rock slide” in a river. It was a 20ft rapid where water flowed across big, smooth rocks. We put on helmets and lifejackets. We slid down the rock slide on our backs, headfirst. It’s a crazy idea. The first time I tried it, I smashed my lower back into a rock and it was bruised for 3 weeks. It hurt!

On the next rock slide I banged my leg into a rock. The third time I went, I hit my butt on a rock. I thought the whole rock sliding thing was painful and not much fun.

Then we went to a 20-foot waterfall and rappelled down the waterfall. It was fun, but pretty straightforward. Next, we went to a 30-foot waterfall that had a lot of water flowing over it. On this one we rappelled into the water so we got hit with the falling water as we rappelled. It was exciting.

Paul, form England was hit with a lot of water and got smashed against the rock wall. He tried to stand up but the water kept hitting him and knocking him over so it took him a while to get on his feet. It was intense.

We ate lunch in the sun on a big rock near the waterfall we had rappelled down. After lunch we went cliff jumping. It was a 30-foot cliff. I jumped off the cliff twice.

Then we rappelled down another waterfall called The Washing Machine. So named because you rappel into a huge stream of water in a narrow rock channel. It pours tons of water on you and you are pulled down below the surface and down the waterfall. Then you let go of the rope and it washes you out at the bottom. It feels like you’re in a washing machine.

I wore the water shoes that Mrs. An had given me in Hoi An. I thought they would be great for canyoning because they were designed for water, but they were too big so they were constantly being swept off my feet by the current. It was annoying.

After the tour I returned to the hostel and rested for bit. Then I went to the Crazy House in Da Lat with a few guys from the hostel. The crazy house was interesting to explore and it had a nice view of the town of Da Lat.

We walked to the Da Lat market and looked for food and souvenirs. Then we returned to the hostel. I went to V Cafe and played guitar. I played 4 or 5 songs. I was with a guy from he hostel named Benson.

We went to the hostel and played drinking games with the guests there. I showed them how to play a card game called Drunk Driver. After that we went to a bar that had a lot of backpackers. It was a fun, high energy scene.