Day 27 - Sunday, December 1 Distance - ~1700 kms = 2 hrs (flight from HCMC to Hanoi) Trip Odometer = 3291 kms (Total for trip on bikes) Route - Up, up and away. Flight from HCMC to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines Hotel - Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel ($80 US) Weather - Sunny, warm and amazing.
With our route through the northern loop and then slowly south through Vietnam, we managed to ride 3291 km in total. It was an incredible adventure that I would highly recommend to anyone. Yes, the traffic and roads in Vietnam are crazy, but at the same time there are areas that are truly breathtaking. My advice - take your time... smell the roses, ride slow, make good decisions, cross your fingers, pray, and enjoy.
Below is our final route which includes our tracks through Ha Long Bay at the beginning of the trip. We had a Spot GPS tracker which worked ok, but at times the tracking function seemed to lag therefore there are some straight-lined sections of our route tracking. Below is a quick screen-shot of the route, but you can click on the link below the map to zoom into the map itself for more detailed route information.
It was a no-brainer decision to fly back to Hanoi versus taking the train. It wasn't much more money and the flight was about 2 hours in duration (at a total of under $50/each for the flight).
We arrived back to Hanoi safe-and-sound and took a taxi to the Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel which we pre-booked before arrival. We decided to stay somewhere different for our last couple of days in Hanoi and we chose well. The Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel was a fair bit pricer than our last stay in Hanoi, but it was an excellent hotel with top-notch customer service and a fantastic breakfast which is included in the room price.
Amanda and I then made our way over to the Flamingo Travel Office to pick up our cash deposit that we put on the bikes before our trip. It was there waiting for us as were our drivers licenses from BC that we also left with the rental agency. I really shopped around with a bunch of the rental agencies in Hanoi and was very pleased with Flamingo. I would recommend setting everything up in advance therefore you will be set to go upon arrival.
They have a huge selection of bikes which are listed on their website above, and here are a few examples on the sign below that is posted in their Hanoi office. If you rent 'long term', all of their prices are negotiable and they provided us with a great rate on both bikes, repair kits, tubes and a cell phone for emergencies. (I will go into greater detail with bike costs etc. in a final summary a few posts from now).
They had this shiny new CRF 250 L parked right in front of their Hanoi Office (below):
We enjoyed our time being back in Hanoi at the end of our trip. We shopped around for Xmas gifts for family and to pick up a few things for ourselves. We sat in cafes, watched Hanoi life-go-by and we relaxed. We did have to hunt around Hanoi for a large duffel bag as we had acquired a few things on the trip and didn't have room in the small luggage we originally brought with us. I managed to find a nice roller duffel for about $30, the guy was originally asking $120 - and it was perfectly suitable for us to load up for our trip home.
Hoan Kiem Lake - in Hanoi's Old Quarter (above):
Similarly to my video in HCMC at the corner bar, I decided to shoot a quick video of the traffic in Hanoi from a roof-top cafe. Again, no traffic lights and no rhyme-or-reason... people just go in the direction they want to go and they make it work. Look closely for people walking and bicycling through the chaos. Amazing. Video below:
We made sure to stop at Bun Bo Nam Bo - one of our favourite restaurants in Hanoi's Old Quarter. It was cheap and SO delicious. (For x2 bowls of Bun Bo, and x2 beers, it was under $7 US) I also recommend trying the banana-leaf-wrapped tofu (can't remember the Vietnamese name). Delicious.
We arrived back in Hanoi in the early afternoon of December 1 and our flight out of the country was December 2 at 11:35pm. The Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel was very accommodating to us. We checked out of our lovely room on Dec 2 after breakfast. After shopping around Hanoi, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon relax and they had another room set up for us for the afternoon/early evening before our departure. We were able to relax, shower and use the room for a few hours before our airport shuttle.
The next post will include photos of our final day in Hanoi in addition to our stopover in Seoul, Korea.
Day 26 - Saturday, November 30 Distance - 205 kms = total for day ~ 7 hrs Trip Odometer = 3291 kms (Total for trip) Route - Hwy #1 west of Mui Ne (through Phan Thiet) into District 1 - Ho Chi Minh City! Hotel - Bich Duyen Hotel ($17 US) Weather - Excellent. Sunny and hot.
Last Day on the road in Vietnam.
Bitter sweet.
We were up and at 'em at 5 am and on the road before 6. It was a cool morning leaving Mui Ne and as we were pulling out of the resort town, the sun was slowly coming up. We had a beautiful first few hours of riding. It was busy at times and more relaxed at other times traveling along the #1. The road was similar as we had sections that were somewhat narrower, and other sections that were quite wide with big open shoulders with tons of room to pass which was a nice treat. With that, we had the angry truck traffic and buses with their big, angry-loud horns. The local mini-buses were the most aggressive and the worst when it came to passing. These drivers would pull out to pass lines and lines of semi trucks coming in either direction, they didn't seem to care. It was amazing to watch it and unnerving to be right in the mix of it all.
Above: This girl had a duck in the pink bag. I was hoping the duck would pose for the camera, but it was being shy.
The Vietnam map book showed a HUGE highway off-shoot in bright yellow that looked like a main artery into the city with a direct route. As we got close to this area, I looked left and could see that this route was under construction and would probably take years to finish. Instead, we had to travel through the area of Bien Hoa (outskirts of HCMC) before heading into the full-dizzy-crazyness of Ho Chi Minh City. Embracing it's 9 million people was fun to say the least.
As we got deeper and deeper into the city, the traffic intensified and became more and more congested. It was manageable for the most part, and we both kept our wits and focused on our riding skills obtained over the month of being in Vietnam. I had booked our hotel in the backpackers area of HCMC and knew we had to get into 'Quan 1' or District 1 of the city. This was fairly easy. My GPS showed that we were entering District 1 and then I had to narrow it down even further to our exact location. Rather than fighting the traffic and weaving in and out of streets, I figured if we pulled over, got some WiFi, loaded Google Maps, we would have a much easier time finding our hotel. I pulled into a small parking lot that had a huge 'Travel Office' sign and figured this would be a decent enough place to get WiFi and maybe some help. Well, what happened next was incredible. A young woman was just getting off work and her husband was there to pick her up on a scooter (remember, HCMC has about 9 million people and almost as many moto-scoots). He suggested we follow him as he knew the area so we agreed to follow him. I tried to tell him to take it slow as he jetted out of the parking lot. I then told Amanda to keep on the throttle to keep up... it was intense. We eventually arrived to a small alleyway as our pilot guide hopped off his scoot and started walking down to double check. He pointed down this alley and told us to ride our bikes right in (although it was barely wide enough for foot traffic). This young couple was a saving grace for taking us out of their way and I offered him some money for helping us. He refused the money and said in perfect english, 'Vietnamese people are known for their hospitality'. I gave him a man-hug and highfive and thanked him profusely for helping us out.
We negotiated our bikes down the alley and arrived at our <almost> final destination of the Bich Duyen Hotel. Amanda and I had a good huge hug with some loud 'WE MADE IT!' and 'WE ARE ALIVE!' We were greeted with enthusiasm from the young man at the front desk and we started unloading our bikes. Amanda wanted to head up to our room for a shower, but I said we should stay in our sweaty clothes as we were not quite finished our work for the day. We still had our final challenge... to find Flamingo Travel's HCMC office and to drop the bikes.
We were both very ready to be finished with the ride, but we still had to drop the bikes at Flamingo and the company could them ship them back to Hanoi (which was included in our agreed upon rental price). I wasn't really excited about navigating more of the city, but knew it had to be done. I showed the uber eager front desk Flamingo's address, and he said it was easy to find... he came into the alley, pointed down and said, 'Continue down the alley to the end, turn left, ride down a couple hundred meters and it'll be there on the right'. Wow and wow. It WAS that close and THAT easy. We couldn't believe it. We were thrilled. The Flamingo Travel HCMC office was literally right there... we couldn't have booked a better, closer hotel (and at a GREAT price of $17/night for a double w/private bathroom).
Excellent!
It took us just about 1-2 minutes to get to the Flamingo Office and I immediately started taking my GPS mount off the bike. The guy at the office called the Hanoi office and put me on the phone with the woman we booked the bikes through. She originally told me that our cash deposit for the bikes was to be waiting for us in the HCMC office but she knew we were flying back to Hanoi the following day on the plane (she also booked these flights for us). She told us we could pick the deposit up the next day in Hanoi upon arrival. We also 'donated' our helmets to Flamingo Travel. Seeing that we bought them in Hanoi, we thought we might be able to sell them, but instead, we just added them to the pile of helmets in their office... hopefully a couple of fellow Canucks will be able to appreciate the flags on the back.
We had our thumbs-up-high-fives with these gents, had one final look at our trusty bikes that we became quite close to and we started walking in the opposite direction back to the hotel. It was a weird feeling, walking away from the bikes after 3291 km with them, but equally, it was a great feeling of accomplishment and success. Our travel adventure wasn't quite over, but with the bikes, in the chaotic traffic of Vietnam, it was over.
Nice custom bike above...
The first thing I did when I got back to the Bich Duyen Hotel was shoot a picture of my Travel Log that I had been keeping. I was meticulous in documenting the trip for myself and for ADV Rider once we got home. (I also plan to write a final summary at the end of this RR with more detailed information on hotel costs, trip costs etc.)
My chicken-scratch Travel Log of our little scoot trip through Vietnam
Our afternoon was super chill. After showers and a relax, we found a smoothie shop where we ordered up a couple of fresh-fruit smoothies and then we went and sat in the adjacent park and watched HCMC life-go-by. Later in the day, after walking around the backpackers area of District 1, we found a perfect spot for a couple of beers and another welcomed relax. Amanda and I both really enjoyed people watching and relaxing during our only afternoon in the city. We parked our butts at a corner-bar perfect for our viewing pleasure. I decided to shoot another video with my phone and included it below. Notice how many bikes go by with more than x2 people... some with 3 and I think you'll notice a bike with x4 at one point making the corner. Also, notice that this 4 way intersection doesn't have any traffic lights, and people just go.... truly amazing how it all 'works'. Enjoy.
After beers at the corner bar, it was time to find some eats. We took a peddy-cab (pedal bike with cart) ride to the city centre and took the elevator up one of the higher buildings. We both figured we deserved $7 cocktails with a view.
We went to the Nha Hang Ngon restaurant which was pumped-up in the Lonely Planet. It was an excellent choice. The menu had pretty much any style of 'street-food' you could imagine with various cooks working at stations around the circumference of the establishment. The price were good, the food was delicious and the ambiance was perfect for our one and only dinner in HCMC.
We had booked a flight at the beginning of our trip from HCMC back north to Hanoi for our final couple of nights. I was originally interested in taking the train from HCMC to Hanoi as I love trains, but after further research, this wasn't the way to travel. Turns out, the painful trail journey is over 32 hours north and the ticket is about $40 for a higher class cabin. Our one-way flights from HCMC to Hanoi were about $50/each and took a grand total of 2 hours on a jet... kind of a no-brainer decision (as much as I love trains).
We were looking forward to travelling back up to Hanoi where our trip started. I had booked a plush hotel for our final x2 nights and we were both looking forward to Hanoi as we really enjoyed it from the start.
Day 25 - Friday, November 29 Distance - 187 kms = total for day ~ 6 hrs Trip Odometer = 3086 kms Route - South of Dalat on Hwy #20 to Di Linh then south on #28 to #1 to Mui Ne = Beach! Hotel - Mui Ne Backpackers Hostel ($35 US) Weather - EXCELLENT! Warm and sun-sun-sunny! SO nice! NO RAIN!!!!! Great visibility, high spirits and dry-dry-dry! (Stoked about the good weather if you haven't noticed).
Our second to last day of riding in Vietnam was a well deserved day for the both of us. The weather was incredible for once, with no rain and warm, sunny skies. The road south of Dalat was somewhat busy as it was a main thoroughfare on Hwy #20 eventually linking to HCMC. We rode this for a couple of hours and quickly turned off onto the more rural Hwy #28 which was excellent.
Above: Amanda enjoying her favourite coffee-break-sugary-goodness... essentially a green-tea-iced-tea cold drink.
Above: coffee beans drying in front of residences and businesses alike along highway 20 south of Dalat. It was a perfect elevation for coffee, cooler nights with warm days.
Road-side dump along the #28, plastic blowing everywhere, surprised we didn't bump into one of these sooner.
Another kilometre down the road from the dump and we encountered lush, arid terracing and more pine forests.
We were very impressed with the riding along the #28. We had the road virtually to ourselves with fun twisties, finally with dry roads and excellent riding conditions. It reminded us of the roads in the northern loop of Vietnam with the addition of these pine forests and lush landscapes. At times, the vegetation would open up and we were provided with excellent views of the rolling landscapes. We didn't stop to take too many photos, but we did stop to shoot one video with my iPhone. The new iPhone has a Slo-Mo feature that we tried for the first time... a cool feature on the phone that you could have some fun with: Check it out below:
After a few hours of the amazing highway #28, we eventually linked back up with the busy #1 and then backtracked slightly along the #706 into the coastal resort town of Mui Ne. It was nice returning to the coast with the warm, sunny conditions.
Checking out a left-hand surf break with a few surfers in the water. Surprising as it was all blown out and windy, good for them for hitting the water and catching the little 2 footer waves.
Turns out that Mui Ne is the 'mellower' beach resort area in comparison to Nha Trang. Equally though, we started seeing our fare share of information and signs in Russian as we worked our way to the Mui Ne Backpackers Hotel. We were lucky to book the hostel in advance as it was very busy upon arrival. Unlike Nha Trang, Mui Ne has harder to find options for budget accommodation due to it's size, but it has a plethora of beach-style resorts ranging in price from high to higher.
We checked into the hostel/hotel, showered up, and then headed next door to grab a beer and some food. Mui Ne is a hot-spot for kite boarding and wind surfing as the winds are consistent most afternoons. We sat back and enjoyed the live sports-action from our beach bar restaurant seats. After lunch, we walked down the beach for a relax, but with the wind blowing so hard, we opted only to sit for 20 min or so, or until our pockets were filled with sand.
Our evening was mellow as we started reflecting on the trip and the past 3+ weeks on the road which led us here. We had a good meal at one of the many resort restaurants complete with live music and hefty cocktails. It was then back to the hotel for an early night and a brainstorm session coming up with a rough game plan for our final day of riding.
We were both somewhat nervous and anxious for our final push into HCMC. It had been quite some time since we were leaving the hectic pace of Hanoi in the north and we had heard that HCMC was way worse with around 9 million people and with (equally as many) ~7 million motorbikes! Crazy.
We had planned for a very early wake up at 5 am to get us on the road before 6 am. I wanted to leave as much time as possible for us to navigate our way into the city to our hotel. We were also faced with the task of dropping our bikes in the afternoon at the Flamingo Travel's HCMC office.
We weren't sure what to expect for the following day, but we wanted to get a good sleep and to get our game-faces on for what was to be a crazy day rolling into the dizzying chaos of Vietnam's largest city...
