From North to South : Road-trip on the Vietnamese roads

For this trip in the Viet's counrty, our program is both wonderful and challenging, as intense as short: 2000 km in 20 days, let's go for the Vietnam's crossing by motorcycle!

Our objective is simple: reaching Ho Chi Minh (the south), from Hanoi (the north). If it's easy on paper, we are about to discover that we need to develop many other qualities than the simple driving of a two-wheeler or an excellent organization to complete such a trip.

Logistical aspects:

Going on an adventure is fun! But you have to be prepared! Here is our preparation in a few points :

Renting or buying ?

Choosing between renting and buying took us a lot of time and energy. We read many blog articles on the subject, the majority of them encouraging us to buy on the spot and then resell before our departure. However, both solutions have their advantages and disadvantages, which is why our heart was still swinging between the two when we went to the agency we had found on the Internet. Our strategy was then simple: to know the rental and purchase offers, in order to take a decision.

After a quick conversation with the manager, we decided to rent. The argument that made all the difference was the assistance he offered us. Neither of us having any mechanical skills, knowing that someone is available in one phone call reassured us a lot. We should not forget that we are leaving for a several thousands of kilometers road-trip, increasing the chances of having a break or a breakdown on the bike.

Rental agency: Phung Motorbike, Hanoi

The choice of the bike

Different types of two-wheelers were available: motorcycles, scooters, manual, semi-automatic or automatic, with different displacement levels. Although we had different opinions (Emeline wanted an automatic while Victor did not), we chose a manual Honda Win. Besides the fact that it's the cheapest proposal of the agency, it's also a resistant model and easy to repair.

The advantage of the automatic is that it's easier to drive, in a country where all our attention must be directed to the road.

Even after 9 months of world tour, we don't always agree on everything. But now, we excel in the art of compromise: Emeline doesn't feel like renting a manual motorcycle, because she doesn't have enough experience to ride safely in Vietnam... Very well, Victor will take care of the driving, Emeline of the photos and videos.

The price of the rental

The rental of the Honda Win for 20 days cost us 4 500 000 dôngs, so approximately 184 euros (9 euros per day).

Were included in the rental :

- Two helmets,

- A luggage rack (in addition to the one already present on the bike),

- Tensioners (to fix our bag on the luggage rack),

- A phone holder (and elastics to secure it),

- Oil to put regularly on the chain of the bike (every 300 km),

- Problems related to the natural use of the motorcycle,

- Telephone support service for any problems encountered with the motorcycle.

Not included in the rental:

- Oil changes (every 1000 km),

- Problems related to the misuse of the motorcycle,

- Flat tires.

What about our stuff?

Managing our backpacks was another logistical problem to solve. With two of us on the bike, it was not possible to fit two backpacks of about 11 to 15 kg on the luggage rack.

We thought of a solution weeks before we arrived in Vietnam, and having family livig in the countrythere was very useful. We simply sent one of our backpacks by post to our arrival point, at Victor's cousin's house. It cost us 13 euros and it arrived in 6 days (instead of the 10 days announced at the time of the sending). It allowed us to travel light, and even if she didn't tell us, the bike thanks us!

Not everyone is lucky enough to have family in the south or north of Vietnam, but the customer service is quite good in the country and any hotel will be happy to receive your stuff, if you stay at least one night with them.

Our global itinerary

The main objective of our road-trip is to reach the city of Ho Chi Minh, from the capital, Hanoi. Concretely, it means to cover more than 2700 km in 20 days and to spend a lot of time on the bike!

The choice of the itinerary was made naturally, the geography of the country not offering a multitude of solutions. We had to choose at some moments between the coastal road and the mountain road, more inland. The mountain is and remains our favorite terrain so the choice was quickly made!

Finally, we planned stops at some key points, such as natural places (Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Ke Bàng National Park...), or exceptional cities (Hué, Hoi An, Dalat...). Crossing the country from north to south also means going through less enjoyable steps and endless roads (since we have not yet mastered the art of teleportation).

The tragedy of this adventure is that it will never end, at least not on the motorcycle. A mishap will lead us to take a bus for the last 300 kilometers, between Dalat and Ho Chi Minh. And so, instead of the 20 days initially planned, we will spend only 13 days on a motorcycle.

Here is a picture of the itinerary of these 13 days on the road:

The life of a motorcycle road-trip

The first kilometers

The motorcycle is loaded, we are in saddle, a first blow of gas pedal, the machine is launched. It is 7 o'clock in the morning, we begin our road-trip in motorcycle. The enthusiasm of the discovery and the exaltation of the challenge make us almost forget the apprehension of the road.

The exercise of the road-trip, we know it well: 3000 km in 16 days on the west coast of the United States, followed by Slovenia, Albania then Croatia. The long hours on the road and the accumulation of fatigue are largely compensated by the beauty of the landscapes and by the freedom of movement that having your own means of transportation provides.

Nevertheless, this time, the exercise differs in that it will be done by motorcycle. There too, we do not leave without a certain experience: we rented many two-wheelers during our adventures, for one day or two only, to go around an island or to discover the countryside around the big cities. Riding for 20 days, crossing a country from North to South, with a manual motorcycle, is a different story, a real challenge that we share in this article.

The first step, one of the most important, familiarizes us with what will be our daily life during the next days: irregular roads with drivers disrespectful of the rules (not to say of the others), a blazing sun, dust, lack of road signs, backache, pain in the buttocks... Good for us, the rain spares us for this time!

It's also during the first kilometers that we get familiar with the bike. The gear shifting is more and more fluid as kilometers go by. 80 km/h at the maximum of its power, that's fine, the roads are most of the time limited to 60 km/h. This gives us enough time to enjoy the landscapes and to discover the local life, far from the big cities.

Landscapes & Local life

If the crossing of Vietnam lends itself so well to the exercise of road-trip, it's because of the beauty of its landscapes and the scenic aspect of the local life. We discover with exaltation the effervescence of the cities and the simple life of the countryside. The green rice fields, the majestic mountains, the blue reflections of the sea...

We see the farmers, water up to their knees, sowing or organizing their rice plant, the fishermen leaving for the sea at the first light of the day, the children playing in front of their house, the fruit and vegetable sellers doing business, the dogs taking a nap on the road (it's up to us to avoid them).

In the north, the rice dries on the road, in front of the field or in front of the houses, momentarily replacing the lane usually occupied by shoes and motorcycles. The rice is spread out lengthwise, leaving just enough room for a car. The farmer, for his part, watches carefully, rakes or sweeps, recovering the smallest grain of rice blown by the wind.

As we go down towards the south, the rice disappears and leaves its place to chili, sugar cane, beans, shrimps and fish. To the rice fields, are added the plantations of tea and coffee, corn and guavas. We pass by an inactive volcano, which suprise us with its multiple squares of different colors. Each available surface is used for the cultures. Towards Dalat, the plantations of dragon fruits abound.

In each village we pass through, we are greeted by a concert of surprised glances, smiles, hand or head signs. People seem happy to see us and that makes us very happy. Spontaneously, the locals stop, ask us where we come from, where we are going, orient us. The communication in English is not obvious, very few people understand, even less are able to answer. Victor did not forget all his Vietnamese notions, and it helps us a lot!

The rhythm

If, in some countries, adapting to the local rhythm is not of great importance, the question of rhythm was, for us, central in Vietnam. The Vietnamese get up early, and eat their breakfast right away. They do not have lunch later than noon and have dinner around 6:30 - 7:00 pm.

If you don't respect this rhythm, you run the risk of having only some chips for lunch or dinner, especially in the countryside. The reason is simple: they cook a certain stock of food that they sell. When this stock is finished, they have nothing left to offer you.

In this case, you just have to find a more expensive restaurant that cooks on demand. The problem is that small mountain villages do not usually have this type of restaurant.

The second adjustment, in line with the first, is the nap time. Between 1 and 3 pm, it is difficult to find a store open in the countryside. And again, we've also seen clinics close in the city during nap time. This is important to take into account in order to be better organized.

Pass the few discomforts of the first days, we quickly got used to it and even ended up enjoying this rhythm.

Nothing comes without a price

Riding for hours under a blazing sun in order to see the most beautiful landscapes and to meet the local population is not a restful exercise.

After a few hours on the bike, our bodies can't take it anymore. We squirm in a vain attempt to find a position that will relieve us. The only solution is to get off the bike for a few minutes, at best, a few seconds, to regain the momentary use of our legs. This seems to be as painful as it is soothing at first. And yet, we know that when the pain appears, it is only the beginning. At the start of our adventure, we hoped fervently that our bodies would get used to it, saying to ourselves to comfort us: "it's just about the first three days, it will get better afterwards". Well no, even after the first three days, it did not go better.

No matter, we go back on the bike, knowing pertinently that the pain will present itself again in some minutes, animated, this time of only one idea: to finish as fast as possible for the day. Relief is felt at the end of each step. The last minutes are always the longest, seeming to stretch out and last for hours.

In addition to the pain, we are exposed directly to the elements. The blazing sun is the hardest to bear, burning every exposed body part. We bought gloves to protect Victor's hands, while Emeline did the whole crossing with her hooded jacket on her back.

The rain, welcome, allows us to refresh ourselves. Until it slowly infiltrates our shoes and makes the road slippery. It's especially on the last days, in the mountain, that we dread it.

But in the long run, we learn to move forward with the weather, we learn not to wish for rain when we are too hot, nor hope for sunshine when our shoes are wet. We learn to anticipate the pains of our bodies, to endure them, to bear them and finally, to no longer feel them. We learn to focus our attention on the beauty of the landscape, on the faces we meet on our way and already, the pain becomes a little more bearable.

Police corruption

The most frustrating thing for us was the police checkpoint. If we met several of them, we were really stopped twice. The first time, the circumstances were against us, we were driving at 62km/h in a 50km/h zone. This was our first infraction. Moreover, you have to know that the French driving license and the international driving license are not valid in Vietnam. To be in order, you need a Vietnamese driving license. It is thus our second offence.

In addition to these two offences, there is a third one: the absence of the vehicle's papers, the renter having kept them for fear of an attempted theft. Obviously, we understand it, these three offences make the amount of the fine rise, which turns out indeed, rather high if we consider that we are in Vietnam: 3 million dôngs (approximately 120€). What we like less, it is the attitude of the police, who refuses to give us a ticket, who immobilizes us until we pay, in cash. It is there that the corruption begins: seeing our perplexed faces, the policeman says to us very calmly that if we give him 1 million, he will be willing let us leave immediately. We know very well how it works in Vietnam, the corruption of the authorities is not a surprise for anybody, nevertheless it is always a step to cross, to manage to negotiate the price of its fine. We will pay 600 000 dongs (24€) to have the right to ride again. It is more expensive than what a Vietnamese would have paid for these offences, of course, but it is still quite correct.

We met the police very often, but we were only stopped once after this experience. That time, we only had to remove our helmets so that the police officer could see that we were foreigners. He then let us go straight away. No desire to bother speaking English or generosity towards tourists? We choose to believe in the second option! It is necessary to say also, that, contrary to the first time, we were not in violation.

An unexpected end of the trip

The thirteenth day of our road-trip, a torrential rain falls on us. We are soaked, our feet are bathing in the water of our shoes. We still have several hours to ride, so we swap our hiking shoes for our sandals. It is not very careful, we know it and that is why we did not do it earlier. We start the mountain road between Buon Ma Thuot and Dalat. 207 kilometers later, we arrive in Dalat, where we go directly to the hospital. Two hours ago, when we were about 100 kilometers from Dalat, the motorcycle in front of us signaled to turn left, before finally turning right, sending us to the ditch. The locals helped us to get up, to disinfect our feet and legs and to straighten our motorcycle. The biker involved in this story? No trace of him anymore...

Our wounds are light, a stitch for Victor and a tetanus shot are enough to put us back on our feet. As for the motorcycle, it is still running despite its twisted handlebars and its broken headlight. Thanks to it, we could ride the last 100 kilometers to Dalat.

Nevertheless, the accumulated tiredness, the emotional elevator of these last days, and the state of the motorcycle, decide us to choose the way of safety: we take a bus for the capital, Ho Chi Minh, the next day. The motorcycle will follow us in a truck.

The end word

An adventure, a real one! This is the feeling that this incredible road-trip leaves us. It is what we have been looking for for months: a journey that we enjoy and that we dread at the same time, that teaches us as much as it tests us.

To leave for the unknown, to trace our own road, to discover remote and wild places, to communicate with people through smiles and sign language, this is the first reason that inspired us to take our backpacks, more than one year ago. And then, what a feeling of freedom to have been able to travel all this way by motorcycle.

Of course, this adventure doesn't have the end we were hoping for. But life is not without danger and these are the moments that make us realize that everything can end much too soon. This is also one of the reasons that motivated us to explore the world!