Vietnam

16/04/2026

The day had come, it was time to get a bike. I had been debating this over and over, but in the end decided I'm just going to do it. If I want to see this country there is simply no other option. I already had extensive talks with Phung Motorcycles on WhatsApp about my plan, and they were adamant that on a 50cc I would have no problem with police, but anything bigger and I would have big problems with police. It seems being pulled over is accepted as it's going to happen regardless.

I headed to the bike shop and arrived at 10am, only to discover it was shut. Well this is a great start I thought. They said they would be open at 8am. I decided to waste time by having a Mango smoothy at a shop not far away, and when I returned, they were thankfully open. I walked in, and they knew exactly who I was. "My boss say ou want 50cc scooter" he said. "Yes" I responded.

He opened the web page and showed me a couple of options for rent. I also noticed one of the bikes he wanted to rent me was $US10 per day ($US400 + $US300 deposit) or they had it for sale at $US350. I told him, "I just buy this one". He said ok, and told me to come back in an hour. He said they had to get it from the warehouse. It's a Chinese copy of the popular Honda 50, but with 50 additional cc's in it, I'm up for it.

After another mango smoothy I jumped on a grab and headed to a decent helmet store in old town. The helmet cost me $VND650,000 ($AUD35) which is not too over the top foreigner, but good enough to give some decent protection. I have seen some people riding around in full face Arai helmets, and I certainly didn't want to be one of them. I also didn't want it to be stollen the first time I leave it on the bike. I wore the helmet out of the shop, and in an ironic twist the Grab turned up with the rider not wearing a helmet. This is the first Grab rider I have seen without a helmet and I told him wear the passenger helmet, but he ignored me.

Back at the bike shop my bike still hadn't turned up. He said that he came here with the bike, but then went away to get some parts for it. Oh well, at least they are trying to fix it a little bit!! After lots of small talk, the bike pulled up out the front with new tires on it. He said "I put new tires on" and I was wrapped about that. I briefly checked it over, the motor sounded sweet, and it all looked good. I have no idea if the gearbox, clutch, brakes, chain, and sprocket are any good, but he assured me it's "all 5 star".

He told me to check the oil every 1000kms, and showed me some basic maintenance. He also threw in some oil. I just played dumb and appreciated that he was making an effort to ensure I was happy. Then he went inside and gave me two luggage straps and the blue card that I need to ensure the bike is mine and is legit. The blue card reads 49cc.

The only thing left to do was pay. I pulled the credit card out and he was "no, no, no, cash". In WhatsApp his boss had stated I could pay credit card, and although I could see the credit card machine on the shelf, he said "we only cash". That pissed me off. "I'll give you cash if you give me a full tank of petrol" I said. He flipped through some cans lying around and said "I have no fuel"

The tank was containing vapours and I didn't want to have to deal with finding fuel, let alone my first ride back to the appartment through Hanoi. He said "fuel station not far. You will make it. I take you to ATM now". I jumped on the back of his bike and the first ATM he took me to didn't work. At the second ATM I could withdraw 3 lots of $VND3000000. He became very excited when it worked, exclaiming "money money money!". Withdrawing money like this cost me $AUD12 in fees, but I was now in the mindset of who cares. Lets get the bike and get out of here.

I shook his hand, sat on the bike, adjusted the mirrors, and took off. Hanoi here we come!! I constantly told myself to remember to always be on the right hand side. Unlike Australia Vietnam drive on the right. The bike seemed to go well, it wasn't too loud and seemed to have ok power, but the semi automatic gears took some getting used to. The guy at the bike shop had pinned the servo in Google maps, but I found maps difficult to work with as it wasn't clear about where I should turn, and when turning I was worried about other stuff.. like all the traffic coming at me!

At the servo, refueling was very easy because I just copied what everyone else was doing. I didn't have to talk to the attendant which was one of the issues I had when I did a fuel price check back in DaNang. However, filling up the bike is going to be an issue on my trip as I will have to remove my luggage, but I will just have to deal with that then.

The ride back to the appartment was easier than expected. I would have maxed out at around 40kph, and I think the bike will probably be maxed out at 60kph. We will see. I tried to nurse it and not push it, and actually enjoyed the slow pace, particularly because the brakes are no great stoppers.

It was surprisingly easy to ride in the kaios of Hanoi, although I did ride through one round about with my eyes shut. There were just so many vehicles and bikes going every which way, I just rode a straight line through it and everything seemed to work out. Turning left is also a challenge for the mind. You just have to cross the oncoming traffic while everyone goes around you. For my first 40 minutes on the bike I was pretty happy with my effort, although I did wonder how the hell am I going to ride such a small vehicle around Nam?

19/04/2026

It's that time. I've done all the prep, equiped the bike, bought some tools, packed it, put rain covers on, and now it's time to leave.

I checked out at 9am and hoped on the bike. Worried with the amount of weight onboard she took off ok, but second gear slipped a few times. I'm not sure whats going on there because all the other gears were fine. Power seemed pretty good, and I had set Google Maps to avoid motorways, so I wouldn't be going that fast. In forth gear she pulls along nicely at 45-50kms which is plenty for these roads.

Today I did 80kms in about 2.5 hours, so I think a target of 120kms is more than reasonable. Once I got out past Hanoi Airport it started pissing rain and I had to find somewhere to take shelter. Luckily I found a shut up shop and I camped under the veranda for an hour or so.

With the rain my hiking shoes became quite soaked and I didn't want them to get soaked through, so I swapped them with thongs. It was a smart move and when the puddles splashed up onto my feet, the water was warm, and I liked it.

The roads themselves were all pretty good with the odd section of dirt. The biggest downer is the phone holder. I'm running the GPS of it, and it's a real pain in the ass to disconnect it all just to take a photo. I tried taking some photos in the holder, but it's hopeless.

Now I'm out of Hanoi English signs have completely disappeared. I was open to stopping for lunch but I couldn't understand any of the signs. My plan was to have coffee at the Ho Nui Coc Lake, but all the coffee shops in this area seemed deserted. At Dai Phu, Thai Nguyen I fuelled up again and head back to Nam my van VND$315000 ($AU16) 8/10

When I arrived, I was at the neighbours property, and I walked into her house where she was lying on the couch. Yelling jibba jabba at me I held the phone up and she then got up and lead me to the right place. The host here has quite good English, but I can see it's going to be a problem along the way. Food is also going to be a problem. The entire day I didn't see any of the type of restaurants/cafes I am used to and I will just have to embrace eating like locals do.

20/04/2026

I loved the window in my room last night, just a shame it was a painting! The bed however, was the best I've had in Vietnam. This place is worth staying just for the bed! For dinner I ventured out and found a popular place serving different meats on rice. I gestured I would have the same as the last guy but once she put the base of rice down, she just looked at me blankly. I ended up just pointing to a bit of this and a bit of that. It didn't look anywhere near as good as the last guy, but it tasted pretty good.

The host was a lovely guy, and when I showed him my route to Ba Ba, he said don't go that way. Tigit Motorcycles had recommended my particular route, but he suggested this new route he showed me was much better, He said they had constructed a new road, and it was prettier and better. "Like the Giang" he said. Immediately I changed my mind and took his suggestion on board. If it's like the much raved about Giang loop then this would be a great test for my little mule.

Google did what it does and took me out of town in a direction that seemed totally confusing. Before I left, he gave me a 1L water bottle and told me I would need to fill this with fuel as the distance was vast. That advice was a bit OTT, but I stopped at the servo where the guy had no problem filling a water bottle with fuel. I was just amazed. If you tried this in Australia they would probably call the police.

It wasn't long and I passed a really pretty lake, and I liked it even more when I saw the statue that watched over it. I couldn't help but think, was this the artists take on what a woman should really be? Maybe it was Gods way of telling me I shouldn't be so derogatory to women, because in having this thought I was about to learn why you don't ride with no proper shoes. As I took off my middle toe ploughed into a rock. The toe nail stayed on, but blood seeped from it on all sides. How excellent, now my right foot matched my already mangled left foot.

After a lot of swearing I decided the plan was to ride with my toes on the foot pegs, but an hour later my ass was aching from the position, so I gave up on that idea. The road that my host suggested to me was windy and quite a pleasure to ride, but I lost count how many times I went around a blind turn with some motorbike overtaking the traffic and was now on my side of the road. Just accidents waiting to happen. It made me think it's a good thing most bikes are small and power is low here. If they had 1000cc here and were doing 160kph around corners like that, there would be some serious carnage.

That said, I witnessed my first motorcycle accident in Vietnam. I didn't see the actual accident, but when I got there several police were in attendance and the two bikes were still lying in the middle of the road. It was hard to understand what had happened, but something did. I had a few other encounters with police today, mainly passing me. But my heart started pounding when I came to a road block. I think the policeman was too busy looking at his phone, rather than my western face and he simply waved me though.

I decided to stop for a coffee, and was served sunflower seeds. I was so confused about this, I had to ask Grok. Grok told me this is tradition and you eat the seed inside and spit the husk out. I tried chewing them, but something wasn't right and it felt like the people behind me were laughing at me. After a while I figured you bite the husk to split it and then the seed is exposed. Everyone had piles of husk on there table, so this was obviously what you did. It was a slow and laborious process, and it told me something about the Vietnamese people.

I can't imagine anyone in the West sitting there in a cafe and peeling sunflower seeds. It took me nearly 30 minutes to crack the seeds in the picture. In the West, time is considered money, but for the people of this country, with a bit of effort to get the seed, they have a nice snack, and besides they aren't going anywhere else soon.

Vietnam is developing, and an interesting project I came across today was the building of a dam wall. What I found most interesting about it was the houses in the valley are going to be flooded. It would be interesting to know how the Government is compensating them, but regardless I bet they aren't happy.

On the way to Ba Be, my stomach went nuts and started cramping. It was a true OMG you can't be serious moment. This can't be happening! Most of Vietnam so far has been heavily populated all the way along the roads, and I have been hanging for some open countryside with NO people, but as I looked for somewhere to drop my pants, houses and shops lined each side. I had witnessed a bike stopped and the guy was peeing on the side of the road Infront of everyone, and this re-enforced I had no problem in doing my business in the vegetation. But I couldn't see any such option. As things became worse and I was buckled over, I rounded a corner were a Petroleum servo sat. Not even looking for any oncoming vehicle I darted across the road, pulled up. Raced inside and yelled at the guy "Toilet!" He pointed to the back of the building and I headed that way.

The toilet was clean, but the floor was wet. I would need to take my pants off. As I did this, the phone rang. Fuck me... it's Gus. Could his timing be any better. If I didn't know better I would have said he was watching me on camera and laughing his head off. FFS Would the phone stop ringing.. I have enough going on right now! The servo guy just smiled when I left, but he must have wondered what the hell? I was in there quite a while, and I couldn't stand up. But then I'm probably not the first white guy that pulled up there in a panic.

Feeling much better I followed Google directions which continued to take me down the new road. A road which was still under construction. I don't really know what happened because vehicles suddenly didn't seem to go through here, but there were two bike tracks. Where did the cars go? Now I was about to learn my next lesson why you shouldn't ride motorbikes without proper shoes. The road turned into a clay based slippery dip, and I soon found myself stuck in the mud. As soon as I put my feet down the suction clay would rip my thongs off and I would need to backtrack. What a nightmare,

I started off passing this guy, laughing to myself that he doesn't have my dirt bike skills. But then it turned into a complete shit show, and it was just me and another bike snaking our way through the clay. When we passed the machinery, the big wide road turned into a goat track and Goole maps soon showed me miles away from the road. WTF!! By this stage my legs were completely covered in clay and the little bike had changed colour.

The guy infront of me had taken a left and gone down a track I didn't want to go down with my powerful motorcycle. I knew if it all went wrong I wasn't getting back up that track. But my straight ahead had become even worse, so I did a U Turn and went down it. I followed it for some time and it then came too a footwalk bridge. About to go over the bridge, I heard "beep beep" and two motorbikes crossed from the other side. Then before I knew it, 10 odd motorbikes were lined up behind me. Where did they come from??

The bridge came out on the bitumen and once across I stopped and went and washed in the creek. The water was surprisingly warm. 500m down the road was Hua Ma Cave so I decided to check it out. When we were at Ha Long Bay they hyped the cave we went in to be something fantastic, but it was nothing on this one. It's 700m long and 350 deep, and I felt every step. I was exhausted 8/10.

Finally I arrived at Ba Be and couldn't find the homestay Ba Be Homestay View. Google maps was a royal pain in the ass and kept saying it was 100m away. I rode up and down the road several times, but couldn't find it. I asked 3 people and they all said they don't know. How can you live on this road and you don't know? I then asked a woman who was shovelling dirt outside a place call Ba Be Green Homestay. She told me that it was closed, and I could stay at their place. I quickly agreed and checked in.

The room is basic, and the toilet is external, but her and her husband are lovely people. She cooked a lovely meal and made me feel very at home. It would be easy to chill here for a day or two. I recommend. 8/10

21/04/2026

Today I foolishly booked a property 200kms away which took me about 5.5 hours to complete. It proved to be too much as there are only so many corners you can do before you're over it. The road included several steep sections both up and down which the little bike handled in it's stride. Engine breaking is quite good but it does tend to get away a bit on anything greater than 10 degrees. A few sections saw me dropping back to 1st great, but I just reminded myself it's better than walking!

The trick is to keep the momentum going and the little Hondga revving and hope she doesn't blow! No breaking into the corner and then accelerating out into the next incline was the go. At 40kph most corners are doable like this, although the odd one did surprise me. I also had a car and two bikes do the blind corner passing trick, but I'm getting used to going around a corner and having a vehicle on my side of the road, so I was able to react more calmly.

Leaving Ba Be, the lake was fantastic, and the road along the lake was the most scenic. It really was lovely. Boats could be seen taking tourist but I didn't see any sort of fishing or recreation boats. We had a fish from the lake last night for dinner, but when I asked if he caught it, he said he bought it, so I assume there is some type of fishing.

Apart from the lake and steep twisty roads, nothing really stood out worth mention. The North seems to be a lot of the same, but one thing I did noticed was the further North I went, the more tired building began to look. In many cases in sure they were abandoned.

My homestay Quang Thuan Ban Gioc Homestay was much easier to find than yesterday. Meanwhile, while Mum cooks dinner I've acquired a little helper to ensure the blog is finished quick smart.