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I’ve finally left the city behind, there are trees on the side of the road and even some mountains in the distance. I’ve hit my second tropical rain shower of the day; my poncho will keep me dry but it’s big and flowing and flies in the wind, flapping out behind me like I’m freaking Batman or something. Theme song of the day: Na na na na na na Batman… Read the rest
The main draw in Can Tho is the Cai Rang floating market. I think it’s possible to do a one day hit and run tour from HCMC but the market opens before sunrise so to get the most of it you should be there early. You also need a boat to be able to see the market up close, I took the easy way out and booked a tour via my hotel. As it turned out it was just me, the guide and the driver in a small wooden skiff with an outboard. Our boat was a bit slower than … Read the rest
An arrow straight strip of asphalt stretches through the lush landscape out towards the tree line at the horizon. The sun shines brightly from an azure sky filled with dramatic clouds. The speedometer shows a clean 80 kph, ah, I feel so alive.… Read the rest
When I woke up today it was pouring rain, a real monsoon shower, but I packed up my stuff anyway and waited for the rain to let up. Once it did I set out to the main goal of the day, the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is a vast network of tunnels used by the Vietnamese to hide, first from the French and later from the Americans. According to the guide they are about 250 kilometers long and they even reach Cambodia.
It sounds really cool when you read about it and I was really excited to go there, I … Read the rest
The sun is shining, the rain seems to have dried up completely; the road is straight, only one way forward, with trees and small shops by the side, I keep the throttle at a steady 60 km/h. The theme to Smoky and the Bandit keeps playing in the back of my mind as I reflect on my first day of riding in Vietnam: my bag falling off the luggage rack, the rickety wooden bridge, the water buffalo by the road side. So many impressions just in one day…… Read the rest
Today was my first full day of tourism, and I aimed for the main tourist spots of HCMC starting with the War Remnants Museum which has a small but good collection of tanks and aircraft outside and a whole lot of photos and such inside. Hollywood has produced I don’t know how many films about the Vietnam war (or the American war as they say here) and even though many of them have been anti war, they have all been from an American perspective; it’s interesting to get the Vietnamese perspective on it. I highly recommended it for anyone with … Read the rest
I spent the last two days in Taiwan packing my stuff. I tried to minimize the amount of stuff I brought but still ended up squeezing it into my bag. I feel pretty well prepared however so I’m happy I could fit it in.
Everything laid out on the bed 
Packed and ready to leave
I arrived in Ho Chi Minh city late yesterday evening and I spent most of the day today trying to buy a motorbike. There were plenty of bikes for sale but none of them were to my liking; if the engine and gearbox worked … Read the rest
For several years now I’ve had a dream to go traveling in southeast Asia and, being a fan of independent travel, I wanted to do it the way the locals travel, that is by motorbike. After many years of dreaming about it I finally decided it’s time I actually do it, so I took three months leave from my job and bought some flight tickets. I will try to post at least something every day of the journey, but first, some things about planning and preparation.
The route:
I don’t have any exact plan, all I know for certain is that I … Read the rest
A typhoon is approaching, it was raining cats and dogs earlier but by now it has calmed down and it’s no longer so bad that it’s an excuse for shirking my exercise routine. The foul weather is keeping all the other schmucks indoors so at least there aren’t any onlookers or stragglers, but I was hoping it would be windy enough to keep me cool; I was wrong, thanks to my Swedish genome I am sweating in the rain. I swat at the dripping leaves as I run by, hoping the spray will cool me off but to no avail, … Read the rest