Tag Motorbike
The road is straight, relatively smooth and on both sides nothing but jungle. A quick glance at my GPS tells me I am on the Ho Chi Minh highway, that legendary road for bikers in this country and I am… a little bit disappointed. Sure, smooth roads and jungles are nice but I have read such good things about it and it doesn’t live up to the hype. I’ve been on equally smooth roads with much nicer views in other parts of the country, the road between Dalat and Nha Trang comes to mind. Oh well, I shall keep going, … Read the rest
I’ve seriously had it with this incessant rain, like Samuel L Jackson in Snakes on a plane would have said: enough is enough! It spoils the fun of riding by making the road slippery, it ruins any photo ops offered by the gorgeous scenery I’m passing, but worst of all, I’m getting soaked despite my rain gear. It is utterly and completely miserable.… Read the rest
I have entered the mist, it swirls around me almost completely blocking my view. Though I can hardly see them, I know that to my right is the cliff edge and to my left a wall of rock rising sharply upwards; ahead of me I can just make out a few meters of the road and that’s it. I lean forward and peer into the milky whiteness, hoping I can spot oncoming obstacles in time….… Read the rest
The goal for the day was to reach Dalat up in the highlands and since it is fairly close to Mui Ne I decided to take it easy and do some sightseeing along the way. I started with the Po Shanu Cham Towers, three ancient brick towers west of Mui Ne that are still used for worshipping. I know I will see lots of old temples during my travels but these were the first.
The small tower… 
…and the big one.
I found out yesterday that there are actually two large sand dunes in Mui Ne, the red one and the … Read the rest
I’m truly in the countryside now, a few houses here and there but otherwise not a sign of civilization. The road winds leisurely through a landscape so green you almost can’t believe it, trees and bushes of all kinds on both sides. In the distance lie low hills like camel humps. The road surface is in a state of disrepair, I bump along at a slow pace, keeping a sharp lookout for potholes that are so big I would probably go flying over the handlebars if I hit one with speed. I’d like to pay more attention to the landscape … Read the rest
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
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
When the wife and I go up in the mountains we often pass through a place called Neiwan. It’s a kind of vacationers paradise with a lively food market, several go cart tracks and a number of hot spring resorts within a short distance. Basically city dwellers can go there to enjoy the mountains without having to forfeit modern amenities.
Every time we drive through the area I see roads that look very inviting but for some reason or other we’ve never really driven on them. Recently however, I’ve been determined to see where they lead and yesterday became the … Read the rest