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The FactsVietnam and its People
Vietnam is a fascinating wonderful country steeped in history, and much of this has occurred in our lifetime. What we know as the “Vietnam War” in the 1960s and 1970s is referred by the locals as the “American War”. Such is the different perspective that nations have. Prior to this war, Vietnam was invaded and occupied by the French from 1859 to 1954, and as a result, the food and architecture has a wonderful French / Asian influence. The country is an “S” shape, about the length of New Zealand at 1600 km, but in one long finger of land. At the centre, the nation is only 50km wide, but mostly it is around 200 km wide. To the North is China, east is the South China Sea, and to the west, the land follows the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Hanoi, the capital, is towards the north of the country, whilst Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is in the South. At the centre of the country are the former historical capital Hue, and the colourful market town of Hoi An. Inland from the coast is the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the supply route used by the Viet Cong during the war. Having expelled the Americans in 1975, Vietnam reverted to their communist regime and reunified the country under a single leadership. Today, whilst nominally communist, capitalism does appear to be alive and thriving, and even encouraged as the government are proactively working towards annual GDP growth rates of around 8%. Politically, Vietnam is relatively stable and embraces tourism as a major contributor to their economy. The population of Vietnam is around 84 million across 54 ethnic groups. The Vietnamese are free to enjoy their own beliefs and religion. The infrastructure in Vietnam is varied and developing quickly. Whilst Westernisation is occurring slowly in some facets, it is roaring away in others such as manufacture of clothing and consumer goods. Transportation varies from “Easy-riders” which are motorcyclists happy to take you anywhere on the back of their bike for a fare, traditional Chinese Junk boats, sampans for carrying trade on the Mekong river, through to modern buses and mini-vans.
Motorcycling in Vietnam
We travel outside the rainy season which typically is between May and September. The temperatures are in the range of 25-35 degrees Celsius, with humidity quite high as well. It is rare to find a motorbike larger than 200 cc, but smaller bikes are fine, as the terrain and road conditions keep your speed below 70 kms per hour anyway. So you will smile as you climb aboard your 125 cc “Honda Davidson”, kick the starter and head out into the traffic. For these reasons, as well as the challenge of finding support vans to accompany our riders down the length of Vietnam, it pays to travel light, but with sturdy protective clothing and wet weather gear to cover you during the inevitable showers. On this trip we don’t recommend pillion passengers, as the bikes are so small, and you will need to carry most of your gear with you. Also your concentration levels will need to be such that you look after yourself, without the extra pressure of having a pillion behind you. However if you want to bring a non-riding friend or partner, there are ways that this can be accommodated. The Ride...
Our next phase is to ship ourselves and our bikes on the Reunification Express train half way down the country to Danang, which was the base of the movie “Good Morning Vietnam”, starring Robin Williams. From here we ride the short run to the historical commercial port town of Hoi An, where we have a rest day. From here our ride takes us inland to join the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the Viet Cong’s supply route during the war. The roads we follow combine regular sealed roads with back country lanes and tracks best suited to our 100-125cc machines, rather than the Harleys, BMWs and Ducatis which many of us have at home. We ride the HCM Trail for 6 days over mountains and valleys before arriving in Saigon, where the motorcycling part of our adventure finishes. Price of $4,250 includes:
Return airfares between NZ and Vietnam are Email us if you have any queries - we are happy to answer your questions > |
It should be stated that motorcycling in Vietnam is not always a walk in the park! The quality of roads is extremely variable, the volume of traffic in built up areas can be intimidating, but the scenery is stunning, and the warmth of the people makes up for some of the challenges you endure.
Because of the geographic nature of Vietnam, and our desire to give you the best overall experience, the ride is broken into 2 segments. We start in Hanoi in the North, ride further north to Halong Bay before returning to Hanoi.