Easy Rider !

So the next morning, we were packed and ready to go, with a small rucsac of stuff for the next four days we would be heading out on to the open road to see central Vietnam, by Motorbike !


We met our guide, a cheeky chap by the name of Duc (pronounced as if you were saying Alright Duck in a broad Yorkshire accent). Before long our luggage was strapped down to the seats and we were weaving our way through the morning traffic in Nha Trang. 
We were off ! 
Luckily the traffic wasn`t too bad as it was a Sunday morning, but still - the Vietnamese don`t play by the Highway code - anything goes...literally. 

The first day was to be about 240Km, with stops along the way to see various sites. The local fishing village, a black pepper plantation, ethnic villages, wood carving place, large waterfall and various other sites, but the first day was mainly to cover ground and get ourselves comfortable on the bikes.  
It was great being on the bike, the first day definitley got rid of any aprehension of being on the roads. We learnt quickly to use the horn (as everyone does frequently over here) and just drive and don`t look back. The roads were a mixture of nice, quiet open roads, to very busy dirt tracks and pot-hole ridden roads through the suburbs of the main towns. We got quite good at riding on pavements and the wrong way down dual carriage ways! We both got used to the bikes and before long were edging over our initial slow pace of 10 Km/h (although saying that, neither speedos worked, so goodness knows how fast we eventually were going !?) 

And we thought we had a lot of luggage !?

We stopped the first night in a placed called Buon Ma Thout, in a small hotel and collapsed after the long day`s biking. The next day we were up and out on the road for 8:30am. Today was to be another long day with a similar distance to cover. 

We stopped on the way to fix a few punctures on Duc's bike (in all he had 3 and we survived with only a small slow puncture). This gave me chance to stop and try out the local transport - a tractor. 


We knew that where we were stopping was not usually frequented by tourists. Mainly because of the locals coming up to us to say hi, with a bemused look on their faces. (Perhaps becuase they had never seen anyone as white as me...!?)

Being on the bikes and only being Kip, myself and Duc meant that we could stop when we wanted, there was no tour group or organised stops. This was great, as Duc would take us off down little side roads and show us cocoa plants, black pepper on the trees, rice noodles being made, coffee beans being picked or green tea growing in the fields. 


So Day 2 was again just working our way North up the cental Vietnam Highlands. We were to cover another distance of about 240Km and were headed for Kon Tum. Again a nice stay in a local hotel and we joined another guide plus guest for a local Vietnames dinner. In fact all the food along the way was local cuisine. Duc was great, as we would pull up to places that we would not normally go in to and just order food. To be honest if we did we wouldn`t be able to order a thing, as we couldn`t read the menu. All of the food was great and there is always plenty of it (bonus !). 

Our 3rd day was good, we started the morning visiting a local school (which Kip of course loved). It was nice to see the kids and i can assure you that their english was a lot better than our Vietnamese. But it wasn`t until the afternoon that things got really good. We knew we were travelling along the Ho Chi Minh Road, but the next section was the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a North/South passage that has been used over the centuries. This has only recently been paved with proper road. It is a long stretch of road that winds up in to the highlands and alongside the dense jungle. 

We stopped after lunch and were given some wet weather gear (Sadly my long legs are a bit of an abnormality in this part of the world, so the trousers stopped above my shins, but i was covered none the less).


The afternoon's drive was just breathtaking. The scenery in the highlands was amazing and something that we were not expecting. Despite the rain we were both riding along with our mouths open, just trying to take in the scenery. The pictures here cannot do it justice. 


The final night was again in a nice hotel, in a small town in the highlands called Kham Dac. This was our last night with Duc. We were on our way to the local Kareoke and the village had a power cut. Ah well, it saved us from hearing Duc screach his way through a list of Vietnamese classics !

The last day (Day 4) was started in the highlands. We were lucky and the rain had stopped overnight, so we could cruise the last stretch in the sunshine and admire the stunning scenery. It was hard to keep our eyes on the road, let alone dodge the occasional coach that careered round the windy roads. 


We visited so many places on the way it is hard to remember them all, but they all added to the feeling of being able to get to know more and more about the hill tribes and local people of Vietnam. 


Our final destination was a town called Hoi An, this is about half way up the length of Vietnam, about 5Km from the beach. We finally rode into Hoi An mid afternoon, after an amazing few days. 


This whole trip was not planned and at short notice we threw a few things together and set out on an unknown journey with Duc. After over 800Km on a motorbike, Kip and I were beaming from ear to ear with what was so far our outright highlght of Vietnam. We have been able to experience the local people, food and amazing scenery that we wouldn`t have been able to see from a tour bus. Being able to stop along the way and have the freedom to experience things that are "off the beaten track" has been great. 


So with a sore back and bum, we said goodbye to our guide and headed for a beer to celebrate  arriving safely and not crashing along the way.