The prologue
Act 1: Mekong meander
Act 2: Southern Highlands
Act 3: The coast road
Postscript: What to do differently
It's cheap
Cycle friendly
Friendly people
A fascinating dynamic culture
Food is good
Beer is cheap and good
Diverse terrain and climate
Mostly flat
December and January were ideal for the Southern part of the country (south of the 17th parallel, or south of Hue, the old South Vietnam). The Tet holiday (Buddhist New Year) is around the end of January (it varies depending upon the moon) and most guidebooks warn that there is high demand on accommodation at that time. Around Da Nang and further north it was cool and wet (mudguards would have kept us and the bikes a lot cleaner). Cycling the coast road (Highway 1) we took advantage of the prevailing northerly winds (and what an advantage it was!) and cycled north to south. Saigon and the Mekong were hot and humid (but cooler than a South Australian summer). It was often cloudy and taking clear glasses to keep the dust out of your eyes would have been a good idea.
As little as possible.
We rode mountain bikes fitted with rear pannier racks and semi-slick tyres. We used Continental Travel Contact tyres (~Australian $50) inflated to 85 psi and did not get a single puncture. Their slick central surface is ideal for smooth bitumen (tarmac, pavé) and the outer knobbly bits perfect for when the road (suddenly) turns to dirt. Schwalbe Marathons have also been highly recommended.
We managed with rear panniers (DC used British-made "Altera" of 45l capacity lined inside with waterproof "stuff sacks") and small bar bags for maps and valuables. MD used Tioga and had reservations about their floppy nature when they would bend and touch the rear tyre.
Good maps (try to find the most recent as new roads are being built continually) and a compass. You will not easily find either in Vietnam.
Spare parts and tools. We could not find anything that resembled parts for Shimano equipped mountain bikes even in Saigon. We concluded that the advice given in the Lonely Planet Cycling guide was incorrect. We did not put it to the test but the Vietnamese have that wonderful Asian talent for improvisation and copying - worth remembering if a serious "mechanical" happens. Could you get aluminium welded? – again we did not put it to the test but the ubiquity of motorbikes and scooters suggests that it is a possibility. MD’s pannier rack broke but fortunately it was not a structural weld and held together with a "nylon tie". The main bolt holding the rack to the frame also broke but we had a spare.
There are roadside pumps (Bom hoi) almost everywhere but take a pump and puncture repair stuff. Vietnamese bicycles almost all use Presta (French) valves (and 700c wheels) but most pumps are set up for motorbikes using Schrader (car) valves.
Two pairs of cycling knicks and two jerseys. A long sleeved shirt and long pants (zip-offs that double as shorts are ideal) to keep the mosquitoes off. All in quick-drying, wicking materials. A T-shirt, a couple of pairs of underpants and socks; a waterproof jacket; a pair of sandals; cycling shoes; one thermal vest; travel laundry soap (we washed daily and mostly it dried overnight), a length of cord and clothes pegs. Clothes (and everything else) are very cheap in Vietnam if you find you need more.
DC found a sarong and a silk sheet sleeping bag (inner liner) useful. Some cheap hotels only provide one sheet on the bed and a blanket; the latter is mostly too hot.
Mosquito repellent and lots of Factor 30 sunscreen. First Aid kit, though pharmacies are common in towns and prescriptions are unknown.
Vietnam is not un-chartered cycling territory. We saw about a dozen foreign touring cyclists on the road over the 4 weeks. There are several guidebooks most notably the Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam and the Lonely Planet Guide to Cycling Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. These two valuable guides are almost essential texts on Vietnam but beware the country is changing so fast (economically and socially) that much of the information is out of date by the time it is printed. LP state quite clearly that things change; good goes bad, bad goes good; prices go up and, in the case of Vietnam, come down too sometimes. Remember guidebooks are only guides, asking around and checking it out yourself are essential.
If using the LP cycling guide which has median 100km days, a reasonably high level of fitness is required. (Do some 150km days before leaving home to get the feel). We got into the habit of starting at 6.00am, breakfasting an hour later on noodle soup ( pho, pronounced "fur") and eating whatever we came across beside the road trying to finish the days cycling before mid-afternoon.
Language. The good news is that Vietnamese uses a modified Latin script, the bad news is that it has 6 tones (so that one word can have 6 different meanings depending on how it is pronounced). It is essential to use oral/aural methods to learn. English as a second language is common but don’t expect fluency outside of major tourist towns.
Vietnamese culture is generally very polite and respectful of others, particularly elders; laid back and unhurried. Generally, Vietnamese do not get uptight, angry or excited. We saw no instances of road rage. You would be very wise to adopt such an attitude when there. Also they like to laugh and are generally and genuinely very friendly. The sight of a six foot two, bearded white man in multicoloured skin tight lycra was a constant source of amusement. At the end of a long day in the saddle you can be satisfied that you have brought a smile to the lips of a couple of hundred people and in your own way, created a little happiness in the world. Saying hello to every passer-by and cyclist is obligatory so expect to say "hello" at least 300 times a day.
Be prepared for a feast. If you don’t like using chopsticks, eating rice, noodles and spicy aromatic food don’t go. As a non-meat-eater DC found it almost impossible to completely avoid meat as small amounts flavour many dishes. The seafood is great. Food is everywhere (mostly right on the street which is very handy) but we learnt to eat what was available when available. Vietnamese food is generally very low fat (good), low fibre (bad), and low sugar (maybe good, maybe bad). Consequently the diet is generally of low energy density (Kj/kg) and getting enough fuel into you requires constant vigilance (and a good excuse to eat constantly). So, when on the road, don’t put off the lunch stop, bring it forward. MD lost 3 kg over the month and puts this down to small or skipped meals. Bottled water is everywhere – drink it. Coconut water (straight out of a freshly cut immature coconut) is great re-hydration fluid. We adopted a strategy of eating in places that were busy as busy means a fast turnover so that un-refrigerated food doesn’t lie around growing bugs. Truck Stops and workers’ cafes often provided the best meals. Ice or not? Refrigeration is rare in Vietnam so ice is added to your glass of beer, tea, coffee, coke, etc. MD consumed it, DC did not. MD got sick only on the last day (which cannot necessarily be attributed to ice). It is your decision. MD arrived with high hygiene standards of what to eat and what not to eat; no salad (might be washed in bad water), no meat that was not cooked before your eyes (re-heating might grow bugs). Two days after arriving MD was eating the salad, eating the cold meat from the shelf, drinking the ice and rubbing Buddha’s tummy for luck. DC’s professional opinion (as a nutritionist) is don’t drink the ice (although sometimes it’s hard to avoid particularly if your Vietnamese is not fluent). Going to the market to buy fruit is a treat – experiment but don’t eat anything you cannot peel.
We flew direct out of Adelaide, Australia on Malaysian Airlines via Kuala Lumpur (free overnight stopover on the outbound flight) to Saigon, boxed the bikes and carried one pannier as hand luggage. Easy.
The only hotel we booked was in Saigon (Minh Chau, 75 Bui Vien St, District 1 minhchauhotel@hcm.vnn.vn ) in the backpacker ghetto. It was kindly recommended by Ken White of Tasmania whose buzzy minute book MD found on the web. Book by email. It is small, friendly and cheap. They picked us up from the airport, kept our bike boxes; provided clean basic rooms and a good internet connection. Everywhere else on our travels, we just rocked up without problems.
Starting in Saigon gives you the opportunity to experience Vietnamese traffic at it most "full-on". In Saigon the motor scooter is the "critical mass" and everything has to adjust to the thousands that buzz around and litter the footpaths. Many westerners are intimidated by the apparent anarchy on the road but we saw few accidents and its just a question of adjusting to a different way of travelling. The secret of crossing the road is to walk out when there is a slight gap and keep walking slowly and steadily. The traffic will go around you (honest). The motorbike is waiting for the pedestrian to make the choice whether to go in front or behind the motorbike. The pedestrian MUST choose. MD thought that catching a cyclo or pedicab would be a way to get an understanding of the traffic flows. This was a valuable lesson in fear control. One quickly learns that no one looks or rarely stops at junctions but reacts to noise (take a horn or loud bell). In a crowded street it is possible to cycle at the same speed as the scooters, quicker than other cyclists and much quicker than infrequent cars which are possibly the slowest mode of urban transport. Buses and trucks are rare in central Saigon but they are intimidating on the main roads out of the city – "might has right" and buses are aggressively competitive in trying to find passengers, cutting across you without any warning. (See getting in and out of Saigon). Whilst traffic officially drives on the right, expect 10% to be driving on the left. Most traffic stops at traffic lights but again expect 10% to ignore the lights. Turning left often involves turning right first then doing a u-turn when there is a gap. Roundabouts are just about flow and achieving a critical mass (wait for the traffic to build up that is going in your direction) to get you where you want to go. It really isn’t as bad as it looks. In summary, just find your "ecological niche", go with the flow and don’t make sudden moves. A horn and brightly colored lycra clothing do help. Your peripheral vision will get really good.
Outside of Saigon, the bitumen roads are good and smooth, except in spots. The unsealed roads can be poor tracks.
We only had the vaguest plan to first tour the Mekong Delta, return to Saigon; head for the hills then somehow (possibly fly) get to Hue and the17th Parallel and come back south down the coastal Highway 1. All of these routes are described by LP. In practice we did this with some minor deviations but it did involve some luck and long days in the saddle.
What follows is a 3 act play: Act 1 The Mekong; Act 2 The Hills; Act 3 The Coastal highway.
We ignored LP’s vague advice and crossed the river heading south-west for the Mekong delta. Following the street map was easy (parallel to the river) until the road suddenly turned to dirt. Asking the locals directions to the first town we wanted led us to a new, half-completed southern (east-west) bypass road and eventually on to Highway 1 (QL1).
Getting lost is not part of the grand plan but we did it reasonably often with a certain vigour. It doesn’t hurt and we never needed to do an unscheduled overnighter. There was some debate in the party on what was the best way to get unlost: a) use the road signs; b) the shop addresses; c) maps and compass or d) the human touch method, ask someone.
Writing down your destination on a notepad (attached to your bar bag) proved to be a good strategy to avoid pronunciation difficulties. But first ask the direction of a place you know, i.e. the one you’ve just come from. Once this is established then ask the direction to where you want to go. This negates the Asian politeness syndrome of telling you what you want to hear even when they didn’t understand the question.
Lots of trucks and buses are not so pleasant but it really does get better. LP was very derogatory about the town of My Tho, particularly about political interference in restricting foreigners to certain poor quality State-owned hotels (see below the My Tho Myth) so we bypassed the town of My Tho heading for the much praised (by LP) town of Ben Tre. Ben Tre proved to be a disappointment but not unpleasant. The recommended hotel was not so great and a returned American Vietnamese (Viet kiew) we met recommended the one LP called a dirty dump. We didn’t check it out but the moral is check it out yourself because things change. Dinner on the somewhat seedy riverboat (see LP) was pleasant mostly for the river breeze. Stay north of the river (town centre side) before heading for the ferry towards Can Tho.
Back on Highway 1. This proved to be a big day with a pleasant ending. After the ferry crossing we found ourselves on the wrong road out of Mo Cay. Retracing our route we eventually found the right road (888) to be a dirt road, followed by a footbridge, more dirt which eventually turned into quiet bitumen (but with the road number removed from the kilometre post markers). This really was a delight after the traffic of Highway 1 and is much recommended (if you can find it). After Cho Lak another ferry took us into Vinh Long and we cycled on to Can Tho. Arriving in the sizeable Can Tho, a Melbourne Viet kiew first gave us directions to a likely hotel. Then a local guided us by bicycle to another guide who went to great lengths to find us a clean and cheap hotel (Guesthouse 61). Suspicious of her motives we almost caused offence. She was after our "tourist dollars" but in the nicest possible way. The personalised guided boat-tour of the floating markets the next day was wonderful – a long but thoroughly enjoyable day. The cafes by the "tin man" statue of Ho Chi Minh is where our guide, Tau, can be found. Find her, she was great. So too were a couple of Aussi and US ‘Vets’ who hung out there. They provided well-meaning, friendly but unreliable advice.
Pressed for time we did a u-turn rather than head for the border and headed back up Highway 1 (LP’s suggested route in reverse) to My Tho which proved to be a pleasant town with good restaurants and boulevards along the river. We were refused entry to our hotel of choice and directed to the Trade Union People’s Committee Hotel but maybe our first choice was full and anyway the People’s Committee place was fine. Unwilling to face more traffic and wishing to save time we put the bikes and ourselves on a local bus which took us to the Saigon district of Cho Lon, reasonably close to District 1 and our preferred hotel.
Getting in and out of Saigon and jumping a few sections to make up time was generally our attitude to travel. We still did 1900km in the month. Purists may wish to cycle the whole route to say that they did all by bike. But the traffic around Saigon is really heavy and it can only get worse. We caught regular local buses three times, a minibus and one Tourist bus. On one occasion we did not get charged for the bikes, on a minibus trip we were excessively charged (the ticket was fixed but the carriage of bikes is negotiable – try and bargain hard). The tourist bus from the Singh Café (Saigon District 1) en route to Da Lat charged us the full fare (even though we got off at Bao Loc) and another full fare for the bike. Expect local buses to be slow and very crowded. They will search for passengers, sometimes cruising around town for half an hour, before they eventually get going. Taking a bus makes one appreciate the bike.
Following the LP guide we were dropped in Bao Loc around midday by the Singh Café tourist bus and checked into the excellent, spacious Bao Loc Hotel. This allowed us to ride out to Dam Bri Falls (~40 km return) through coffee country on a wonderful undulating road that occasionally turned to dirt. Riding dirt downhills with deep washouts whilst dodging oncoming motorbikes was a thrill that makes Fox Creek Downhill MTB course seem like a walk in the park. (And there is the added thrill of knowing that the nearest decent hospital is probably in Hong Kong). Whilst the waterfall is impressive the whole tourist set up is tacky and silly but the ride was great.
The following day we rode to Duc Trong to a bearable anonymous but very seedy hotel (main junction, northern side of the Post Office). There are a few other hotels but you’ll have to search for them. Redeeming features of Duc Trong were street stalls selling Bahn Xao (stuffed pancakes), a good internet café, bakery and market. Stock-up on bakery products and bananas for the next long day’s 130km of quiet hills to Jun Village (Lac Lake).
Relatively quiet with some wonderful hilly riding. This was the only stretch of road where people did not continuously shout hello and the few we saw just stared in bewilderment. There was the occasional café and we found a good truck/bus stop café in Romen (eat when food is available). This day culminated in staying in a Long House in Jun village (a traditional minority village) next to Lac Lake and the town of Lac. Peace, quiet, pigs, chickens, dogs and fresh caught fish for breakfast, cooked by the very friendly lady in the general store who is very obliging, but the fish has to be caught first, (be patient). We should have stayed longer.
Leaving late we rode the next day to Buon ma Thout. A busy town with some good coffee houses and probably the best noodle soup (Pho) shop we ever found (Pho Binh Dan). We moved on the next day heading for Ban Don. LP’s extremely vague directions led us, mistakenly, to a government run Eco-Tourist facility (just before the turning to Ban Don). Run down and empty, this was obviously not a great success. But it was cheap, peaceful and the head of the wildlife park chatted to us after dinner (a meagre affair). However trips across the river into the national park were outrageously expensive. We cycled to Ban Don village and discovered (unlike the peaceful Jun) that this was where the corporate Vietnamese go on day trips to drink the revolting "wine" and ride on an elephant. There is in fact accommodation in a Long House in Ban Don but the whole place feels somewhat contrived and artificial. However the cable bridges over the rivers were great fun.
Originally our plan had been to cycle out of the hills down (Highway 26) and fly from Nha Trang to Da Nang or Hue. However with a lack of time we made a momentous decision to return to Buon ma Thout and try to fly direct to Da Nang. Buying the tickets was relatively easy (cash only) but finding the airport (we checked it out the day before) was a challenge. Bikes unboxed we just turned the handlebars and removed the seat post and front wheel and they just wheeled them onto the plane – easy.
Arriving in Da Nang at 10.00am we were helped by airport staff to reassemble the bikes and pushed on north over the Hai Van Pass. For those of us who regularly ride the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, it is not as daunting as LP had suggested. What is remarkable is the huge number of broken-down trucks and buses. A stick lying in the road means there is a broken down vehicle ahead and rocks mean that they just fixed it and "forgot" to clear the wheel chocks off the road after they had finished. So huge is the breakdown rate that the locals on the northern side sell hand carved wheel chocks but rocks are cheaper!
The weather had changed dramatically from the pleasant climate in the hills to cold wet rain and that northerly headwind. Improvising and not finding much in Lang Co we pressed on for 110km of rain and mud to Hue. Arriving like drowned rats we had our most expensive room yet and took advantage of the copious amounts of hot water. The waterproof stuff-sacks in DC’s panniers paid for themselves revealing clean dry clothes when opened. Hue is a tourist town and we indulged in backpacker café food and a bus tour of the DMZ and American War relics. The very impressive tunnels at Vinh Moc compensated for so-so Khe Sahn and too much time on the bus which broke down twice. Our guide’s English could have been better but I guess we learnt something. The sun shone the next day and we indulged in a bike tour of some of the royal tombs and the ancient walled capital city. The northern side of the river around the old capital of Hue was very pleasant and it would be worth checking out hotels over there if peace and quiet is sought.
Calculating the days and distance we caught a local bus back to Da Nang (which remarkably did not breakdown on the Hai Van pass). Perhaps influenced by LPs errors we failed to read the guide notes for getting out of Da Nang (a city we had already bypassed once), jumping off the bus when it stopped for diesel, and found ourselves on Highway 1, missing the reportedly very pleasant coast road, China Beach and the Marble Mountains on our way to Hoi An.
Arriving on Christmas Eve, Hoi An was relatively crowded with tourists but there is more hotel accommodation than the LP guide suggests. Its narrow streets are extremely pleasant and the food and beer down by the river (and elsewhere) excellent. MD fulfilled his mission and had two suits made and posted back to Australia all within 24 hours (over Christmas Eve and Day). The suits are doing very well. MD recommends Ya Ly Shop, (yalyshop@dng.vnn.vn). A side trip to the Marble Mountains was good fun but beware of the aggressive selling of marble carvings. We were told later by a couple of Dutch cyclists that it is possible to get to the Marble Mountains via the beach road from Hoi An (despite the locals denying this).
The flat relatively quiet section of Highway 1 is an opportunity to see paddy cultivation and Cham towers (the paddy is possibly more interesting). We found an excellent workers café whose owner spoke excellent English as a result of having once worked at the nearby US base. This is perhaps indicative of recent changes with former "collaborators" now seemingly free to run businesses. We caught up with a Dutch couple of cyclists who had come down from Hanoi and we joined them at the peaceful (but rather shabby) Guesthouse 502 and a dinner of the local specialty Com Ga (rice and chicken).
Rising before dawn we embarked on our longest day (181km) flying along with that wonderful northerly tail wind. As we approached Qui Nhon, we caught up with a US couple of cyclists eventually finding our way to "Barbara’s-on-the-beach" (see LP), a very friendly but slightly shabby place. Kiwi Barbara (whom we never met) seems to have let the original place go in favour of a new place (the bright yellow and aptly named, "Barbara’s-on-the-beach-2") a few hundred metres further south and right on the beach.
We learnt of a new road out of town that reputedly avoids a big pass. However it’s still a bit of climb but a very pleasant quiet road past coastal scenery reminiscent but more spectacular than Australia’s Great Ocean Road. There were extremely lyrical views of islands, beaches, boats and ocean. The locals have not failed to spot the tourist potential and a few "resorts" were in the process of being built. We turned left off Hwy 1 in Quy Hoa heading for the fishing port and found some excellent Pho (with quails eggs). Continuing around the bay, the road turned briefly to dirt, and went through fishing villages before spitting us out back onto Hwy 1. Tuy Hoa is unremarkable and the LP recommended hotel, large, somewhat shabby but convenient. Declining to eat at the hotel, and after a brief excursion to the huge market, we actually had difficulty finding a restaurant for dinner (a first). Down a side street we found a Bia Hoi (draft beer) shop whose owner wheeled out her 12 year old daughter to practice her English. Said daughter revealed the location of restaurants on Le Loi Street and the beer was pretty good too.
Chance fun meetings with locals often occur and they are most memorable and perhaps make the trip.
Filled with trepidation for the ride to "the beach tourist hang-out" and New Year we got spectacularly confused in Nha Trang (LP’s street map is very schematic) but eventually found our way with the help of a tout to the Hotel O-Sin (1 not 2) and a very large cheap room. The beach is indeed very good given its right in the centre of a large city and if one walks to the southern end it is relatively hawker free. The bars, particularly the Nha Trang Sailing Club are over-priced but there is some really good food to be found all over town. A short ride (8km) to the hot springs and mud baths was fun but the massage would perhaps only be worth it early in the morning (the 40kg 17 year old masseuse had undertaken 7 hour-long massages before us and there were yet more clients after us). Feeling deucedly old, we joined a party boat for a tour of the islands, snorkelling, wine, beer, and food. With the foreigners roasting on the upper deck and the Viet Kiew hiding below deck we spent a pleasant if scorched and perhaps over-long day indulging in hedonistic tourism.
Combining 3 "days" of the LP guide proved to be quite feasible.. The village of Ca Na is by-passed and then a new 3-star motel (a bit above our budget) is encountered (you cannot miss it). A few km further south we found ourselves in a cheaper just re-decorated on-the beach hotel (only slightly marred by the very close proximity to Hwy 1). The situation here was one of the great finds of our holiday. Ca Na village is basically just a large fishing village and MD’s heroic search for an internet café and snacks resulted in two warm bottles of beer (whilst DC had a fantastic swim in the crystal clear coral sea). The café attached to the hotel was quiet reasonable for beer and food. After a spectacular sunset, the night fishing fleet and coracles to be seen off shore; the temple across the road and a minor bushfire in the hills was more than enough entertainment for one evening. The new 3-star motel would be worth checking out for those prepared to spend a little more money for excellent and peaceful crystal clear waters.
Phan Thiet is remarkable both for fish sauce (an olfactory experience pleasant for some) and dragon fruit (perhaps a more popular sensory experience). However following LP’s advice to "push on" to Mui Ne we managed to miss the turning out of Phan Thiet (just keep asking the locals at every junction as the junction itself is impossible to describe and has probably changed by now) and ended up back on Hwy 1. The previous long days (and the lack of extra food the day before) were starting to catch up with us as the ride out to Mui Ne was hard work. It was worth it though as we eventually found a hotel of bamboo cabins and then later discovered that tourism had hit Mui Ne in a big way. Dozens of hotels, resorts and restaurants have recently been built to cater for the "sand and sun" tourist (most of whom appeared to be Russian!). We booked a tourist bus to take us the final leg back to Saigon. However whilst relaxing on our day of scheduled departure we found out that it was in fact booked out. Hastily packing we headed for Phan Thiet bus station, 12 km away and a mini-bus that proved, for long-legged MD, to be the four hour bus ride from hell. Still it was quick but scary once we got going (after the usual half an hour of rounding up passengers and cramming them in to our howls of protest). The huge amount of traffic approaching Saigon justified taking the bus.
The ride (about 10km) from the bus station to District 1 at rush hour (is there any other kind of hour in Saigon?) in the gathering dusk was an exciting challenge. Back in Hotel Chau Minh it felt like home, the streets wider, cleaner and everything a lot easier.
Time for shopping, bia hoi, getting photos developed and organising to leave. We grabbed a few CDs at a dollar each from a huge selection and some jewellery. MD believes he got value. He bought the Mona Lisa and a Rembrandt or two for souvenirs too.
We hired a taxi to get us and our boxed bikes to the airport. The flight out past the American war bunkers and back to Australia was uneventful if long and sleepless due to the time zones.
Would MD go again? Yes but probably would not do such a large distance. We tried to avoid moving every night but this meant bigger km when we were on the road. A less ambitious tour would have been better for seeing the country. And when we were there, it was clear that one need not confine oneself to Vietnam, just ensure your visa is marked for multiple re-entries into the country to facilitate crossing in and out of Cambodia so as to be able to loop back up north through the hills (thus avoiding a return to Saigon) from the Mekong.
As already stated, the people are very friendly and honest too (after the bargaining). Too often did MD pay over 20,000 instead of 2000 dong only to have it handed back. Remarkable also is how they will help you, not with the ironic laugh at the silly clown as will be experienced in Australia but rather with no smile just simply helping someone who needs a hand.
Drop either of us an e-mail if you decide to go. Our email addresses are: m.dwyer1(insert the @ here)bigpond.net.au and celstrongdcox(insert the @ here)ozemail.com.au .
Cheers
Dave and Michael