Unfinished Business - I'm going back !

J

johnybrando

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Location
NSW South Coast , Australia
Bikes
1050 Speed Triple, Z-1, Big Singles
Hi guys. Following my recent solo, month long 4000 klm northern Vietnam loop ride in November just gone ....Now my arse has recovered :kat I've decided I need more ! and should go back & with my now "Better Map !" I want to ride again as I did before ....in remote Northern Vietnam on some small tracks in area,s that I never got too before..... but a few people have said Laos is a must and very similar to mountainous Vietnam & the people are more friendly & genuine (now I did find the real rural poor country people very good indeed ) not so the case in almost every larger Town or City that i strayed into .....There they all...No, not all- but most ! had an Angle & attempted to rip off the perceived rich Whitey. This I found a great shame & very quickly I wised up & left those that tried their luck Cold & embarrassed . I have to say it tainted my trip a bit but my general every day experiences overshadowed those negative aspects, as I knew the real Vietnamese people were good at heart . My trip there was a great experience & the memories are now etched in my mind & it has left me hungry for more . At a fit 60 years young , I'm not getting any younger, so I need to ride all I can while I'm both fit & able so..................Brace yourself Asia !

Questions please.....To any one that has ridden there & can make experience based comparisons...............

- Realising I'd really prefer where ever possible to be riding in a rural , mountainous, area's as oppose to large Towns & Cities .......How doe's northern Laos riding compare to Vietnams Northern area's? What are the roads / tracks like in comparison ? Similar every day costs there I assume ?? What are your personal People comparison between Vietnamese & Laos ? Border crossing requirements ...( I'll be renting & riding the same machine as before a Honda XR-150 & I'll be flying & out of Hanoi & hiring the bike in Hanoi as I did prior. ) I'll be going again for a Month in this coming November as that seemed the best month for riding there before? Any particular route you think would be wise or favourable - & must see or visit destinations etc ? I'm led to believe that I'll need a multiple entry Vietnam visa & that is OK for getting in & out of Laos too ?? I guess I'd get Laos currency OK in Hanoi at a money changers there ?? Any thing else that you can recommend would be very much appreciated too. Also if any one wants to meet up & ride for a few days or what ever ....I'd be happy to do so! Thank in advance for any info you can & will share with me . Take care all, Johny Brando. :ride:
 
Hi Johny,

I just got back from riding in Vietnam (south to center) and I have to agree with what you said. I read similar posts before I left and thought you couldn't generalise people and places, it usually depends on how you behave. But after 12 days there I have to admit it's mostly correct.

All big cities and touristy places we went to like Saigon, Mui Ne, Nha Thrang... the people ALWAYS tried to rip us off in a more or less direct way. Once we hit the mountains and rural side it was the total opposite, friendly poor people not even accepting tips.

Personally after being in Thailand for so many years I don't think I will ever go to south Vietnam again. It was a good experience but everything was worse or equal to what I get in Thailand: average food, everything more expensive, less friendly people, bad roads, stressful traffic, hard (impossible) to find decent bikes for rent, very aggressive cops...

That being said I might give the north a try, but I would recommend you try Laos or North Thailand instead.
 
Hi Max, thank you for your comments . You are dead right too in what you stated about not normally generalising . I agree totally agree with you as it's normally unfair due to judge without knowing all the prevailing circumstances. How ever I do try and be objective and honest as thats how I like people to be with me. BSA Bob was helpful to me & said the same as you..... northern Thailand & Laos is better in just about every way . My concern is where would I fly into Thailand or Laos and where do you find a decent bike to hire at a fare rate ? I was really lucky as I did a lot of research into bike rental before going to Vietnam & found all the companies that I contacted & emailed in Hanoi were clearly trying to rip me off before I even got there !!! So I thought NO... cash is King I'll chase down a good deal when I get there. So I flew there blind and went door knocking so to speak in Hanoi & after a couple of days I found a really good honest bike hire - business owner who hired me a "brand new" XR150 Honda for $25 US a day for 21 days all up. That was brilliant although I was concerned I may well have an OFF there & I nearly did about 50 times !!! but through many years of riding & a bucket load of luck I stayed upright for the entire 4000 Klms I covered . I will say again Northern Vietnam was excellent ( with the exception of ....any commercial areas ! ) I know I can trust my Hanoi contact too, so I may well end up flying into Hanoi again and getting another bike from him & then head West into Laos & Northern Thailand as you could be in Laos in a day from Hanoi if you get a wiggle on ! Max i have been to Saigon & Vung-Tha (thats we way we spell it here, Ha ha ...you know were I mean ! ) but thats all I have seen of down South & I was just passing through then before going off-shore for 3 months & that was 18 years ago & on a work job ...I was a sub sea Contruction Diver ...Oil & Gas . What I saw then of southern Vietnam made me certain to only go North ! plus the Mountains and scenery are spectacular up North . Any recommendations you may have Max about Laos & northern Vietnam I'd certainly appreciate hearing from you again & thank you for taking the trouble to respond to my post. Cheers, Johny Brando.
MastaMax said:
Hi Johny,

I just got back from riding in Vietnam (south to center) and I have to agree with what you said. I read similar posts before I left and thought you couldn't generalise people and places, it usually depends on how you behave. But after 12 days there I have to admit it's mostly correct.

All big cities and touristy places we went to like Saigon, Mui Ne, Nha Thrang... the people ALWAYS tried to rip us off in a more or less direct way. Once we hit the mountains and rural side it was the total opposite, friendly poor people not even accepting tips.

Personally after being in Thailand for so many years I don't think I will ever go to south Vietnam again. It was a good experience but everything was worse or equal to what I get in Thailand: average food, everything more expensive, less friendly people, bad roads, stressful traffic, hard (impossible) to find decent bikes for rent, very aggressive cops...That being said I might give the north a try, but I would recommend you try Laos or North Thailand instead.
Click to expand...
 
I mostly ride in north Thailand so am not the best to recommend any places in Laos or north Vietnam, but have a look at the Laos part of this forum, there are 100s of amazing threads.

We found some mountains in the south/center too, around Dalat area :) :

vietnam_170420_0266.jpg
 
They were brilliant posts and excellent video & still images !!!!! & obviously you put a lot of effort into making that happen and all the guys clearly had a brilliant time. Your lucky to have such a bunch of mates that all luv adventure rides ...i wish of was that fortunate as it's a lot more fun in a small group like that ...as long as all the bikes are sound & the guys are all compatible which obviously they were.! Well done Pounce & thank you.
Pounce said:
Just 2 of my rides in Northern Laos Johny, you'll love it...

http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/threads/3393-Crusty-Quinns-do-Northern-Laos-December-2012

http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/threads/8105-Laos-January-2016-Comedy-of-Errors
Click to expand...

- - - Updated - - -

They were brilliant posts and excellent video & still images !!!!! & obviously you put a lot of effort into making that happen and all the guys clearly had a brilliant time. Your lucky to have such a bunch of mates that all luv adventure rides ...i wish of was that fortunate as it's a lot more fun in a small group like that ...as long as all the bikes are sound & the guys are all compatible which obviously they were.! Well done Pounce & thank you.
Pounce said:
Just 2 of my rides in Northern Laos Johny, you'll love it...

http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/threads/3393-Crusty-Quinns-do-Northern-Laos-December-2012

http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/threads/8105-Laos-January-2016-Comedy-of-Errors
Click to expand...
 
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