Anybody that has ever travelled in a group larger than 1 person will know, trying to organise a successful trip that covers what everybody wants to do is just about impossible. The more people involved, the harder it is to listen to everybody. So to make things easy, I'm not going to listen to anybody at all. This trip will not be organised as a democracy, but a dictatorship, and I am your Kim Jong-Il. At the end of next year I will be going to Vietnam. I will be following the itinerary outlined below. If you would like to join me on my adventure, awesome! If you want to do something different, grab your handbag, and head to Wendy Wu Tours.

I will be organising the trip based around riding bikes the majority of the way, but I will make some effort to plan a second alternative transport trip for those who don't want to ride. The roads in Vietnam can be pretty nuts. On the highways, the oncoming trucks WILL cross to our side of the road to overtake other trucks, forcing us into the gutter. There WILL be cattle on the road. We will most likely all get a flat tire at some point due to the fact that nobody has fitted a new tire to a motorbike in Vietnam since 1982. Pedestrians WILL step out in front of you without looking. And that's ignoring all the mayhem associated with the other riders (there are over 3 million motorbikes/scooters in Saigon alone). Oh yeah, and we will be riding 5-6 hours on some days. So unless you have at least some experience riding, I suggest you take the alternative route. If you just want to do a bit of riding, you can hire a bike for a few days in one of the major stops.

Info For the Riders 

 

The Trail (overview)

The trip will be starting in Hanoi in mid to late December. We will get in, find a bike shop, tell them how many bikes we need, and then go on a few short trips while they round enough up for us. 

First up will be a few days in Sapa up in the mountains near the Chinese border. We will get there by overnight train as the road is bullshit hard, and it would take us days on the bikes. Return to Hanoi by will be on the train again.

Next is Ha Long Bay for a 3 day 2 night booze cruise run by Hanoi Backpackers Hostel. I've done it twice, it's fucking awesome.

Then we will pick up our bikes and start heading south. The first leg will be the toughest, it's ~900km to Hoi An, and We'll be aiming to do it in three days. Overnight stops TBA. We'll be in Hoi An for 2 or 3 nights before getting back on the bikes.

Nha Trang is the next on the list, it'll take us 2 days from Hoi An (overnight stop is again TBA. There's heaps of awesome shit to do in Nha Trang, so aiming for ~5 days here.

Pushing south again we will head to Mui Ne, another beach town, quieter than Nha Trang, but supposedly the beaches are a bit nicer.

Finally we will head to Saigon, just for a few days to make sure we have time to sell the bikes.

The Gear

When we get our bikes they will most likely come with a free helmet. This helmet was a piece of shit when it was brand new. Since then, it has most likely been worn by 50+ people, dropped a few hundred times, and possibly used as a soccer ball. It will probably be about as good as wearing an empty ice-cream container on your head. For $60 from MCAs (or ~$50 on ebay) you can get an Australian approved helmet which will be far better than anything in Vietnam, I recommend buying one of these if you dont have a helmet already. Also, if you have a big head, you might struggle to find a helmet to fit you over there.

As far as other gear goes, you definitely should bring some gloves. Jeans will be ok for riding in, kevlar ones are better if you have them, but I wouldn't buy them just for this trip. I'll also be taking a jacket. We should be able to get saddlebags with the bikes, so pack your stuff into a bag that can be easily folded away or thrown out (and buy a cheap bag in Saigon for the trip home).

The Rules

We are going to be pushing pretty hard to stay on time for this trip, so we can't pissfart around at the start of each day of riding.

The riding group will wait if:

• You are injured.
  
• You are sick.*
  
• Your bike has broken down.
  
• There is a tropical storm.
  

The riding group will not wait if:

• You are too hungover to ride.
  
• You decide you're not riding the rest of the way, and you need to sell your bike and organise alternative transport.
  
• Your girlfriend/wife decides you're not riding the rest of the way, and you need to sell your bike and organise alternative transport.
  
• You fall in love with a backpacker, and want some more bone-time before hitting the road.
  
• You decide you should actually be back home doing an MBA.
  

*As in really sick, if you get the shits, take an immodium.

Info for non-Riders

 

The Trail

Same as for the riders but without the stops between Hanoi and Hoi An, and the stop between Hoi An and Nha Trang.

The Transport

The options to get between the stops are by plane, by bus, or by train. In my opinion the overnight train is the best option. You can get a soft sleeper bed (4 people per cabin), and people come through selling beers etc so you can still have fun. It also works out cheaper as you're paying one less nights accommodation. If you have more to spend, then by al means fly. The overnight buses are the last resort. 

More detailed info to come as I work out exact dates and stops.