Vietnam tips please
 

I last minute just went to hanaoi and bought a bike. I plan on doing the ho chi minh trail. But before i do does anyone know of any other rides i can do further up north?

Get yourself up to Ha Giang, go to QT's and ask for a map and up-to-the-minute tips on road closures.

The Ha Giang Northern Loop (road QL4C), up to Dong Van and the northern edge of Vietnam by the Chinese border, is just about the best riding there is to do in Vietnam. Easily a match for Hai Van Pass. Ma Pi Leng is probably the most scenic stretch of road, but it's all pretty damn amazing. Lots of foreigners, so there's infrastructure and the locals are used to it (but it's still exotic and authentic enough in places like Du Xia), but doesn't have the insane traffic of the more populated bits of the country.

EDIT: Pro tip that I did not try, but apparently is totally a thing: you can go to a bus station and negotiate to have your bike put in the cargo hold of a sleeper bus. Apparently it's No Big Deal to locals. Drain the tank, put it down sideways, and on you go.

Contact HUBB Moderator MarkHarf here. He just did a Vietnam ride.

There is a report here ... search for it. I'd contact for more specific tips.

Good luck! bier

china!

As usual, it's hard to tell whether the OP is ever going to return to this thread. A couple of quick ideas:

It's crucial to distinguish between Ho Chi Minh Trail and Ho Chi Minh Highway. The latter is paved, in fine shape, largely great fun with occasional lapses into polluted, crowded, truck-and-bus-clogged insanity. The former is mostly in Laos, difficult to nail down or find information about, and passable only in sections (as far as I could figure out). If you're really headed that way, it's probably a good idea to bear in mind that it was bombed heavily during the American War (as it's known), and therefore remains littered with unexploded ordinance.

For "other rides up north," check out the Vietnam Coracle site. His website is confusing and his maps are frustrating, but the information is pretty solid.

My report, heavy on words and devoid of multimedia, is at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...otorbike-94861

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Hey Man,

So, along the way on the HCM trail you pass Phong Nha Kebang national park. It's a good place to take a peak around, nice caves, good food food and some good beers.
In a small place called Bai Xep, just south of Quy Nhon is a little hostel called Big Tree Backpackers. It's a hostel run by an ozzy dude, directly on the beach. Nice place to chill a few days.
For the rest, get drivin, it's amazing around there!

Cheers

My advice is to not concentrate on a mission down HIghway 1, but to find nice places and enjoy. I even got as far up as Nin ping or whatever it’s called and thought sod that straight road with dust and watching out for everything. It’s the same all the way pretty much. As in a mission. In the end I emptied the fuel and slid the bike under the bus and did a chunk of the trip over night.the gx125 loaded with 2 of us did well but 8-10 hours a day is a bit much. Although we did just have 3 weeks