Our Two Day Motorcycle Northern Vietnam Diaries

By Lina Eroh

Northeast Vietnam boasts nature as you've never seen it, and as you only can atop a bright yellow motorbike. Black rock forests, rice terraces climbing to the clouds, and unscalable mountains would be enough to make the area around Ha Giang a must-visit destination, but when you add in the ubiquitous presence of the Black Hmong, our two day motorbike Vietnam becomes a can't miss.

Mention Ha Giang in conversation and you'll get one of two responses: a confused brain-searching look, or a reverence that passes across the listener's face. The towns in Vietnam's far northeast aren't on many itineraries, but for those in the know, they're top destinations that boast the best of the North's mind-boggling landscape. Even the NY Times got in on the craze a few years ago, writing what can only be described as an adjective-filled ode to the area.

I'm not sure how we decided to travel here, but decide we did, even though we had only three days before our flight out of the country and nothing at all prearranged.This is a different Vietnam, one where hotel workers speak no English; where live pigs and chickens are transported atop motorbikes; where you get dog meat when you order vegetables and noodles; and where being foreign (and especially white) means everyone in town comes to watch you talk, walk, and eat.

This is a place where you need a permit to spend the night, one where electric pink scarves and high-pitched screams of "hello" from the cliffs above the road are the only things that alert you to the presence of people. It's a place where children carry double their weight of sticks in bamboo baskets upon their backs, where men dress in high-necked black tunics and matching berets, and where the "forests" are black stone.

It's really a land like no other, and it can only be properly explored on a motorbike and with sufficient time. The first thing we learned, and quickly, was that with no prearrangements, we would lose a day in Ha Giang. This would be bad enough if we had ample time, given that Ha Giang isn't the greatest city, but it was worse given that we only had three days to begin with.

The shortest trip with the most "bang for the buck" takes you to the town of Dong Van, then on to Meo Vac, and then back to Ha Giang. It's 330km and lets you drive the most famous portion of the road, but doesn't allow much time for interacting with the locals, trekking, or letting your butt rest from the motorbike.

Dong Van had a few restaurants, but most seem to close around 6pm. We ate at the fried rice place across from our homestay. The meal, at 40,000D, was pretty good and extremely filling. For breakfast, you can try bahn cuon, a rice crepe stuffed with beef.

Recommended tours by ActiveTravel Asia:

• Motorcycling Grand Frontier North Loop of Vietnam
• Complete Trekking in Ha Giang

A real exploration of Vietnam by motorbike

By Phil D

I was meant to travel Vietnam a lot earlier, right after my Cambodia trip, but a rather spontaneous change of my itinerary forced me to postpone this adventure by more than three months. Having finally booked my ticket to Hanoi and a rough outline of places to visit in my head, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A good amount of fellow travelers told me a lot of good things about the country. Others said that they didn’t like the people and their attitude and that the country has already become too touristy. By that time I had already been to 7 other countries and I was worried that Vietnam would just not be able to fascinate me anymore. Luckily I was very wrong and it turned out to be a great trip, with all kinds of different adventures, beautiful places and memorable encounters with the locals.

For many, arriving in Hanoi is sort of a huge culture shock. It is loud, it is busy and it can be quiet dirty at times. I wasn’t too overwhelmed and actually got to like it pretty much right away. It’s a very dynamic city, the street food is marvelous and, contrary to what I have heard before, I found the locals very friendly. What I found very striking and what accompanied me as we traveled across the country was Vietnam’s ambivalent relation to the past and present. On the one hand the country’s history plays a very important role and sometimes seems to even dominate its society. The colonial times, the Vietnam War but also all of the ancient history – in an abstract way it is something that is ever-present wherever you go. On the other hand you will see a country that is on the move, values change, a new middle-class is emerging and the young people want to advance, leave things behind and move forward. In Hanoi this interesting mix became most evident.

So what about the tourism in Vietnam? It is said that Vietnam is the touristiest Southeast Asian country just after Thailand. It is true that these days the country gets a huge influx of tourists of all kinds – backpackers as well as all inclusive tours from Europe, the US and China. But there are still ways to dodge the crowds. Our motorbike trip across the mountains of Ha Giang was a perfect example for this. It is a bit out of the way, it takes some time, it might be inconvenient for some but for us the adventure we got in exchange was more than rewarding. Beautiful scenery, authentic hill tribes and yet not a lot of tourists made it one of the best trips of my entire journey.

At the same time, things can become very touristy. Good examples would be the tours of Halong Bay (which I did but did not even cover here), in my opinion one of the most overrated things ever, the still picturesque Hoi An and beach getaways like Nha Trang. I guess it depends what you are after and how you define a great holiday. The good thing about Vietnam is, that it offers a little bit of everything.

One thing is for sure though; Vietnam is the perfect country to be explored by motorbike. As most of you might know by now, it is my preferred type of transport anyhow. But Vietnam offers a great variety of exciting and interesting motorbike tours. At first my plan was to buy a bike in Hanoi and then drive down all the way to Saigon to sell it. But I soon realized that, in order to travel without time pressure, this endeavor would take more than a month. Some people do it in 2-3 weeks but I think besides the riding and a severe butt pain at the end, a trip like that wouldn’t be that enjoyable. I opted for renting here and there, either for day trips or extended road trips. Looking back at it, this was the best decision and enabled us to make the most out of the 4 weeks we had. I can recommend doing the Ha Giang loop in the North, going from Hue to Hoi and via Danang and day tours in Dalat or the Mekong Delta. Every one of these trips was worth it and with an average price of about 5-7 USD per day for a bike, it’s affordable as well.

I was positively surprised by the Vietnamese people as I heard a few bad stories before. Everyone was friendly and helpful and we had some great encounters with the locals. They can be very straight forward and they do let it show if they are not content with something. But once you learn how to interpret this, everything is fine. What I found frustrating at times was the fact that you had to haggle for literally everything. Transport, goods and sometimes even a bottle of water. To a certain degree this can be found in all of Southeast Asia and it’s normal but here it was a little too much. It seemed like people perceive Western tourists as moneybags and always try to extract the biggest amount of money as possible. As I later learned, this as well has its roots in former governmental policies and is only slowly changing. At the end of my trip the constant haggling and the abstract feeling of being overcharged just became very tiring.

I finished my journey in the Mekong Delta which somehow felt like coming home or the end of an important part of my trip. I had followed this “Mother of Waters” all the way down from Thailand, through Laos and Cambodia before making it here, where the stream empties into the South China Sea. The river had accompanied me for a long time and it made for some great memories along its banks. As different as the countries are the Mekong flows through, as different are the many faces of the river itself. From a slow and lazy stream to wild and roaring waterfalls and finally branching out into a network of small distributaries – the Mekong represents the many facets of South East Asia and I am sure that one day I will explore its origins in China and Tibet.

Seven things must do in Hanoi

By Phil D

After my Myanmar adventure, I flew into Hanoi for about a month of traveling Vietnam. My plan was to cross the country all the way from the North down to the South and into the Mekong Delta. I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about Vietnam. On the one hand I was excited to explore a new country, sample the famous Vietnamese cuisine and embark on a promising motorbike adventure Northern Vietnam. On the other hand I was a little skeptical after hearing stories about crime, people constantly being overcharged and certain places already spoilt by mass tourism.  But I wanted to see for myself and tried to keep a positive attitude. After a day in Hanoi, I met up with Angel from Canada who I had met in Bagan, Myanmar.  We arranged to team up and travel together for a bit with Hanoi being our starting point. Hanoi may not have the tropical charm of Saigon but makes up for it with some of the best street food in Asia, a lot of culture and history and a likable type of gruffness and authenticity. Here are my personal highlights which you should definitely check out:

1. Old Quarter

No Hanoi trip would be complete without spending some time in its Old Quarter and luckily our hotel was right next to it. The quarter features the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi and is the only remaining merchants’ quarter in the whole of Vietnam. It was founded in the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) and back then consisted of only 36 streets. Each one of these was home of one of the guilds and bore the name of their craft which is still the case today. Hang Bac (Silver Street) was home to the silversmiths, in Hang Lan Ong (Herb Street) you can buy all sorts of herbal medicinal products and Hang Ca (Fish Street) is the home of the fish mongers. Although these names no longer necessarily represent what is sold there it is still the best place in Hanoi to buy anything from souvenirs and fake designer label goods to traditional medicines and Buddhist artifacts. Even if you’re not shopping, it is superb place to immerse yourself into the daily Vietnamese life.

2. Hoan Kiem Lake

Named after an ancient legend, Hoan Kiem Lake (lake of the restored sword) is the epicenter of old Hanoi and serves as sort of a focal point for its public life. In the early mornings you can watch locals practicing Tai Chi on its shores, it’s a popular spot for young couples to spend time in each other’s arms on one of the park benches and at night it makes for a great panorama. The small Ngoc Son Temple is located on a little island at the northern end of the lake. During daytime it can be accesses via a an old red wooden bridge, the Bridge of the Rising Sun. The pleasant surroundings of the lake make for a nice break after having toured the Old Quarter.

3. Temple of Literature and University of Vietnam

About 2km west of Ho Kiem Lake you will find Hanoi’s Temple of Literature. It was built in 1070 and was dedicated to Confucius whose influence is still an important part of Vietnamese culture. The temple honors Vietnam’s finest scholars and men of literary accomplishment. A few years later Vietnam’s first university was founded here.The temple is a great place to wander around, unwind and explore the many pavilions, pagodas, courtyards and gardens.  If it’s not too crowded, the temple makes for a good sanctuary from the traffic outside.

4.Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The place where Ho Chi Minh’s preserved body, or affectionately referred to as “Uncle Ho”, is kept. The Mausoleum is an impressive Russian style building always guarded by two soldiers dresses in white. You can actually go inside to pay your respect but lines are supposed to be long and you have to adhere to an elaborate set of rules as you enter. In the end we are talking about Vietnam’s holiest of holies. Unfortunately we were not able to go inside since the mausoleum was closed during our stay (as it usually is during October and November).

5. Hoa Lo Prison Museum

The Hoa Lo prison was built by the French in 1896 and was used to incarcerate “anti-colonial revolutionaries”. After the French were ousted in 1954 and during the Vietnam war, it was mainly shot down American pilots who were detained in the prison. It was then when it received its new name: The Hanoi Hilton. An interesting artifact is the flight suit of former senator and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain and photographs of his capture by Hanoi locals.

6. Eat Phở

Hanoi is considered by many to be one of the world’s greatest food capitals and a street-eater’s paradise with plenty of options for those who want to eat like a local. Vietnam’s and especially Hanoi’s signature dish is Phở, a soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, meat and herbs. The dish comes with plenty of garnishes like onions, basil, bean sprouts and lime wedges. There are two varieties of Phở: Phở Ga which is made with chicken and Phở Bo which is made with beef.  It’s fresh, light and is traditionally served as breakfast food. Very small, very local, very cheap and very tasty.

7. Drink Bia hơi

Bia hơi is a specialty of the North and probably the cheapest beer in the world. The light beer is brewed daily, matured for a short period of time and then delivered to the many bars around Hanoi. These popular street corner places are referred to as beer stations and that’s what they are. You sit down on small plastic stools, order a beer accompanied by peanuts and that’s it. Locals love it and if you pick one of the non-touristy places outside the Old Town, it’s a truly authentic experience. Since the beer is brewed daily, quality varies from day to day. I actually liked it. Downing a few after a long day wandering around a city was nice and the good best thing about it is that it’s so cheap. One glass for about 3.000 VND to 5.000 VND which is equivalent to about 15 USc to 25 USc.

Hanoi was a great start for my Vietnam trip. It takes a bit getting used to it with the crazy people and the constant hustle and bustle in the Old Quarter. But then it’s a great place to immerse into the Vietnamese culture and daily life. There is a lot to do and see, by day and by night and the food, especially the street food is amazing. I think after Thailand, this was the second best I tried during my entire trip. Good value and the friendliest and most helpful staff ever.

Active travel Hoian ancient town

By Kelly

Of all the places we roamed during our monthlong adventure travel Vietnam (so many of which I am excited still to show you!), the one that nestled deepest into my heart was Hoi An, Vietnam, an exceptionally well-preserved ancient trading port on the coast of the South China Sea. Instead of taking a hotel room in town, we rented a simple but achingly beautiful little villa a few miles out, a quiet place that really felt like home for a moment.

The house was built around a central courtyard, with a small saltwater pool and explosions of exotic flowers.

It offered the perfectly tropical quintessence of indoor/outdoor living, with walls made of intricately carved wood panels through which light and mists of rain and bird songs shone. Its clay roof tiles rested on an equally elegantly articulated open beam system. At night, light was provided by handcrafted silk lanterns, their tassels swaying softly in the evening breeze. Every morning, our next door neighbor would bring over freshly baked bánh mi the Vietnamese version of a baguette plus eggs laid that day by her constantly clucking brood of chickens and mangoes and bananas plucked from the trees in our adjoining yards. We’d fry the eggs, squeeze fresh oranges and bathe outside.

Personal car ownership is uncommon in Vietnam; most locals ride motorbikes everywhere they go. Thus the streets are steadily buzzing with fantastically noisy swarms of them, moving in manic unison like huge grists of bees. There are no streetlights, no stop signs and no speed limits, but somehow it just seems to work. It was incredible to see families of six piled onto a single bike, doing the daily school/work drop-off circuit. Grannies in their seventies would ride to market in the morning, balancing twelve dozen eggs and never flinching for a second. You have not really been to Vietnam until you’ve ridden through its streets on the back of a fast-racing motorbike Vietnam. It’s an experience not to be missed active travel Vietnam.

As our house was outside of town, down a maze of dirt roads with no names, we had little choice but to live like the locals. We borrowed vintage bikes and braved the hair-raising streets.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An was an important Vietnamese trading center, where Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Indian spice merchants settled. It was considered the most propitious port on the continent, for the ancients believed that the heart of Asia (the dragon) lay beneath the earth of Hoi An. Because of this, the old town has a rich and layered look, its architecture teaming with color and a confluence of cultural influences.

The locals live and eat simply, all fresh fruits and fish and sticky rice harvested from the endless paddies on the outskirts of town. Hot chili sauce tops everything, the recipe for which we have just about mastered. Back home, I’ve always been impressed with the quality of cuisine that TURF, Zach’s restaurant in Montauk, is able to turn out from a simple kitchen inside an airstream trailer, but the Vietnamese make just as much if not more with a whole lot less. Some of the best meals I’ve ever eaten came out of tiny pushcarts equipped with rickety camp stoves, at most.