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barefootbeautician · 5 years ago

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Motorbiking across Vietnam!

The good, the bad and the weather.

If you have decided you want to motorbike Vietnam, woo go you! This is an amazing experience but WOW was it hard physically and mentally. Motorbikes are a part of life in this country with over 30 million taking up the roads. This was my first time ever riding a motorbike and believe me, if you can ride a bike here, you can ride one anywhere in the world!

While cruising the highway we saw some very interesting sights; from families of five on one bike, to a massive cage of ducks coming off every part of a bike! How they balance all the different things on these small bikes amazes me.

Riding in Vietnam is not for the faint hearted, there seems to be little to no rules on these roads. Green light means go, amber still go and the count down from 5 on the red light still means go. There is no right of way on a roundabout with people honking left, right and centre for you to move! However honking is a normal thing here, it usually means "I'm about to overtake you" or "I'm next to you so don't turn". It scared the hell out of me when a massive truck honked something sounding like a fog horn next to me, while overtaking a bus going into incoming traffic. I have many memories of almost being squashed so being alert and remember to move out the way is the best advice. They are a lot bigger and don't seem to care about you on your small bike.

Rent or buy a motorbike

I believe this is a personal preference whether to buy or rent your mighty steed. We opted for renting as the company we went for were great! It was so easy to rent it in Hanoi and drop it off in Ho Chi Minh. The guy was great throughout our trip and let us know the best places to do bike services down the country. It was also very nice not to have to worry about selling the bike at the end, we were on quite a tight schedule so being able to just leave the bike and get our deposit back, was one less thing to stress about. The only slight set back is you do have a set date to give the bike back by so make sure you give yourself enough time to make it all the way down and not have to rush. The fee varies from company to company so just read the small print and make sure you get the bike back in time and all will be good.

Saying all of this, in the backpacker areas, bikes are easy to find and cheap to buy. So if you want one you can decorate and call your own, then this is a great thing to do. Make sure you have your paper registration (blue card) when buying a bike. You will need this to sell the bike and it's your proof of ownership if you get stopped at road blocks. Just remember to test drive a few first and make sure everything works. Repairs are cheap along the way, but it won't be fun to break down in the middle of a highway.

Whether you buy or rent your bike always remember to name it! Makes it more fun:) In the picture above you will see our mighty steeds- Ronald and Wilson.

Accommodation

We never had trouble finding places to crash for a night or two. We used hostels, Airbnb and couchsurfing. We loved couchsurfing, it was a great way to stay with locals and learn more about the culture. We always booked a day ahead as it was nicer to know we had somewhere to rest after a long day of driving. Mixing up your budgets is good too, so if we did couchsurfing for a few nights, we would splurge a bit on our next place. When I say splurge, it never broke the bank as all accommodation is pretty cheap.

Food and coffee

Phò

This had to be one of my favourite dishes! After a long ride in the ice cold rain, this hot noodle soup was perfect and tasted delicious. It's eaten at any time of day but mainly for breakfast. It's a very light but filling meal consisting of light beef broth flavoured with ginger and coriander, flat rice noodles, spring onions and slivers of raw beef that cook in the broth. It's so yummy!

Banh Mi

What a magical sandwich! The best place we had one was in Hoi An. This baguette sandwich is filled with crunchy salad, pork pate, slow roasted pork and sriracha sauce. There are different meat fillings but the pork was my favourite. Super filling and full of amazing flavour.

Goi cuon

One of Vietnams most favourite dishes. Translucent spring rolls packed with greens, coriander and various combinations of minced pork, shrimp or crab. You can also dip them in fish sauce which really adds to the flavour of these delicious rolls!

The motorcycle trip

Starting in the busy centre of Hanoi we took 4 weeks to ride down the coast to Ho Chi Minh. Through winding roads, freezing rain, busy highways and bright sunshine. Unfortunately for us, it rained 3 weeks out of the 4 which wasn't fun on a motorbike. We went through alot of ponchos, a rain coat and pants, bin bag under layers for warmth and plastic bags for our feet, as you can imagine, they were some very attractive outfits.

I'm not going to write every place we visited as some were only for one night to rest our tired heads. We started in Hanoi so the places will be in order from top to bottom. So I'll just be writing the places with the best memories:)

Hanoi

The capital city of Vietnam, the starting or finishing point for many Vietnam motorbike itineraries. I would suggest staying in the Old quarter ( Hoan Kiem) as it’s always busy with tourists and locals. It’s ideal for backpackers who want to be close to it all, eat great authentic food and enjoy the nightlife. However we were not very clued up when it came to staying here and unfortunately booked an Airbnb way out of the happening area. It was very interesting trying to order food at a Vietnamese restaurant where there was no English on the menu and no one spoke English. It made for a fun guessing game trying to not order chickens feet!

Ha Long Bay

There are so many boat cruises in this place to take you around the hundreds of freestanding islands. We went on a 2 day boat tour which included food, alcohol and a bed for the night. On this tour we got to walk around in a massive cave, checkout a floating pearl farm and climb to the top of one of the islands to see an amazing view. This is definitely worth doing however there are thousands of tourists which kind of takes the magic away and unfortunately we had rain the whole time. There wasn't much else to do in Ha Long bay for us, so we left after a couple days and carried on our adventure south.

Journey from there to Hue was pretty boring for us. All the rain, evil bed bugs and very long cold rides. Nothing worth chatting about but it finally looked up from Hue.

Hue

FINALLY SEEN SUNSHINE!! I was starting to forget what blue sky looks like and the feeling of sun on my skin. We only spend one night here and found it pretty cool. The food and coffee was really good and the bars were fun. Only thing that annoyed us was a crazy amount of people on bikes trying to sell you cannabis, obviously say no because most of them work with the police to catch people.

Da Nang

Loved Da Nang! Full of history, good food and beautiful views. The Hai Van Pass, which was made famous by an episode of Top Gear, is a definite must! Beautiful winding roads and incredible ocean views make it any motorbikers dream.

Once you've finished with this amazing drive, The Golden Bridge was awesome to see! The best time to go is as soon as it opens at 8am so you miss the massive rush of tourists and tour groups which is about 10 a.m onwards. There are so many people on the bridge it takes away the splendor of it. Also when you go early, you will most likely see loads of brides and grooms taking beautiful wedding pictures which was nice to see.

The cable car ride up to the bridge is one of the longest in the world and it's so much fun! Breathtaking views the whole way up and if you do go early, you usually get the cart to yourself.

Another must do is The Marble Mountains. These amazing mountains are full of tunnels, caves and Buddhist shrines just waiting to be explored! If you have plenty of energy and love a good mission, you can climb to the summit of one of the mountains and feast your eyes on spectacular views over the entire area.

Last but not least, is the Son Tra Peninsula. At the size of over 4000 hectares, this beautiful rainforest is massive! It juts out into the sea from the city of Da Nang with hikes to go on, incredible views and untouched beaches.

Hoi An

This was the first place that had a real backpacker feel to it. Plenty of hostels to choose from, great food all around and nightclubs next to the beach. We stayed in a hostel called "Tribee Ede hostel" which had a relaxing pool and buzzing bar area. Drinking games were played most evenings and even an amazing free food tour once a week. As I said earlier, Hoi An definitely has the best Banh Mi in Vietnam, along with other very tasty foods to try.

If your looking to get a suit or dress tailored, this is the place, with over 50 tailor shops to choose from and very fast service. I got a dress tailored within 24 hours!

Nha Trang

We weren't here for long but it was quite a cool place. Our hostel had free beer for a couple of hours at their rooftop bar which was awesome. Plus a yummy meal shared with other travelers, which was a great way to meet other backpackers and swap stories of Vietnam.

Dalat

Our hostel was not the best here, it had a curfu to be back by or they would lock the doors! So obviously we pushed boundaries ;) Most unusual thing I've come across with a hostel. So unfortunately we couldn't stay out past midnight but we still managed to have some fun. The best thing we found in Dalat was the Maze Bar! Never seen anything like it! It was literally a maze inside a building with bars on different floors, full of secret spots and a beautiful rooftop maze with a view of the city.

Ho Chi Minh

The last place on our Vietnam roadtrip! There is lots to do in this busy city. We were only here a few days so didn't do a huge amount. However going to a rooftop bar is a must here. We couldn't actually afford a drink at the one we went to, but did get to see the amazing view of the city!

We were lucky enough to be here for New Years Eve and got to meet up with a bunch of awesome travellers we met in Hoi An. New Years was such a crazy experience! With the most iconic strip of bars and clubs we have ever seen, packed with thousands of people enjoying the festivities.

After New Years madness we had to say goodbye to our mighty steeds! It was one of the best but hardest 4 weeks, full of amazing food, beautiful coffee, a lot of rain and great friends! Biking Vietnam... Not for the faint hearted.

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barefootbeautician · 6 years ago

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Getting lost in Bangkok

This is usually the first stop when coming to South East Asia. A place full of weaving motorbikes, honking tuk tuks, the smell of meat being grilled by the side of the road and intense humid heat. This is a love or hate kind of city and it can take a while to get used to its high pace busy ways. I believe you can get all your exploring and sightseeing done in 3 days.

So you step outside the airport in Bangkok and have the fun part of trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to your hostel. I recommend not to just give in to the honking and shouting of "taxi taxi!" from the drivers as they charge a ridiculously high price. The best way to get into the centre is by the metro, it's fast and a lot cheaper. Once in the centre, and probably still lost, you can get a taxi or tuk tuk which won't cost as much as it would from the airport.

Accommodation

In my opinion, it's best not to actually stay on Khao San road which a lot of backpackers do. It's full of loud cheesy music, drunk people stumbling around and people waving scorpions in your face. If you don't plan on sleeping or can sleep through the bass of the music, then this is the street for you! If however, your like me and need sleep to function, then I suggest any hostel a few streets away in any direction to get some peace and quiet.

"Sloth Hostel"

Really liked this hostel! Very central place and just a 5 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road. Can't go wrong with comfy pod beds, clean rooms, free basic breakfast and hot showers. Everything you need from a good hostel.

"Casa Nithra Hotel"

If your looking for a bit more luxury, this place was great in old town Bangkok! Big rooms, comfy bed and a peaceful rooftop pool. It has a restaurant that sells yummy food plus your a short walk away from Khao San road with loads of restaurants, clubs and shopping.

Temple hopping

Our temple hopping was a lot of fun! Mainly due to getting kidnapped by a very nice tuk tuk driver who took us around to 4 of the temples and of course, a suit tailor shop. It only cost us 30Baht for the whole thing plus he got us a river boat ride for cheaper! You have to be careful with this as we heard after about a lot of scams from getting a tuk tuk day tour, we were just very lucky.

"Wat Pho- reclining Buddha"

This temple is home to the massive 46-meter long golden reclining Buddha and is definitely a must see! It's one of the oldest and largest temple complexes in Bangkok.

The temple compound is also the national headquarters for the teaching of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage.

"Wat Arun- Also known as "Temple of Dawn"

This is probably one of the most beautiful and most famous temples in Bangkok. The full name of this temple is "Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchaworamahaviharn". It is named after the Hindu deity Aruna, the god of the dawn. In the centre stands the impressive 82 m high beautifully decorated Khmer-style tower,where you can walk up the steep stairs and admire the view of Bangkok and the surrounding rivers.

To get to the temple you have to cross the Chao Phraya River, this costs 5 Baht each way by shuttle boat. It costs 50 Baht per person to get into the temple and remember when visiting any of these temples to cover knees and shoulders as a form of respect.

"Grand Palace"

This is one of the busiest tourist stops in Bangkok and a definite must see. It's situated on the banks of Chao Phraya River surrounded by four tall walls holding in the impressive Grand Palace complex.

Walking into this historic place, it's hot, crowded and full of big excited tour groups. It costs 500 Baht per person and if you really want to learn about the history, you can hire a guide at the ticket kiosk. Or you can rent an audio guide for 200 Baht = US$ 6 for two hours.

"Wat Intharawihan- The temple of the standing Budda"

This impressive 32 meter standing gold Budda is a Buddhist temple complex close to the Chao Phraya river. It is decorated with glass and 24K gold mosaics and dates from the early Ayutthaya period.

It's not a massively popular temple and there isn't much else apart from the Budda but if you have spare time it is definitely worth checking out the size and beauty of this standing Budda.

Chinatown

This vibrant street is a maze of little alleyways, hectic markets and yummy authentic Thai street food.

I found it was best to visit at night to experience the bright lights, hustle and bustle of the markets and of course the amazing food stalls with there lovely plastic chairs and tables in the street. I had the best BBQ sea bass I've ever tasted in one of the little restaurants along this road.

Khao San Road

This is one of the craziest streets I've been on! It has quite a mix of things to do and see. Starting from street venders selling clothes, people waving barbecued insects for you to eat and random souvenirs sold all down the road.

As the evening turns to night, relax in one of the many street-side bars and enjoy an ice cold Chang as you watch the mixture of backpackers and families wondering the busy street. The later you stay, the crazier it becomes! The battle of the music from the many clubs, dangerously strong buckets of alcohol and people dancing in the streets. Every night this street was a sea of people crowding the road!

If your not a party animal you can always just enjoy a comedy show which we enjoyed on one of our calmer evenings out. The street has a mixture of everything so go enjoy!

Lumphini park

Bangkok's biggest park, loved and used by visitors and citizens. It's a beautiful well kept park, perfect for a stroll or chilling on a bench watching people out for a run or watch the peaceful lake with the background of the city. It's also a lot of fun watching or participating in the aerobics that take place all over the park!

Food

"Cabbages and Condoms"

What a funky place to go! It's a little hard to find but so worth it. Forget a quick bite to eat and a movie. Why not have a romantic dinner surrounded by condoms instead?

Mechai, the chairman of Cabbages and Condoms, did not believe that condoms should be seen as a taboo because they’re a necessity to protect people against a number of things, including unwanted pregnancy.

The food is really good and the restaurant supports a number of different non-profit organizations in Thailand, including the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a sex education and AIDS prevention group.

"Street food"

The obvious one is the amazing Street food around Bangkok. You can find all different authentic Thai food throughout the streets and in the markets.

Pad Thai

Such an amazing dish and so cheap! Made with rice noodles which are stir-fried with eggs and chopped firm tofu. It is flavored with tamarind pulp, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chili pepper and palm sugar and served with lime wedges and often chopped roasted peanuts. Yum!

Khao Neow Moo Ping

The best snack on the streets of Bangkok has to be the skewers of freshly grilled pork paired with a bag full of sticky rice! They taste amazing and are great if you just want something small to eat.

To sum up Bangkok, it is a mixture of modern buildings and historical temples with lots to do and plenty of places to feast on amazing food. As I said 3-4 days is really enough to see everything so go explore this fascinating city!

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