AussieAbroad011

Hard slog but well worth it! (Hanoi to Chinese border and back).

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This was a once in a lifetime experience I’d strongly recommend to everyone! We did the tour back in 2013 from Hanoi to Sapa and the Chinese border (with other stops in the middle) back to Hanoi, and both myself and my husband look back very fondly on the experience. It was challenging, to me anyway, but that’s probably because I didn’t fully do my homework. I looked at a map of Vietnam before the ride and had a guess that we’d be riding for a handful of hours per day and should cover good ground each day, allowing time for a look around. What I didn’t factor in (not having been to Vietnam before) was single lane windy roads and moderate to heavy traffic, which meant quite long ride days. Some days it became a test of endurance riding into the night, which is fine, just not what I’d prepared myself for.
We saw some amazing sights along the way which made the long days totally worth it though. We went to some villages, schools and orphenages that were only accessable by motorbike and despite us not speaking any of their language the villagers were some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. Lunch was often duck egg baguettes (which are awesome by the way) along the side of the road somewhere and even when stopping in what looks like a deserted location people seem to come from nowhere to see what the crazy people on motorbikes are doing. When you least expect it an elderly traditional villager with blackened teeth (which I believe commands a fair amount of respect amongst the village) appeared and not only was she happy to just be around us but agreed to pose for photos. I personally found it hard to find a balance between taking too many photos and enjoying the moment minus the camera, but I was well aware I’d probably never get to meet these sort of people and see these sort of places again in my lifetime and I wanted more than my fading memory to remember it by. So what I’d recommend to most is take a Go-Pro and a tonne of different memory cards for it, strap it to your helmet, let it record everything and enjoy the ride.
Despite being a usually very competent rider able to keep up with the boys I was the slowest rider in our group. The roads can be quite dangerous, especially at night time. Some of the remote roads have a cliff wall an inch from the road on one side and a steep cliff face an inch from the road on the other. We had travel insurance, but it was just the freebie with our credit card which, when push comes to shove, isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, and that was playing on my mind on the remote windy roads. We’re young and have our whole lives ahead of us, so I didn’t fancy getting critically injured in the middle of Vietnam so I rode within my limits. The group were amazing with a tail end Charlie always behind me, and everyone can ride at their own pace but I would recommend that if you’re going in a group try to organise your friends by skill level so you’re all roughly the same. That way no one is having to wait for anyone, and no one feels obliged to keep up. And get a proper travel insurance policy! Thankfully our ride was incident free but for peace of mind a proper policy would be money well spent.
I’d also recommend carrying a daypack/backpack with some lollies or sweets for the children, and some cash for any gifts you’d like to make to villagers who let you stop and eat at their house. The children loved the lollies and were almost climbing up our legs in order to get one each. I’d also recommend learning a few Vietnamese words so when you visit the villages you’ve made a small effort to fit in with the culture. And my last tip, if you need healthy snacks carry a stash in your backpack.
I probably complained about the longs days at the time, but in hindsight it was a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should do.