Two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City and we were climbing the walls. Waiting for our visas to get their extensions, Carmel and I attempted to immerse ourselves into some semblance of a routine – weaving our way through the surrealistically fluid traffic for someplace to eat that wasn’t a tourist trap was more difficult than we anticipated. So, we would gradually venture further out from the city center, maneuvering our way through pockets of traffic and people, consuming the unpleasant mix of tropic humidity and exhaust gasses in order to get a decent local meal. Then we’d visit some sites, stroll through markets, stop for a cold, cheap beer, then later, repeat the trekking process for dinner. This routine became old quickly, so when we finally got our visa extensions and passports back, we were hankering to get out of the city. From what we heard and read from other travelers, the “right” way to see Vietnam is on a motorcycle.
The beauty of the Vietnamese countryside
The central part of the country is said to have one of the most beautiful countrysides in Asia. To view it out of a dust coated bus window is not doing it any service. To ride in the open air and get a full, broader perspective of the sprawling jungles and fields while having the freedom to stop wherever you want for a beverage or bathroom break is an easy sell. Unfortunately, neither Carmel or I have any experience riding motorcycles, and the thought of learning how to ride on the jungle roads of Vietnam struck more anxiety than relief. Luckily, there are a host of “easy riding” companies offering tours. Easy riding tours mean that somebody else, skilled and experienced, maneuvers the motorcycle and organizes the daily route and itinerary while you sit on back and enjoy the scenery and spoils without worry. Sweet deal for people like us.
Sitting in our room in Ho Chi Minh City, we became giddy with anticipation of touring the countryside, and eagerly searched for a tour company. After browsing through numerous companies, we settled on Hue Adventures, mostly due to the ridiculously lopsided positive reviews it received on TripAdvisor. So, off we went – first to Hoi An, along the South Central Coast, for a few days of small(er) town relaxation (relatively during the Tet holiday) Our tour guides/drivers, conveniently and alliteratively named Top and Tim, greeted us at our home stay in Hoi An, strapped our packs on the bikes, and hauled us away for our initial three-day tour. Not having ridden a motorcycle before, I naturally spent the first half-hour gripping fiercely onto the back of Tim’s jacket, feeling neurotically fearful I was going to slip right off the back of the bike or topple over like some drunken monkey falling off a branch. Of course neither of those things happened. Instead, we cruised along and then I relaxed and then I started to enjoy the ride.
I’ll spare all the details of the tour and include a few memorable moments and places. One of the first places we visited were the Marble Mountains, south of Da Nang. Approaching these cluster of marble and limestone hills, I immediately thought, “We’re going to Castle Grayskull” (Masters of the Universe, anybody?). Carmel and I hiked up a steep hill to the first of several tunnel and cave systems that intertwine along the mountainside. I would put Marble Mountain in the category of touristy sites that wouldn’t function in the States due to the high danger factor and libel-ripe opportunities: uneven, steep paths; slippery limestone steps leading into patches of complete darkness; squeezing through narrow, cramped openings to more slippery paths. At one point walking down a particularly steep pathway, I slipped and tumbled forward towards a family with toddlers. In a doomed filled moment, I envisioned leveling the family, the wobbly toddlers falling into an inconspicuous cave pit. However, I caught myself on a jagged rock, scraping my palm but sparing any additional injurious drama. Needless to say, Marble Mountain ended up to be a productive (but brutal) workout, and the moniker of Castle Grayskull seemed well-earned and appropriate.
The daunting ascent to Marble Mountain
Into the mouth of an unlikely tourist attraction
Nursing my wound and catching my breath
After our first day on the road, over a hearty local feast, Top made us an offer. Hearing that we planned on spending several days in their hometown of Hue, both he and Tim gasped and emphatically shook their heads. “No, no,” he insisted, “You can spend maybe two days there, but no more…we’re from there…we know!” Carmel and I started to explain that we had a budget and could use the spare time to catch up on the blog and other writing projects, but Top had a better idea. “You can extend the tour to five days and we can go up north, visit the Paradise Caves and ride along the original Ho Chi Minh Trail through the jungle.” We didn’t commit right then. Later that night, Carmel and I talked about the pros and cons: it would only pad an already pricey tour but would give us an opportunity to see more of a country we wouldn’t be able to see on our own. We had spent so many days already biding our time in Ho Chi Minh City, so it only took us about ten minutes of pondering before deciding to extend the tour. Money is always an issue with this sort of travel, but as Carmel so eloquently asked, “If money wasn’t an issue, would you want to do this?” We both readily agreed we would. Money is indeed a factor when traveling long-term, but the opportunity to experience trumps any obstacles, especially since we had the money to extend the tour. And so we did, and it was predictably a wise and subsequently memorable decision.
Carmel and I at the start of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
It didn’t take long coasting along the windy roads, soaking in the gorgeous sunshine and constantly changing scenery, to get what all the fuss is about. I began to understand the fervid passion people feel about riding motorcycles. There is an undeniable sense of freedom not being contained by glass and metal – to literally feel the wind on the back of your neck; to maneuver curves and bends swiftly and gracefully; a sense of connecting more fully with the surrounding environment instead of isolating one self with various distractions like GPS and stereos. I got it.
Not having to concentrate on the actual driving of the cycle wasn’t bad either. I enjoyed the hours looking around, appreciating the scenery, daydreaming and compiling an ever-broadening list of reasons we had to do this again. Having Top and Tim as drivers and guides made a significant difference. Not only were they careful and cautious when maneuvering the bikes, but made frequent stops for stretch/pee breaks and informed us thoroughly about the sites and locations we were visiting. They also made sure we were properly caffeinated with potently strong Vietnamese coffee, and arranged a feast for dinner at the end of a long day’s journey. Unlike some other companies and clients we encountered at roadside restaurants and hotels, Tim and Top sat with us during meals, sharing stories about our families and countries, and becoming friends by the end of the tour.
The barren remains of Khe Sanh base
The 17th Parallel separating former North and South Vietnam
The remnants of “The American War” (as the Vietnamese refer to it as) are everywhere in the country and a ludicrous source of tourist money for the country. Over the course of the five days, we visited many places and sites from the war, including the Khe Sanh air force base – one of the last American air force bases in the country, the 17th Parallel and DMZ, and the Vinh Moc tunnels, located along the border between North and South Vietnam. The tunnels were a highlight for me because not only did they illustrate the complexity of the North Vietnamese efforts, but also the sheer ingenuity of the villagers to build and live in such a vast network. Constructed in 1966 and used until 1972, the tunnel systems were used to transport and store materials, as well as house nearby villagers. Three levels burrowing down 30 meters, the tunnels housed up to 60 families with 17 children born in there. There were schools, a hospital, strategic meeting rooms and storage facilities as well as each family having a small living space. Small ventilation tunnels were dug throughout, filtering smoke to not draw attention to outside troops and aircraft. The total length of the tunnels is nearly 2,000 meters long with 6 entrances to the tops of hills and 7 entrances to the South China sea. Although U.S. forces relentlessly bombed the surrounding areas between 1966 and 1972, there were reportedly no casualties suffered for those that lived in the tunnels.
We had an “exclusive” tour of the tunnels, away from the packs of tourist groups, with a very knowledgeable tour guide. An elfish man greeted us at one of the entrances to the tunnels and enthusiastically motioned for us to follow him. Tim explained to us that he was one of the 17 children born in the tunnels during the war. Perhaps due to being born and confined down in the tunnels for much of his infant years, the man was undersized and deaf. However, effortlessly leading us through the narrow winding system, he was able to give us information on the various rooms and passageways, leading us deeper into the otherwise “unauthorized” tunnels, which became a bit claustrophobic and sweaty after a half-hour.
Carmel at one of the entrances to the tunnels
Deep into the tunnels, these figures demonstrated a typical family living area
Carmel and I with our tunnel guide
One of our last stops during our tour were the Paradise Caves. Located in the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng national park 500 kilometers south of Hanoi, the Paradise Caves are just one of over 300 caves and grottoes in the area. Discovered in 2005 and opened for the tourism industry in 2010, this cave system has become one of the emerging “hot spots” to visit in the region. Top explained that visiting this cave now would be advantageous, as the increasing frequency of tourism and inevitable wear and tear will eventually affect the beauty and integrity. The cave, in whole, spans 31 kilometers with over 1 kilometer being reserved for tourists. Walking along a wooden pathway, the sheer sight of the mighty stalactites and stalagmites that have been forming for literally millions of years, was breathtaking. The geological structures and formations are Nature’s hallucinations, surreal architecture at its finest.
We could have spent hours down there, but our hosts waited patiently outside with our packs, so we left finally after taking copious amounts of photographs, again feeling grateful that we decided to extend our tour. We ended our trip in Hue and had a celebratory lunch before parting with our new friends. Far removed from the bureaucratic shenanigans with our visas, we were able to slow down and appreciate the country for its raw, vivid beauty. Taking bikes, we could immerse ourselves with the natural surroundings, appreciate the intricacy of the jungle switchback roads instead of being nauseated by them, and wave to (and sometimes high-five) the village children who rushed out to greet us. It was a genuine adventure from start to finish, superseding the nagging worries of a budget that is unfortunately omnipresent for this sort of traveling. Carmel and I are eager to take this tour again, hopefully taking our future children along to share the stories and beauty that Vietnam has to offer outside its stereotypically frenzied metropolises.
“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
-Jack Kerouac, On the Road
All of our motorbike adventure and Vietnam photos can be found here on our Facebook page.