Vietnam biking adventure
Discussion
So at the moment i am in Saigon, and to give a brief sum up of my situation so far:
-I quit my job
-Rented out my house
-Got a 3 month tourist visa
-Arrived in Saigon on Tuesday 5th December.
Plan is to buy a bike (already sorted
) and tour the country for a couple of months and end up in Hanoi.
Bike in question is a Honda Wave 110cc. I paid over the odds at 6,000,000 dong (just under £200) but it was the best i could find and i have been looking for a couple of days. Main thing was it had the proper honda engine and mikuni carb still (most have been swapped for chinese copies) and it drives relatively straight. That being said all is not perfect . . .
-I quit my job
-Rented out my house
-Got a 3 month tourist visa
-Arrived in Saigon on Tuesday 5th December.
Plan is to buy a bike (already sorted
) and tour the country for a couple of months and end up in Hanoi.Bike in question is a Honda Wave 110cc. I paid over the odds at 6,000,000 dong (just under £200) but it was the best i could find and i have been looking for a couple of days. Main thing was it had the proper honda engine and mikuni carb still (most have been swapped for chinese copies) and it drives relatively straight. That being said all is not perfect . . .
So today is the first day i have been able to give it a proper look over. List of jobs so far is as follows:
-Broken tail light lens
-Floppy tail light unit
-Tail / brake light dont work
-Throttle cable is very loose
-Needs an oil change and chain adjustment
-Front disk is amazingly knackered
Here it is outside the shop i bought it from yesterday
Lovely pink anodised brake lever
First thing today then is get the lights working. I got a tip off about a hardware market a 5 minute ride away which blew me away. Anything engineering related was for sale; nuts, bolts, tools, springs, plcs, timers, relays, pumps, valves you name it!
New tail bulb bought for 10000 dong (30p), penny washers 2000 dong (6p), superglue 15000 dong (50p)
I cracked on outside the market
I also found a large chunk of bone under the seat!
The tail light lugs were broken so the penny washers were used to take up the gap
Before:
One side done to show what i did
Front disk may be put off due to expense, it works but is badly warped. This takes me up to now anyways and im just going to find somewhere to service it. Hopefully i will keep this well up to date depending on time and internet connection
-Broken tail light lens
-Floppy tail light unit
-Tail / brake light dont work
-Throttle cable is very loose
-Needs an oil change and chain adjustment
-Front disk is amazingly knackered
Here it is outside the shop i bought it from yesterday
Lovely pink anodised brake lever
First thing today then is get the lights working. I got a tip off about a hardware market a 5 minute ride away which blew me away. Anything engineering related was for sale; nuts, bolts, tools, springs, plcs, timers, relays, pumps, valves you name it!
New tail bulb bought for 10000 dong (30p), penny washers 2000 dong (6p), superglue 15000 dong (50p)
I cracked on outside the market
I also found a large chunk of bone under the seat!
The tail light lugs were broken so the penny washers were used to take up the gap
Before:
One side done to show what i did
Front disk may be put off due to expense, it works but is badly warped. This takes me up to now anyways and im just going to find somewhere to service it. Hopefully i will keep this well up to date depending on time and internet connection
Got back from a (boring, non-bike) tour of Vietnam in October, very jealous! An incredible country and lovely people everywhere.
I'd say a Honda Wave or Cub is the perfect choice, they're literally everywhere in their thousands.
One thing I would say is that I enjoyed the North of the country much more than the South, Ho Chi Minh in particular was a bit too westernised, but the contrast is quite amazing.
I'd say a Honda Wave or Cub is the perfect choice, they're literally everywhere in their thousands.
One thing I would say is that I enjoyed the North of the country much more than the South, Ho Chi Minh in particular was a bit too westernised, but the contrast is quite amazing.
Edited by Krikkit on Friday 8th December 09:20
HustleRussell said:
CAPP0 said:
Very envious indeed.
I'm envious too as I only had 12 days in Vietnam and it is now behind me. Having said that, the only thing I'd change would be to make it longer. Oh and there's a couple of meals I'd order differently but that's all part of the fun If/when you go to Hoi Anh this is the best Banh Mi that both a) the locals and b) our tour guide had ever found.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g2...
HustleRussell said:
Don't finish in Hanoi, go to Sa Pa- you won't regret it.
Or sell the bike in Hanoi and take the Fanxipan express up to Sa Pa, find my mate hoong's garage and go on a tour with him. Ride through the hills smoking his mountain weed
Ditto. Did a month back-packing / bus journeys / hiring peds South to North and did a week in Sapa via that train. Wandering round the markets and admiring the pets in dismantled kit format was a bit odd. Utterley froze because a week before a local had tried to 'move' a big rock with some dynamite and our accomodation now seemed to be lacking windows. You couldn't help but laugh.Or sell the bike in Hanoi and take the Fanxipan express up to Sa Pa, find my mate hoong's garage and go on a tour with him. Ride through the hills smoking his mountain weed
Btw - Don't forget Dalat in your tour - lovely wine making mountainous area. Oh then Laos, then Cambodia etc etc
Enjoy your trip. I've quit everything twice now to go travelling - fantastic adventures. The UK over the next month will tempt me more than ever to do it yet again.
Enjoy your trip
I live in Da Nang. Right next to the Hai Van Pass.
Some good places to explore in the area.
And of course the Ho Chi Minh Road is well documented, especially the part from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha. Unbelievable road with more corners than you can shake a stick at. The views and scenery will blow you away.
Never let your guard down though and think you know what some of the other bikes are going to do. Been here over 11 years now and seen even the most seasoned riders get wiped out.
I live in Da Nang. Right next to the Hai Van Pass.
Some good places to explore in the area.
And of course the Ho Chi Minh Road is well documented, especially the part from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha. Unbelievable road with more corners than you can shake a stick at. The views and scenery will blow you away.
Never let your guard down though and think you know what some of the other bikes are going to do. Been here over 11 years now and seen even the most seasoned riders get wiped out.
Sounds great OP, I've visited saigon a few years ago and loved the place, scooter gridlock is something else.
I'm currently not a million miles away as I have family in Thailand and I'm just finishing up a 4 week holiday here. Needing to get somewhere in a hurry I was treated to a peak rush hour pillion ride in solid Bangkok traffic by my nephew the other morning on his Honda click scooter - my bag hit a car wing mirror at one point as I was wincing at the gap he was taking
, my safety gear well nothing not even a helmet, seems optional even though they have a mandatory helmet law. Very different from my London daily bike commuting
Hope you have a great trip, looking forward to your write ups
I'm currently not a million miles away as I have family in Thailand and I'm just finishing up a 4 week holiday here. Needing to get somewhere in a hurry I was treated to a peak rush hour pillion ride in solid Bangkok traffic by my nephew the other morning on his Honda click scooter - my bag hit a car wing mirror at one point as I was wincing at the gap he was taking
, my safety gear well nothing not even a helmet, seems optional even though they have a mandatory helmet law. Very different from my London daily bike commuting Hope you have a great trip, looking forward to your write ups
Thanks guys, i will try not to post up too many food pictures
Yesterday was my first real day on the road. Saigon to Mui Ne, I got a bit lost leaving the city so ended up doing 252km which took 7 hours!
It was an eventful trip to say the least and utterly draining. The roads were not great but got a bit nicer towards the coast. I ran out of petrol once (gauge on the bike doesnt work) and the front tyre split open and needed replacing.
To fill the tank cost me 50,000dong (£1.60) and the replacement tyre was 200,000 (£6.50) including fitting and tensioning the chain.
I also managed to lose my phone out of the holder at 35mph but surprisingly it survived and the tempered glass screen protector took the brunt of the damage.
I finally arrived just after dark. Woke up this morning to an ok view out my hotel room window . . .
Yesterday was my first real day on the road. Saigon to Mui Ne, I got a bit lost leaving the city so ended up doing 252km which took 7 hours!
It was an eventful trip to say the least and utterly draining. The roads were not great but got a bit nicer towards the coast. I ran out of petrol once (gauge on the bike doesnt work) and the front tyre split open and needed replacing.
To fill the tank cost me 50,000dong (£1.60) and the replacement tyre was 200,000 (£6.50) including fitting and tensioning the chain.
I also managed to lose my phone out of the holder at 35mph but surprisingly it survived and the tempered glass screen protector took the brunt of the damage.
I finally arrived just after dark. Woke up this morning to an ok view out my hotel room window . . .
Edited by AceOfHearts on Sunday 10th December 07:33
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