Heading Far East....again!

I have wanted to do this trip for a long time. I don't want to admit that I was influenced by the "Top Gear - Vietnam Special", but I was. Slightly. 

So, Vietnam, South to North, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) to Hanoi on a Honda XR150. Bigger bikes are available for rent, but considerably more expensive. My experience in the Philippines and other South-East nations is that a 150 is plenty. 

My, no doubt, inadequate research has suggested that November is the best compromise month to travel as the weather patterns are so vastly different across the length of the country. Plane ticket bought (via China this time as the China Southern ticket prices were very competitive). Apparently, you can have up to 10 days visa free as a "transit" passenger. So a night or two in Guangzhou at either end of the trip is on the cards.

Otherwise, I have allowed 3 weeks with the bike to cover the distance between Saigon and Hanoi. My intention is ride mostly well away from the coast as bitter experience has confirmed, I HATE beaches!!! I have mainly used Vietnam Coracle as a resource for route planning.

Vietnam Coracle

 

However, due to circumstances; the level of planning that has preceeded this trip has been minimal. So, a healthy dose of "winging it" is in order! Probably no bad thing.

Soundtrack: "Willy Welsh" - Geoff Mann