Lisa's first motorcycle trip

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Where do we start? How about when we were stopped on a street in Saigon by a man who later introduced himself as Sinh, an "easy rider"? We had previosly read about the Vietnam easy riders. They are a group of motorcycle guides who will show you anywhere in Vietnam.

Brian is very surprised that we even get past the usual "ello, wha you from?" with Sinh. Most will know that Lisa has point blank refused to ride pillion in the UK, so why would one choose the craziest city ( in terms of traffic) that we have visited for their first motorbike experience? We are still to establish why - perhaps the heat, or inspiration from Top Gear?

Anyway, we agree to a four day trip between Saigon and Dalat, which is in the central highlands of Vietnam. Sinh would ride his scooter and Brian and Lisa would ride his other motorcycle, a Chinese make called Lefan - top speed 65 km/h. Fully loaded with back packs tied on with rubber bands we leave in the middle of rush hour.

We both thoroughly enjoyed being on the bike. Sinh had promised to show us some of the real Vietnam. We are not sure what part of what we had seen so far was not real, but Sinh is certainly enthusiastic about his country. He showed us tea and coffee plantations and various lakes and waterfalls. He even provided leaky waterproofs when the heavens opened and we were hit by raindrops that stung like hail stones!

We are currently in Nha Trang (reached by the more mundane form of transport, bus) which is akin to your typical beach resort. Brian has today learnt that a hangover and scuba diving do not mix. A few drinks seemed to go on a bit later into the night than envisaged after we met up with a couple travelling in the same direction.

Vietnam is a beautifull country - tomorrow night we head north to Hoi An.

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Photos

Packing
load your bike Vietnam style!

Comments

[Steve Denyer]

Bike Condition
Hey! That chinese bike is in better condition than Brian's ZX6R!!!