Way back in April, Nicole and I rented a scooter in Chiang Mai. After such a nice day of cruising around, Nicole suggested that we tour a country by motorcycle to get a bit more than the usual routes offered by bus travel. And now we're in Vietnam traveling from Saigon to Hanoi with two trusty Honda Win 110cc motorbikes. The following entries will document the highlights as usual, but I also wanted to throw in many lessons learned to use this as a sort of guide to do the same. Here's how we got started.
After a bit of research and stories from other travelers, we were able to narrow down our area of exploration. We considered Cambodia or Laos, but we learned some crucial things that swayed our decision:
1. While you technically require a Vietnamese driver's license to operate a motorbike above 50cc, it is not openly enforced. This means that if you get pulled over you might expect to pay a fine/bribe but I haven't heard any accounts of confiscating a motorbike or being deported. Vietnam is just lawless enough to allow foreigners to squeeze by on this one.
2. This moto-pilgrimage is already somewhat established from Saigon to Hanoi. It's easy to buy a used hunk of junk from another backpacker and make the return trip they just came in on. There are also several shops that stay (way) afloat by buying dirty used bikes and reselling them after some repairs and a magical paint of coat that makes your motorcycle impervious to damage. God mode enabled. But just for the bike. Your body remains the same mortal sack of delicate calcium deposits (as riding here will quickly remind anyone).
3. It wasn't apparent at first, but Vietnam is way easier to navigate than most SE Asian counties because the French introduced their alphabet (with many variations on the accents, but it appears legible) to Vietnam and it became the standard. That means that we can actually read street signs (if they exist) and approximately speak city names when asking for directions. We might be bastardizing all seven thousand tones, but we can get the message across.
Finding bikes wasn't all that difficult. I looked up some classified listings on www.travelswop.com and also took down contact info from flyers posted outside of the various hostels in the backpackers district of Saigon. I bought a few beat-up machines and took them to one of the reseller shops so they could give me the laundry list of repairs to make. These guys sell the same Hondas for 300 to 350 dollars but they usually won't give more than 100-150 dollars when buying. I wanted to cut out the middleman on principle of doing the work myself and it turns out we saved a small amount of money by buying from travelers and finding a mechanic. It wasn't outrageously different, but it wasn't much of a headache to handle. There are mechanics every ten feet in Saigon.
If you have the time and patience, try to get quotes for the work up front and shop around. The trouble is that opinions can vary: one shop might want to repair this or that but the shop two doors down might not address the same issues. If you can, have them write out the work order and take that receipt to another shop. Then you might get some consistency. But no worries, dear friend! Parts and labor are relatively inexpensive in Vietnam. Most of the little odds and ends are 1-5 dollars and the more serious repairs can be 20 or so. These little bikes have probably had every part replaced a few times over, so while you're not getting a brand new bike you're usually getting something that isn't being neglected. You will likely buy one that just made almost the whole span of the country, and they're resilient little things. Vietnam's roads will make short work of any nice looking ride, anyway. As long as your engine/transmission/brakes are working, you'll be able to cover ground and fix the minor issues as you go.
My last bit of advice (hopefully I'll generate some more as I go) is: Try not be in a hurry but under-under-underestimate your clip. The road from Saigon to Hanoi is around 1600 kilometers but you'll want to allow time to deviate from the direct route, hang out in your favorite places, and have a few days left on your visa to sell the beastly steed that delivered you in one piece to the end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Vietnam's standard visa is 30 days, but you can extend if you really want to take your time. Most people take three weeks to make the journey, but there's a lot to consider such as weather, road conditions, and rider skill/endurance. We're currently riding in the wet season (daily T-storms), the roads sometimes look like they were bombarded by B-52s (Thanks, America!), and Nicole is still getting comfortable on a bike (full manual tranny, and that's not just her nickname). I've been riding motorcycles for over a decade but that doesn't mean much in terms of getting over the terrain quickly. My main job is to make sure we're going the right way, check the bikes for issues, and be patient and safe. An experienced rider should be able to handle this while your friends get acclimated. Some people make this journey alone but I can't imagine how (tip of the hat to those blokes, truly). Learning any new road system takes some work, but you can't just absorb it all instantly. It takes some teamwork to read/observe/analyze, then put it all into practice.
Also, the speed limit for motorbikes is typically 40-50 kmh. As I mentioned before, the police are typically lax with enforcing the road rules. But they don't have to. The potholes and decimated highways will make sure you're not speeding. Did it just start pouring and you can't see? 15 kmh is now the speed limit, but only until you are forced to take cover. The bus that pushes you off the road also makes sure you're well under forty. Of course if you're more comfortable with riding offroad you can increase this rate, but not by much. You aren't riding a dirt bike, after all. It's more of a spine-compacter with wheels.
And that's enough preaching for now. Trip updates will follow!
No comments:
Post a Comment