Anyone toured Vietnam?

[Boob Johnson]

Spill the beans, any motorbike stories from your time there would be great. Short or long trips, road or trail, keen to hear of your experiences :niceone:

[kiwigazza]

yeah spent a couple of weeksriding around the north, awesome roads people were cool.........you heading there? can check out my pics here

www.gazz.smugmug.com

Im on the road in mexico at the moment which is also sweet

[CookMySock]

www.gazz.smugmug.comWow, you've been everywhere.

Steve

[Boob Johnson]

yeah spent a couple of weeksriding around the north, awesome roads people were cool.........you heading there? can check out my pics here

www.gazz.smugmug.com

Im on the road in mexico at the moment which is also sweet
Ha ha epic man, epic! Great pics. You certainly have been on a few trips, do you ever work? :laugh:

Yes I am wanting to go. Some reckon do a tour but im more interested in free lancing it. Looking to travel through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam & possibly a little of Malaysia. Got any tips?


ps: What happened with the police chase? lol

[rachprice]

I haven't been to Vietnam but have been to Thailand....definitely don't bother with tours, doing it yourself is part of the adventure...though may be an idea to look at tours to see some of the attractions that they go to, to work out what it is you want to see and do!
Staying in some of the villages away from main beaches/centres etc is so much fun!!

Have you got quite a bit of time to travel? If not I would suggest choosing one place and then returning to the others seperately....all the people I have known travelling SE Asia have spent a good few weeks/month in each country and still think its not quite enough!
Highlights for my friends have been Laos and Cambodia
I think Thailand is probably the easiest in terms of culture shock, a lot of the people speak broken English, you can generally communicate quite easily

Oh apparently Vietnam is the place to get suits/clothes made too :)

[kiwigazza]

yeah i'd definatly reccomend doing it on your own but if you can afford it i guess a guide would be good....think it was about $40 US a day when i was there + you gotta pay for guides meals accom etc.

Bike was $6 a day (was spending about 30US all up) we just rented them and started riding its safe as the only problem i had was when i was near the border of china where foriegners are meant to have a permit (which i knew but didnt bother with) ended up down the cop shop just told to get out of there pretty much.

are you thinking of taking your own bike? if so all the other countrys are sweet but vietnam have to rent something there....im looking to ride from nz-euro so will be heading through there but wont be for awhile yet as yeah i gotta work sometime

plenty of info here horizonsunlimited.com and here advrider.com or hit me with any other questions ive spent a fair bit of time around those ways

[pritch]

Yeah, but it was in 1968 and mostly on foot.

It belatedly occurred to me that the Sean Flynn reference might not be immediately recognised by all...

In the late sixties or early 1970s Sean Flynn, son of Errol, went for a motorcycle ride with a friend. Neither was ever seen again.
Motorcycle touring should be less perilous these days...

[martybabe]

yeah spent a couple of weeksriding around the north, awesome roads people were cool.........you heading there? can check out my pics here

www.gazz.smugmug.com

Im on the road in mexico at the moment which is also sweet

Shit you have been everywhere and your only a youngster. Well done you, God speed on your next adventure, I is well jealous :laugh:

BooB, I'm sure you've seen it but there's a link on here somewhere to Top Gear doing Vietnam by bike, hilarious and it does make Vietnam look very appealing. Good luck with it, hope you get there! :sunny:

[crazyhorse]

Wouldn't wanna go there - now, greece, spain.... hmmmmm, that would be fun :Punk:

[Drunken Monkey]

I did some of Greece by scooter, I wouldn't rate it as much of an adventure though. I think hardship is part of the appeal of SE Asia by rickety old bike.

[Boob Johnson]

I haven't been to Vietnam but have been to Thailand....definitely don't bother with tours, doing it yourself is part of the adventure...though may be an idea to look at tours to see some of the attractions that they go to, to work out what it is you want to see and do!
Staying in some of the villages away from main beaches/centres etc is so much fun!!

Have you got quite a bit of time to travel? If not I would suggest choosing one place and then returning to the others seperately....all the people I have known travelling SE Asia have spent a good few weeks/month in each country and still think its not quite enough!
Highlights for my friends have been Laos and Cambodia
I think Thailand is probably the easiest in terms of culture shock, a lot of the people speak broken English, you can generally communicate quite easily

Oh apparently Vietnam is the place to get suits/clothes made too :)
Precisely Rach, i'm more interested to on hang with the locals in their villages off the beaten track. At this stage of the planning (early) I don't have a time frame. Thinking about landing in Singapore & making my way up the peninsula from there to Bangkok & beyond.

Yeah heard the same about suits. About $500NZ for a full tailored suit & they even keep your measurements for a few years to re order from abroad (last bit is a bit risky of course).



yeah i'd definatly reccomend doing it on your own but if you can afford it i guess a guide would be good....think it was about $40 US a day when i was there + you gotta pay for guides meals accom etc.

Bike was $6 a day (was spending about 30US all up) we just rented them and started riding its safe as the only problem i had was when i was near the border of china where foriegners are meant to have a permit (which i knew but didnt bother with) ended up down the cop shop just told to get out of there pretty much.

are you thinking of taking your own bike? if so all the other countrys are sweet but vietnam have to rent something there....im looking to ride from nz-euro so will be heading through there but wont be for awhile yet as yeah i gotta work sometime

plenty of info here horizonsunlimited.com and here advrider.com or hit me with any other questions ive spent a fair bit of time around those ways
ha ha definately not taking my ZX7R to S.E.A :laugh:

Did you have to pay the cops a bribe? I've been reading a lot about that carry on.

Not keen on the a guide for a few reasons, obviously it costs more but is still affordable it's more the adventure of it I guess. $30US a day is a site cheaper than the guided tours ive seen so far!

Cheers for the link, ill suss that out :niceone:



Yeah, but it was in 1968 and mostly on foot.

It belatedly occurred to me that the Sean Flynn reference might not be immediately recognised by all...

In the late sixties or early 1970s Sean Flynn, son of Errol, went for a motorcycle ride with a friend. Neither was ever seen again.
Motorcycle touring should be less perilous these days...
lol Pritch. I'm guessing Sean had.........an American accent?.......and was travelling in war time? :blink: Silly fool! :laugh:

Wow so you travelled Vietnam mostly by foot? Tell us more my friend!




BooB, I'm sure you've seen it but there's a link on here somewhere to Top Gear doing Vietnam by bike, hilarious and it does make Vietnam look very appealing. Good luck with it, hope you get there! :sunny:
I have it on my possesion Marty, one of their best efforts for sure :niceone:

I'm definately going, it's just a matter of timing.



I did some of Greece by scooter, I wouldn't rate it as much of an adventure though. I think hardship is part of the appeal of SE Asia by rickety old bike.
Exactly! Although doesn't have to be a rickety old bike :laugh:

[martybabe]

Wouldn't wanna go there - now, greece, spain.... hmmmmm, that would be fun :Punk:

Ah, Spain, Of all the countries I've ridden in..... A bikers dreamland for sure, superbly sealed main drags and an adventure riders nirvana, thoroughly recommended 9/10.

Not ridden in Greece, unless a gutless step through counts but the infrastucture is decades behind Spain and the toilets are terrible :laugh: Gorgeous coast lines though, a turquoise ocean and pretty white villages, mmm.

Foreign travel, you gotta love it and with beautiful NZ to come back home to eh.

[kiwigazza]

http://www.minskclubvietnam.com/

all the info for there

http://www.gt-rider.com/

for thailand

As for the suits Hoi An in vietnam is the place crazy little town full of tailors, pretty sure you´d get a few suits for $500nz

nah didnt have to pay the cops, i was actually trying to ride up a military road which is why i got busted but didnt realise as my vietnamese aint too flash. i did know that i was way inside a restricted area tho.

at the time i had no licence/insurance...nothing and there wasnt a problem at all the cops dont want the hassle i think only if you were to have an accident would it be a problem. In thailand i was riding back from the pub and came up behind a cop on a bike and thought i better not pass and then realised he was drunk as a skunk...so yeah doubt you would have any problems with the cops

theres a list of 'fines' and info on the minsk club site.....have yet to run into the mexican coppers yet but im hearing it might be another story

when you thinkin of going? im pretty keen to get back to vietnam wanna ride cambodia aswell and not so keen on riding that one by myself but we´ll see

[Boob Johnson]

http://www.minskclubvietnam.com/

all the info for there

http://www.gt-rider.com/

for thailand

As for the suits Hoi An in vietnam is the place crazy little town full of tailors, pretty sure you´d get a few suits for $500nz

nah didnt have to pay the cops, i was actually trying to ride up a military road which is why i got busted but didnt realise as my vietnamese aint too flash. i did know that i was way inside a restricted area tho.

at the time i had no licence/insurance...nothing and there wasnt a problem at all the cops dont want the hassle i think only if you were to have an accident would it be a problem. In thailand i was riding back from the pub and came up behind a cop on a bike and thought i better not pass and then realised he was drunk as a skunk...so yeah doubt you would have any problems with the cops

theres a list of 'fines' and info on the minsk club site.....have yet to run into the mexican coppers yet but im hearing it might be another story

when you thinkin of going? im pretty keen to get back to vietnam wanna ride cambodia aswell and not so keen on riding that one by myself but we´ll see
Sweet, cheers for that Gaz. At this stage it's looking on for sometime in November. By all means if the timing is right we can meet up :niceone:

Been reading some real bad things about the Minsk. Reading a blog of a guy who spent an insane amount of time having it fixed, constantly off the road. It got there in the end but was a lot of time & hassle. In your experience how did you find them? Only good bit of machinery the Ruskies pumped out en mass were the T34 & the Kalashnikov AK-47 :2guns: :laugh:

Drove up a military road? lol you're lucky to get off scott free like that.

[ynot slow]

[QUOTE=Boob Johnson;1129360651]Sweet, cheers for that Gaz. At this stage it's looking on for sometime in November. By all means if the timing is right we can meet up :niceone:
[QUOTE]

There might be a new travel centre coming to a small town near you,the owners have had expereince in Thailand,and wealth of knowledge.If it opens be upfront and say you want to pick their brains for ideas,but will book it online,if you book with them say so as well,enjoy the trip.

[kiwigazza]

ah yeah, from what i gathered the idea is to get one of the newer models...had bigger suspension,different carb and few other things. there was 4 of us we had no problems other than having to pull the carb apart once due to a gasman putting oil straight in the tank before the gas so just blocked it up, i was on the side of the road pulling it apart when some locals came along took the carb back to there place, blew it out put it back together and then wouldnt let me give them anything for there help..thats pretty much how all the locals are over there

as far as i could tell was perfect bike, simple and everybody knows how to fix them although i did travel at the end with someone who had an older one and yeah nothin but problems.

if your in other parts of sea you can get alot better bikes, but north vn is def one of the best rides ive done

this was the guy i got mine off

http://www.offroadvietnam.com/elpophtml/cuong.htm

awesome dude although seems he doesnt rent them now although he would be the man to talk to.

i think that there is a place in hanoi that rents xr150s? or something like that

as for november unfortunatly i gotta do some work,im riding around here till end of october, hopefully shipping it back to nz and hopefully get some riding in jan/feb at home

depending on how long youve got i would say just go and figure it out when your there, probably wanna take some riding gear with you tho and make good quality copies of your licence etc, then you dont have to worry about when some dodgy cop gets his hands on it also want to check that your travel insurance will cover you as not too many are real keen on riding bikes

maybe you got that stuff under control just putting it out there......

[Boob Johnson]

There might be a new travel centre coming to a small town near you,the owners have had expereince in Thailand,and wealth of knowledge.If it opens be upfront and say you want to pick their brains for ideas,but will book it online,if you book with them say so as well,enjoy the trip.
Sounds all very secret squirrel at the mo hey Tony? :shifty:



ah yeah, from what i gathered the idea is to get one of the newer models...had bigger suspension,different carb and few other things. there was 4 of us we had no problems other than having to pull the carb apart once due to a gasman putting oil straight in the tank before the gas so just blocked it up, i was on the side of the road pulling it apart when some locals came along took the carb back to there place, blew it out put it back together and then wouldnt let me give them anything for there help..thats pretty much how all the locals are over there

as far as i could tell was perfect bike, simple and everybody knows how to fix them although i did travel at the end with someone who had an older one and yeah nothin but problems.

if your in other parts of sea you can get alot better bikes, but north vn is def one of the best rides ive done

this was the guy i got mine off

http://www.offroadvietnam.com/elpophtml/cuong.htm

awesome dude although seems he doesnt rent them now although he would be the man to talk to.

i think that there is a place in hanoi that rents xr150s? or something like that

as for november unfortunatly i gotta do some work,im riding around here till end of october, hopefully shipping it back to nz and hopefully get some riding in jan/feb at home

depending on how long youve got i would say just go and figure it out when your there, probably wanna take some riding gear with you tho and make good quality copies of your licence etc, then you dont have to worry about when some dodgy cop gets his hands on it also want to check that your travel insurance will cover you as not too many are real keen on riding bikes

maybe you got that stuff under control just putting it out there......
Cheers again for the info Gaz, no hadn't gone down the travel insurance route yet so will consider that.

Yes was wondering about riding gear. I'm not planning on motorcycle touring the whole time, just a burst here n there & don't really want to take my $1000 Spidi leather jacket if ya know what I mean! (ie: adding to bag weight, take up a lot of space, ruining it etc) plus it would be way to hot to wear there surely? Any drama with getting some basic gear over there? What did you wear? Will do a mix of off road & road riding.

Definately not wanting to plan to much from this end at all, just gathering idea's & general pointers then let it flow naturally while im there.

[kiwigazza]

yeah too hot for the leathers although does get a bit cold in the mountains, i wore shorts, t shirt and helmet but after seeing some nasty accidents ive now got good gear for all weather.

Not too sure where you could get some gear, probably thailand would be easiest...could be a good place to start around chang mai in the north there is plenty of bike hire and what not and heaps of good roads to ride its also alot easier than vietnam to sort things out if your not used to the asian ways.

[Boob Johnson]

yeah too hot for the leathers although does get a bit cold in the mountains, i wore shorts, t shirt and helmet but after seeing some nasty accidents ive now got good gear for all weather.

Not too sure where you could get some gear, probably thailand would be easiest...could be a good place to start around chang mai in the north there is plenty of bike hire and what not and heaps of good roads to ride its also alot easier than vietnam to sort things out if your not used to the asian ways.
Yeah light all weather gear seems like the go. Don't seem to see locals wearing any gear at all, street cloths, no helmets etc.....mmmm <_<

Chang Mai you say? That's were all the dirty old men settle with their Thai brides isn't it? :laugh:

[kevfromcoro]

I was up in chang mai last year... done a bit of riding its great.
Goto... www.gt-rider.com.... lots of good info in there.. the forum is a bit hard to find.. will post it up if you want.. got a few contacts up there.. kiwis and ozzies....at the moment iam working on getting back to oz.. setting up a bike and shipping it to singapore. and away we go... would like to get to veitnam.. think they have a 175 limit.bit of tea money might get me in
.. cant go in nov.. to soon for me.. maybe a year away.. anyone interested??

[Boob Johnson]

I was up in chang mai last year... done a bit of riding its great.
Goto... www.gt-rider.com.... lots of good info in there.. the forum is a bit hard to find.. will post it up if you want.. got a few contacts up there.. kiwis and ozzies....at the moment iam working on getting back to oz.. setting up a bike and shipping it to singapore. and away we go... would like to get to veitnam.. think they have a 175 limit.bit of tea money might get me in
.. cant go in nov.. to soon for me.. maybe a year away.. anyone interested??
Cheers for the info Kev. Once I get confirmation of my leaving date ill tap you up then :niceone:

[kevfromcoro]

Can you put up a bit of a atinary.. times and dates...
shag it .. i may come too..

[Boob Johnson]

Can you put up a bit of a atinary.. times and dates...
shag it .. i may come too..
Very rough outline as im not wanting to plan too much at this end & im still waiting for events to unfold here that enable me to go but it's getting rather close to a green light. It's just a matter of when not if, so if it's not by the end of this year it will be next year.


Land in Singapore sometime in November, day or two there then head up the peninsula to KL, day or two there (no plans on transport yet, probably bus), cross into Thailand, most likely by pass the mega touristie spots of Ko Samui & Phuket but who know's. Make way up to Bangkok & take it from there. Want to leave it as open as possible as you just don't know what will happen or what will take ya fancy. Kiwi's get a 90 day visa off the bat in Thailand (as you probably know Kev) & it's as easy as crossing a border & returning the same day to renew it. This seems to be similar for Vietnam & Cambodia but usually a month stint (2 to 4 weeks for Laos). Also working & business visa's are possible too. (I may consider doing some work there, dependant). All seem reasonably priced, $30 to $50US although one of the books im reading may be a bit out of date on some things.

In terms of bikes, no fixed plans on that. May buy one there, or just hire one from time to time to do excursions on. Not sure how easy it is to cross borders as a westerner with your own bike?

So that's pretty much it at this stage

[funky monkey]

Watch the top gear vietnam special and go from there.
As for thailand go solo and you meet new people everyday who are more than willing to rent scooters and travel in packs with new friends, its a great place. And one thing you soon learn is that asians actualy can drive/ride, its just once they come to nz it goes all haywire.

[Boob Johnson]

Watch the top gear vietnam special and go from there.
As for thailand go solo and you meet new people everyday who are more than willing to rent scooters and travel in packs with new friends, its a great place. And one thing you soon learn is that asians actualy can drive/ride, its just once they come to nz it goes all haywire.
Yeah like most bike mad/top gear mad people ive seen that episode. I have a copy of it :niceone:

[kevfromcoro]

I was there last year <thailand>.. only got a 28 day visa.. but its easy to do a border run.and get another 28 days.. we can do this 2 times which gives us 3 months. things may of changed.. not sure. accually i was in hua hin and i could of got a border pass without even going there.. bit of tea money to the right person...i rented bikes there.. cheap as.. RG 150 $6 a day..
up to a larger bikes. honda blade or harley about $38 a day.bgot me thinking .. would like to come.. lets see what happens over the next few weeks.

[kevfromcoro]

Have a look at this link..
there is a good thread on there about viet nam

http://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/

[rachprice]

(ie: adding to bag weight, take up a lot of space, ruining it etc)

I carried my entire kit (leather suit, boots, helmet) with me on the plane plus my cabin bags! haha

[Boob Johnson]

Have a look at this link..
there is a good thread on there about viet nam

http://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/
Sweet will check it out :niceone:




I carried my entire kit (leather suit, boots, helmet) with me on the plane plus my cabin bags! haha
lol Rach, that seems a bit excessive :laugh:

[rachprice]

lol Rach, that seems a bit excessive :laugh:

Yeah but screw putting it in my checked stuff....Im already gonna be over when I come home! Especially the helmet!

[Robert Taylor]

Spill the beans, any motorbike stories from your time there would be great. Short or long trips, road or trail, keen to hear of your experiences :niceone:

I had an ex US army colonel who I built a shock for who had toured Vietnam in the 60s and helped with clearing out a few VC. He has since been back twice on motorcycle and loves the place.

[nadroj]

Are the family tagging along?

[Boob Johnson]

I had an ex US army colonel who I built a shock for who had toured Vietnam in the 60s and helped with clearing out a few VC. He has since been back twice on motorcycle and loves the place.
Ha ha, classic, bet he could spin a few yarns aye :laugh:

Was just talkin to my brother n law, he said your a bit of a hard case Robert, Bill Bailey.


Are the family tagging along?
Negative

[stig]

I did south-central Vietnam last year, one of my best experiances yet and i'll be back to do the north sometime soon for sure.

I saw some nasty accidents as well and would recomend a pressure suit as part of your protection, they are good in the hot temps as well.

Hard part is getting hold of a decent bike. May be easier in the north.
I broke my left arm offroad on the cambodia leg a week before so had to ride a clutchless honda dream, it was rugged, and tiring to put down decent miles on.
Rentals want a passport for bond too and since you need to present one to stay anywhere you may have a catch 22 if your traveling alone.

Cheap beer, awesome food, real nice people.
you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it

[Boob Johnson]

I did south-central Vietnam last year, one of my best experiances yet and i'll be back to do the north sometime soon for sure.

I saw some nasty accidents as well and would recomend a pressure suit as part of your protection, they are good in the hot temps as well.

Hard part is getting hold of a decent bike. May be easier in the north.
I broke my left arm offroad on the cambodia leg a week before so had to ride a clutchless honda dream, it was rugged, and tiring to put down decent miles on.
Rentals want a passport for bond too and since you need to present one to stay anywhere you may have a catch 22 if your traveling alone.

Cheap beer, awesome food, real nice people.
you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it
Awesome, cheers for that mate. Mmmm, that sounds like an issue (passport). Surely they will take a cash bond? Or credit card imprint?

Did you do it lone wolf or on a tour?

[stig]

went with a mate, no tour. winging it as you go is half the adventure.
not so sure on the cash bond, once you hand over cash in sea your kinda on your own I think. could be a way around it, im not sure.

It was said earlier but read through the different insurance policies for one that covers bikes.

Get those two sorted and the rest is easy.

[Boob Johnson]

went with a mate, no tour. winging it as you go is half the adventure.
not so sure on the cash bond, once you hand over cash in sea your kinda on your own I think. could be a way around it, im not sure.

It was said earlier but read through the different insurance policies for one that covers bikes.

Get those two sorted and the rest is easy.
Sweet, yeah plenty of more reading to do for sure.

And most definately no into planning too much, floating with the wind is most certainly half the fun. Most of the backpackers that come through here do exactly that. They have a skeleton of an idea then put the meat on as they go.


F.I.T's we call them ---> Free Independant Traveler :niceone:

[kiwigazza]

when i was there i had some piece of paper in my passport that i got when i crossed the border, that was used as a bond for the bike......cause yeah every place you stay will wanna hold your passport

[portokiwi]

Hay mate, a girl at my wifes work is flying to Vetnam in Feb,
She found out that it was cheaper to book your tickets from Aussie.
She got return flights for $500.00
Now all she has to buy is tickets from NZ to Aussie.
Huge savings......
I hope this helps.

[kevfromcoro]

Just on passports... the bike hire company will usually take a copy of your passport.. corse they dont have copiers. and ya got to take a walk to get a copy.not to keen on giving out my passport.
Kev

[Rover]

Look at doing northern Vietnam several years ago. Ended up going solo around Northern Thailand. Up the Loas border across the top and down the Berma border. 100% recommended. Got around by a combination of key GPS points and the Golden Triangle maps. Bike hire is easy in Chiang Mai. Only discomfort is they keep your passport as security. It is just the way they do things. Still got the maps if anyone was after them. Great what you can do when you get older. Vietnam still looks appealing.

[Eurodave]

Yeah,I was in 'Nam back in '68








Sydenham

[kevfromcoro]

Look at doing northern Vietnam several years ago. Ended up going solo around Northern Thailand. Up the Loas border across the top and down the Berma border. 100% recommended. Got around by a combination of key GPS points and the Golden Triangle maps. Bike hire is easy in Chiang Mai. Only discomfort is they keep your passport as security. It is just the way they do things. Still got the maps if anyone was after them. Great what you can do when you get older. Vietnam still looks appealing.

you still got the maps.. you didnt get them off a Mr David Uncovich did you.
wouldnt mind getting my hands on them.iam in tauruanga at the moment.
will pm ya.
Kev

[kevfromcoro]

Another link to think about..

http://www.bahtsold.com/index.php

have a look at the bikes for sale.

[rachprice]

Yeah Air Asia!!
Or student flights/STA...they do deals for everyone!

[Boob Johnson]

WooT WooT!!! Full steam ahead, the business is sold & ill be out of it by early next month, South East Asia, here I come!!! :banana:

[woodboats]

My wife and I rode North Vietnam last April on Honda 160's.
We are going back over this coming April to Vietnam and parts of Cambodia.
This trip, out 26 year old son will be joining us. He reckons he can't have us "oldies" having all th fun.

I have made some vids of the trip if you are interested.

Good luck on your journey!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrpb_UGyk7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek-4_jyt4q8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wohyizjumas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqNrnwZ8fHo

[Toureg]

Contact Martin Lenart martin@maloo.co.nz , he has done it so often he now runs informal all inclusive packages to fund his Asian lust....