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Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

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someotherguy
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Joined: 04 Aug 2015
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PostPosted: 15:02 - 16 Mar 2016    Post subject: Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi Reply with quote
I'm in the middle of doing it right now - at Nha Trang.

Scooter, sadly - but an amazing journey all the same.

https://i.imgur.com/q2yn3t2.jpg

More photos to follow Thumbs Up
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 20:17 - 16 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cowabunga! I'm completely and udderly jealous.

Plenty of pictures please, milk it while you can Thumbs Up
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Skudd
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PostPosted: 20:50 - 16 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Doesn't the 97 bus go that way too?
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c-m
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PostPosted: 21:33 - 16 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Bought or rented?

I'm hearing that Vietnam has eased up on allowing foreign bikes now. Wondering if it's yet possible to buy in Malaysia and ride up.
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rubyhorse2
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PostPosted: 09:44 - 17 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
we hired a moped while on hols in vietnam, was so much fun.

Hanoi is mental by the way, there's an awesome bar overlooking a central square which you can just sit and watch the utter chaos of traffic underneath, got very drunk one night waiting for a crash, which surprisingly never came.

i want to go back now Sad
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Alpineandy
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Joined: 18 Mar 2015
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PostPosted: 15:18 - 20 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Timmy wrote:
I'm in the middle of doing it right now - at Nha Trang.


I'm Jealous!


c-m wrote:
I'm hearing that Vietnam has eased up on allowing foreign bikes now. Wondering if it's yet possible to buy in Malaysia and ride up.

I know they were letting foreign bikes across one of the boarder points but only to a 'special economic zone' (translates as an area where they specialise in taking as much money as possible from all foreigners). But I'm not sure if they've opened beyond that.
I'd check Rideasia.net and advrider.com before trying.
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arry
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PostPosted: 19:26 - 20 Mar 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
You'll have a cracking time. Did HCM to Hanoi backbone 2010 and it's the best holiday I've ever had
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Val
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PostPosted: 12:30 - 13 Apr 2016    Post subject: Re: Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi Reply with quote
Timmy wrote:
I'm in the middle of doing it right now - at Nha Trang.

Scooter, sadly - but an amazing journey all the same.

https://i.imgur.com/q2yn3t2.jpg

More photos to follow Thumbs Up


That is very cool Thumbs Up

Can we have more pictures please Very Happy
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RodYork
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PostPosted: 06:17 - 10 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
This trip looks like it has the making of a great one!

can you give us more details when you get a chance...the highs, the lows, cost, photographs- what you would change etc

Thanks Rod
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rubyhorse2
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PostPosted: 08:18 - 10 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Think i can answer what he would change and thats the bike Razz

Are you having some thoughts on your next venture then Rod?
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RodYork
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PostPosted: 06:15 - 11 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
rubyhorse2 wrote:
Think i can answer what he would change and thats the bike Razz

Are you having some thoughts on your next venture then Rod?


I have read a number of reports on trips to Vietnam - some with off road style bikes, some on scooters & some on local Russian made bikes...each has merit & value. I was reading that bike rental was around $100(US) per day...which I thought appeared a little expensive, compared to neighbouring countries.

Has anyone heard anything contrary to this..or has anyone else been relatively recently?

I'm still working on completing the change in format to DVD- so most of my focus is on that; but I do have 3 potential destinations in mind for 2017. Do you fancy coming or have you got any plans yourself?
Regards
Rod
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winz
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PostPosted: 07:05 - 11 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
RodYork wrote:

I have read a number of reports on trips to Vietnam - some with off road style bikes, some on scooters & some on local Russian made bikes...each has merit & value. I was reading that bike rental was around $100(US) per day...which I thought appeared a little expensive, compared to neighbouring countries.


WOW, $100 per day? I rented a bike in Thailand for about £4 per day.
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arry
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PostPosted: 07:22 - 11 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's definitely not that much.


I was in Vietnam for nearly a month and saw ONE proper bike and even that was a fairly mundane 600 faired commuter - can't remember which.
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rubyhorse2
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PostPosted: 08:42 - 11 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
i rented a shitty moped to get us around and that was about £5 for the day.

i did have a chat with a touring company in a bar one night, ran by an English bloke and their costs were more in line with other countries as they know what price tourists will pay. if your going to do it, see if you can avoid these type of companies (bet you could buy a bike out there cheaper)
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thehairysmite...
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PostPosted: 14:48 - 14 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can pick up a half-decent, non-genuine, Honda Win. or similar for about £150 in Hanoi / HCM, then sell it for almost the same the other end. Mechanics everywhere will fix your bike for pennies (dong!) when it inevitably brakes down.

Genuine bikes in Vietnam cost a fortune and generally come with a theft risk if you are travelling distances on it.

Have fun Timmy! Be careful in Nha Trang, many tourists get robbed in that town!
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recman
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PostPosted: 08:40 - 15 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice adventure. Scooter looks considerably more reliable/comfortable than the examples ridden by the Top Gear chaps.
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someotherguy
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PostPosted: 13:03 - 15 May 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
paddywinz wrote:
RodYork wrote:

I have read a number of reports on trips to Vietnam - some with off road style bikes, some on scooters & some on local Russian made bikes...each has merit & value. I was reading that bike rental was around $100(US) per day...which I thought appeared a little expensive, compared to neighbouring countries.


WOW, $100 per day? I rented a bike in Thailand for about £4 per day.


$100/day is ridiculous. I worked out a deal with a guy who had offices in both HCMC and Hanoi, and paid 80,000VND/day (about £2.50/day).

RodYork wrote:
can you give us more details when you get a chance...the highs, the lows, cost, photographs- what you would change etc


There weren't any lows Very Happy It was an amazing trip. I did it over 2 weeks, but that really wasn't long enough. You need at least 3 weeks, preferably 4+.

To be honest, I would actually recommend a scooter for that journey. It's really handy having the underseat storage, and it was nice not having to worry too much about chain maintenance etc. You'll also struggle to find a proper bike out there. I saw maybe 3 bikes, and maybe 1,000,000 scooters!

You could hire something like I did, but it took me a while to work out a way of riding from one place to the other and leaving the bike there, rather than having to take it back to where I started. I think it would be cheaper (and probably easier) overall to buy something when you get there and sell it when you leave. I'd say 80% of the scooters I saw were Honda 110 Wave Alphas, like this:

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-13viSfHkXf4/VGXgV8GdEFI/AAAAAAAAAxw/XdXVWGQSCJE/s1600/Wave-110-Alpha-CW.jpg

You'll be able to buy one of those for a fair price and sell it for a similar price - there's a really competitive market for them out there. There was a handful of Vespas, and the occasional Yammy (like mine!), but they make up maybe 3% of the traffic. The other 97% are Hondas, and the overwhelming majority of those are Waves.

In terms of costs, you can do it for pennies if you want to. We booked our hotels using TripAdvisor each morning. We'd look at the map, figure out where we wanted to go that day, and book a hotel for the evening. Hotels cost fuck all out there. We were staying in mid/high-end hotels, and they were still so cheap by Western standards.

Things to watch out for: there's often one price for Vietnamese, and one for foreigners (which can be 3/4 times as much). Always ask for a Vietnamese menu, which will have the actual price on it! Don't be afraid to kick off if necessary. The culture out there is just to rip off foreigners, but as long as you're not a mug you can pay the local price. Although, we are talking about the difference between paying £1.50 for a beer vs. £0.50 for a beer. You can be ripped off and it'll still be cheap!

Sadly, I dropped my phone whilst drunk on bia hoi in Hanoi, and it smashed into bits (along with all my photos) Crying or Very sad
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