Motorcycle Diaries

OK so the title was a little predictable but hey ho.

Lynn and I have just finished a 3 night/4 day motorcycle tour of southern and central Vietnam. We saw loads and learned even more about Vietnam. I'll attempt to summarise for you now.

July 29th
Our one day in Nha Trang was spent lounging on the beach reading and eating Crocodile steak at night, as well as booking our Easy Rider tour.

July 30th
Lynn turned 32! What a way to celebrate - at 8.30am our two motorbikes and drivers arrived. Our bags were strapped on the back, we got fitted for helmets and off we went! Lynn had Jing as her driver and I had the younger(age 22) Duon. We were also joined by a 22 year old from Doncaster in England called Seth who had bravely decided to rent his own bike and join us.

We sped out of Nha Trang along the coast, the sun sparkled on the water, we had our shades on and the road was ours! I suddenly began to understand why my good friend Kenny Byers is so in love with his motorbike - the sense of freedom, the power, the fresh air.... We headed out into the country passing a colourful graveyard (so nice that people are dying to get in) and then stopping to view a fishing village. After a further ride into the country we stopped at a brick factory, staffed by women, that churned out 10,000 bricks per day. This may sound unremarkable but there was only 4 women working there, the conditions would not meet many health and safety standards in the UK and the equipment was basic to say the least.

For lunch we stopped at a small roadside cafe that received low marks for cleanliness but top marks for taste and we demolished our chicken and fried rice, washed down with a cold pepsiand water -all for 50,000 dom (under 2 quid).

On the afternoon route we stopped off to see a coffee plantation (Vietnam is the third largest exporter of coffee in the world), a rubber tree farm (also aleading exporter) and a pepper tree farm. Vietnam has a vast variety of resources and they are starting to realise their worth after years of underselling.

We arrived at our homefor the night at 4.30pm - a traditional Vietnamese longhouse that we would share with other travellers. It was basic - a mattress, covers and a mosquito net but it did the job. Dinner was nice and we chatted to a nice Canadian couple and Seth before heading to bed at 10pm. Didn't sleep too well as it started raining heavily during the night.

July 31st
We woke at 8.30am and left at 9am after a quick breakfast. The sun was out and we made our way to a national park and a waterfall you could supposedly walk under. The waterfall was incredibly powerful and although you could get under it there was no way we were going to risk walking all the way through.

The rain started again and we got soaked. although we were already wet after our trip under the waterfall.The falls were lovely, as was the park. The only downside being a major one throughout Vietnam - litter. It kind of ruined the park and there is no way that Thailand or Laos would allow their parks to be treated in that manner.

So far we have been very lucky with the weather but the rain started to chuck it down. We put on our raincoats and sped through small towns that had turned into mudbaths. Just as we were starting to tire of riding in the rain we stopped for lunch and had some amazing fresh spring rolls - rice paper, cucumber, green banana, star fruit, fried pork, garlic) - it was DIY and it was amazing. Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious!

The rain was off and our spirits were lifted as we headed back on the road. We stopped to watch people sifting sand and breaking granite stone to sell. We then arrived at the Lak resort at 3.30pm and checked into a nice lakeside bungalow for the night - immediately making useof it's hot shower.

At night the locals put on a music show for us in a traditional longhouse with all kinds of percussion instruments before we had dinner at the lake. The band were fantastic, a real highlight for me.

August 1st
We had breakfast at 8.30am and left at 9am to a minority village at the other side of the lake where life is incredibly simple and it's like going back in time. After that we headed to a silk worm factory that was ver interesting. We headed up into the hills toclimb to Dalat (1,500 metres above sea level). The rain started again and we were pretty wet and cold by the time we arrived at our hotel. After a hot shower wewandered around the picturesque town before having pizza and an early night.

August 2nd
Left at 9am and sped out in the rain to a minority village where I bought a silk scarf and Lynn a bag (surprise surprise). It was quite funny as the women all said I was very handsome! We had 240km tocover today so there was no messing. The waterproofs were on and we headed to Mui Ne.

This afternoon Lynn and I had a lovely stroll along the beach - our roomis about 20 yards from it. The weather is dry but overcast so we booked a bus to Saigon for $4 each for tomorrow. We've been in Vietnam for 3 weeks now so it will soon be time to head on to Cambodia.

We've literally just finished alovely seafood dinner with the highlight being the hotpot I ordered. Our bus doesn'tleave until 1.30pm tomorrow so we intened to have a long lie and hopefully some time on the beach if the rain stays off. It is now officially monsoon season! Our bus takes 4hours and wewill probably spend 3 nights in Saigon as there is a lot of history to find out about.