
Biking The Ho Chi Minh Highway - crc321
https://medium.com/@craigcannon/biking-the-ho-chi-minh-highway-5d8c798f310d
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drcode
Vietnam really stands out for me in the world as a place that feels
substantially different from the Western world we are used to, yet remains
pretty darn safe for a Western tourist.

Given that it is also comparably inexpensive, it really is a fantastic place
everyone should try to visit sometime.

Downsides: Lots of people have figured out how awesome Vietnam is already, so
you certainly won't be the only tourist.

Also, after you've spent five minutes on a Vietnamese street corner you'll
appreciate that riding the Ho Chi Minh Highway is indeed quite dangerous...
but just for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with being a tourist.

~~~
anpk
> Given that it is also comparably inexpensive

I had to pay 150$ for a 1 month visa, so I don't know how they can encourage
tourism with such high visa costs.

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bruceb
you must not be USA/Euro/Japan citizen?

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anpk
Nationality does not matter

[http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293921-i8432-k6284369-...](http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293921-i8432-k6284369-Current_Vietnam_VISA_fee_in_US-
Vietnam.html)

~~~
bruceb
It does. Visa on arrival is cheaper for Americans, google it. I paid $15
beforehand online and some fee when I got there. Maybe $25.

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contingencies
If anyone does this, consider getting a 3 month Chinese visa first (they've
recently been a pain to get in Vietnam due to frosty but thawing relations -
Chiang Mai or your home country are good bets) and continuing either to or
from Yunnan in China (where I've lived mostly for the last 15 years, despite
being Aussie, and trying LA and London). I've done part of the HCM highway by
motorbike, but a lot of cycle touring in the region, eg.
[http://pratyeka.org/bike/southern-
yunnan.html](http://pratyeka.org/bike/southern-yunnan.html) \- never took a
laptop though, that's nuts!

It's a shame the author skipped the Cham monuments in the middle of Vietnam.
It's truly fascinating to see such robust physical evidence of ancient Hindu
civilization amongst a modern, Sinitic one. This is part of the real beauty of
Southeast Asia as a region.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_S%C6%A1n](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_S%C6%A1n)

My family are actually about to spend a couple of weeks down in Yunnan's
Wenshan prefecture on the Vietnamese border. It has great karst scenery,
villages historically inaccessible except by boat through cave systems, cliff
tombs, neolithic cave paintings, etc. That's just one corner of Yunnan (we
also have Tibetan zones, tropical zones, etc.)

Another good option cycling out of Vietnam is northern Laos, toward Phongsali
from Dienbienphu - really 'out there' villages, still real - and you can
include your bike on boat trips down some of the rivers in the area.

Finally, if anyone's dead serious I am thinking of shipping two Weta trimarans
- [http://wetamarine.com/](http://wetamarine.com/) \- I sail on Fuxian Lake in
Yunnan down to Halong Bay for a sailing/camping exploration of the archipelago
before selling them. Been once before by public boat, there's some great
beaches!

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nodamage
Bicycle touring is an absolutely fantastic way to see any country, I would
highly recommend it to anyone interested in adventure travel. Although if
you've never done it before I'd recommend starting in Europe (with its large
network of cross-country bicycle paths).

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ctrl_freak
A couple of months ago, I bought a $300 Chinese knock-off Honda Win motorcycle
(~100cc) in Ho Chi Minh City and did pretty much the same route as this guy,
albeit with much fewer stops. It was pretty incredible. Definitely the best
way to experience Vietnam.

A similar highway exists in Thailand, the Mae Hong Son Loop[1], which I also
did on motorcycle while I was backpacking Southeast Asia. Also highly
recommended.

[1]
[http://wikitravel.org/en/Mae_Hong_Son_Loop](http://wikitravel.org/en/Mae_Hong_Son_Loop)

~~~
donquichotte
Glad to hear that it's still possible to do motorcycle tours in VN! I did a
northern loop in 2011, it was my first real motorcycle experience:
[http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/7-day-north-vietnam-
ri...](http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/7-day-north-vietnam-ride.753458/)

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mastazi
OT: Medium's lazy loading feature is super-annoying if you have a less than
awesome connection.

~~~
jordache
agreed.. as if its really benefitisl to show an extremely gaussian blurred
placeholder image. at first, i thought they were blurred due to gory content.

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anhtran
As a Vietnamese, I don't want to say the land is awesome or something like
that. If you want to go, just go. We do not have good infrastructure but safe
enough for tourists.

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usaphp
Great story. It reminds me a special episode of Top Gear [1] when they went to
Vietnam and travelled across whole Vietnam by bikes they had to purchase there
with the money "producers gave them".

[1] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear:_Vietnam_Special](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear:_Vietnam_Special)

~~~
tylerpachal
I really want to do the same trip they did! With less challenges and smaller
souvenirs of course.

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pcunite
Very cool. He did not say, but I assume, he was totally alone? That is very
brave. And those skinny tires? I would have assumed a mountain bike or
something similar?

I would like to do something like this with a group of people.

~~~
santoriv
Why is it very brave? There are tons of people around. It's not like biking
through an uninhabited wasteland.

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knz
It's been 8 years since I was in Vietnam, but just crossing the street on foot
was an adventure. I can only imagine some of the near misses you would have on
a bike.

~~~
santoriv
It's really not that bad. You just have to move in a predictable manner so all
the motorbikes can judge where you're going to be. It's like a school of fish.
You only really have to worry about the big trucks and buses that drive like
they own the road. Generally motorists are much more _aware_ than they are in
the US.

~~~
knz
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-
related_death_rate) would suggest that Vietnam is more dangerous.

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AYBABTME
Awesome article, brought back memories but I'll admit I haven't travelled
Vietnam anywhere up north or by any similar mean, just train and buses. I
should try the ride by motorcycle sometime.

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webjack7
seems absolutely no vehicular traffic on this route, that would just take out
a lot of noise / pain from the ride! Craig, any inputs on that?

~~~
crc321
Yeah, it thinned out to about one passing vehicle per hour in the most remote
parts.

The section I recommend (Day 5, Mile 70 to Day 10, Mile 64) is pretty light on
traffic, especially trucks + buses.

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A010
Awesome trip. Though even many Vietnamese don't want to travel HCM highway.
You make it looks fantastic, now I need to go there too.

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beilabs
Definitely try Nepal next, though I think you'd totally need to change your
tyres, the Nepalese country roads are brutal...

