I get to Cat Tien in the afternoon, and word must have spread about the shakedown, as soon as I check in the woman running the hotel I stayed at gave me some cake! Ok, so it might have been her birthday, but the cake was delicious aside from the candle chunk I found inside. There was an Aussie guy with a German girl, so we took off for some dinner. These two picked up bikes having little to no experience between the 2 of them. Now I wont harp on it after this, but I have met way too many people doing this. Vietnam is heavily populated, things are hectic, they do not drive well, constantly pull out in front of you, and the buses and trucks do not care about the motorcyclists. Luckily everyone drives very slowly, but Vietnam really is not a place to be learning how to ride, I strongly suggest you rent a bike at home so you can focus on the bike and driving, without all the added challenges.



Cat Tien is a national park, but I had no plans on checking it out, so the next day I take off headed to De Lat, all I know about that place is it is located in the mountains, and is known for it's nice cool climate, YES! Vietnam has been hot, so I could use the change. I didn't leave super early, so with lunch, and stopping for photos I get in around 4pm. Traffic was crazy in the city, turned out all the students were off so everyone had headed to town for some partying. I do not know how it is normally, but it was crazy the day I got in. To add to the chaos, there are lots of roundabouts, and I do not have a clue where I should be going. I grab a hostel and am not impressed with De Lat at all, but the hostel was good, and I signed up for the "family dinner". They cooked those of us who signed up a nice meal, and we all got to know each other. Everyone is going to go out for drinks, quite excited for it, but I am a bit tired so decline, asking myself why these people are so gung ho to go out on a Sunday. I was still hungry after the meal so went walking for food, when I found a large area where they had closed off the streets, full of people, vendors, and food. I am looking at a pizza treat of some sort I have not seen previously debating if I should try it, when some guys from Saigon who can speak a bit of English tell me it's good, and to try it out. They tell me the price so now that I know I am not going to get ripped off I sit down and enjoy the tasty treat. They give me the low down on some things about Vietnam, and I eventually leave them to go find desert. I walk around a bit s De Lat starts to grow on me. I go back to the hostel ready for bed and find it empty aside from the person at reception, literally everyone has gone out, savages. Well of course as has happened all to often in my previous travels I was off on my days, as it was Saturday night, which is why everyone wanted to go out so I missed out, oh well.











From De Lat I head to Nha Trang..."Russians". Well, that is the 1st word I hear anytime anyone mentions Nha Trang, which is a popular destination for Russian and Chinese tourists. Everything I read says to skip it, I even got a tip or two on where I could go instead from people at the De Lat family dinner, but I wanted to check it out. Plus the drive there took me over a pass where I got my 1st real taste of Vietnam's spectacular scenery. The previous days were fine, but nothing special, the pass, while brief, was great, and offered many photo opportunities, especially for newly weds apparently. After some nice mountain roads I arrived in Nha Trang a bit early, so it wasn't a terrible long day. I grabbed a hostel, and naturally went out for food. I grabbed myself a delicious burger, and I do not regret it! Vietnamese food is fantastic, but sometimes, you need some comfort food, and anytime I finish a ride here in Vietnam I find myself craving burgers, and a good one is hard to find here. I searched for a burger place since it is a large city, and when I saw so many positive google reviews I knew where I was headed. I then walked the boardwalk, and just kind of wandered around. I didn't mind Nha Trang, and there are some beautiful Russian women which is a nice plus. It also looked like it would have a decent night life, but I didn't check it out, so just used it as a stopping place, something I do for most of Vietnam as that visa clock is always ticking.

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The next day was a long drive, as I wanted to drive the ninh van bay peninsula to check out the recommendation from the family dinner group before continuing up the coast. I had read it was great back in the day as well, but now it kind of sucks. The drive out was a waste of my time, I only recommend it if you do not want to go to Nha Trang, and stay the night at the end of the peninsula....but to drive there and back round trip was a complete waste, and the area itself is filling up with resorts and condos, so has lots of construction going on...sadly I have missed the window on this place, which seems true for most of coastal Vietnam. Everywhere that was worth checking out at some point is now being over run with construction and tourists. Of course I live at the beach, so it is tough for me to get excited about them, maybe you will love them, but I wasn't feeling it, but still had another day or two of the coastal route I planned to follow. I then continued North which took me through some nice looking areas with fishing villages, passed blue ocean waters, and a good portion of boring old flat highway, until finally arriving in Qui Nhon late in the evening.











Qui Nhon was nice enough, a good sized small city, which people use as a base to check out beaches around the area. I only spent the night, and pushed on towards Kon Tum, as it was time to leave the coast and start ridding in the mountains, where I constantly read the real fun begins. This is where I will pick up the legendary Ho Chi Minh Highway, a system of roads which connect the Southern city of Saigon with the Northern city of Hanoi, and possibly goes all the way to China present day. This road runs through the mountains which border Cambodia/Laos, and played a crucial role in the "America/Vietnam War", but more importantly, had some great twisties and scenery for motorcycle riders. I could have picked it up sooner, but wanted to see what the beach scene was all about. I enjoyed the places I hit up, but would probably forgo them next time, but they were not bad in any way. I also plan on heading back to hit the popular locations such as Hoi An, or De Nang, before fully committing to the mountains.













All photos provided in this post are prior to the trip to Kon Tum, so as you can see there is still some very scenic mountain riding where I went, and the beaches have their moments, but I found things generally got better the farther north I went. Depending on how much time you have, I either recommend you start in Hanoi and focus only on the North, or start in Saigon like I did and head north. Many people go North to South, and comment that while it is nice, they cant help be feel slightly disappointed after starting in such an amazing area of the North and working their way South.

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Free tea and bananas were great at 1st, a few chain tightenings or general maintenance type things done to the bike on the house....but then it was free s and rice wine, and eventually free diners. The kids light up with excitement when they see me coming, running to the street and yelling "hellllllo" followed by a friendly wave. I have even had fans in the street stopping me for photos on a few occasions, clearly die hard followers of 2Guys1Truck. Finally living the life I deserve, these people get me.



Yes it is the Rockstar life in Vietnam, my fame has now gone worldwide. People were friendly in the South, still friendly in the North but much more reserved, but Central Vietnam might just have the most friendly people on this planet. It is probably what I enjoy most about this country, yes the food is great, and the motorcycle riding is phenomenal, but seeing the joy I bring to these kids really makes this place special. My ego will miss this place.


Qui Nhon to Kon Tum: 190KM

Kon Tum to Hoi An: 298KM

Hoi An to De Nang: 30KM

De Nang to Hue: 102KM

Hue to Khe Sanh: 133KM

Khe Sanh to Phong Nha: 222KM

Phong Nha to Huong Khe: 136KM

Huong Khe to Cam Thuy: 300KM

Total for Vietnam: 2078KM (1291 Miles)

So I left Qui Nhon and headed inland, knowing it would be a brief detour through the mountains before heading back to the coast. This was not the most efficient way for me to get to the popular cities of Hoi An or De Nang, but I had read good things about the drive through Kon Tum via the Ho Chi Minh Road, and those of you who have followed this blog over the years know I do not know the meaning of efficient.







The Ho Chi Minh Road roughly coincides with the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail that played a key role during the American/Vietnam war, which was a network of roads running through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It will someday run the entire length of Vietnam all the way to China, and once completed will eventually be around 2,000 miles long. Why do I care, because it contains some of the best scenery on the planet, combining some of my favorites: mountains, rivers, twisties, and switchbacks. I am now leaving Southern Vietnam and entering Central Vietnam, where the riding gets much better.





The 1st few hours inland were pleasant, I had blue skies and good roads with gentle curves taking me through the countryside and through random villages. It was a nice change after the coastal highway full of idiots driving scooters and trucks, which was also flat and straight....boring. The scenery was nice but nothing spectacular, I struggle to recall the drive prior to hitting the mountains, as it has been several weeks since I have been in Southern Vietnam at this point. That said, I can remember the exact moment when I hit the mountains, and started the climb. It was a steep ascent, and the twisties started almost immediately. The view of the valley I was leaving behind was fantastic, I can vividly picture it in my mind, which is good since I took ZERO pictures.





Yes, unfortunately, it was a long day of driving, or maybe I stopped too often for pics prior to hitting the mountains, but at some point I noticed I had 130 kms and not much time left before the sun was setting. Now 130 kms is only 80 miles, but any number of kms in Vietnam can take much longer than expected due to the road condition, the constant ascending and descending of mountains, weather, and many other reasons, so I knew I had to book it if I was going to make it to Kon Tum before nightfall. I honestly did not think I would make it, and was a bit nervous to where I would be staying as this route gets you out into the middle of nowhere. The plus here, I made that bike move like it was designed to. Generally I prefer to not push it, back home I drive fairly relaxed and keep things in check, but I did not want to be driving at night, so by being forced to push it a bit I was able to enjoy a great road on a crappy Chinese bike. The problem with this is there are animals all over the place, plus village people walking around, potholes, landslides, you know the drill. As I cruised up a particular section of mountain with my motor humming, a group of guys were chilling on the side and heard me coming, and as I flew past they raised their hands in the air with approval. Out here I started to get a few hellos, waves, and smiles...the people of Vietnam can be very friendly. If I don't get a hello they at least stare as drive by, or especially when I walk around the small towns. It does take some getting used to, but sometimes my ego loves the attention. All eyes will be on you no matter what, if you are trying to get away, relax, or happen to have social anxiety, Vietnam is not the place for you!

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The road was a typical mountain road, narrow and a bit bumpy with occasional potholes, but generally pretty good. Luckily I made it to Kon Tum just as night fell. It was dark, and I realized that both my head light and tail light were not working. Luckily, half of the bikes in Vietnam are like this, so the only worry was someone hitting me. Kon Tum doesn't have much going on for it, but there was a good selection of street food and the people were friendly, saying hello and asking where I was from. The farther north I go the more friendly they seem to be. The only foreigners passing through are on motorcycles, so I am definitely not the first, but the numbers are low. I believe the only ones in this small city, were myself, 4 Aussies, and a French Canadian. It's actually a good sized city so I am sure there were others hiding somewhere.





Walking home from my street food adventure, I turned onto the road with my hotel. This street was not lit well, but straight, wide, and empty. I watch a scooter which is passing me in the same direction, as it crashes into the steep sidewalk which was about a foot off the road. Sparks fly as the scooter slides along the sidewalk/road like a bowling ball in the gutter, with the driver tumbling across the sidewalk. Oh shit, I freeze, feeling like I should go check on the driver but knowing it will be tough to help with the language barrier. There are 2 scooters a good distance behind who absolutely saw him go down, and drive right past without even looking over at the driver to check on him, something I have read is normal here. This also makes me hesitant to get involved being a foreigner, but I can't ignore him when he is right across the street. He stumbles to his feet and seems ok. Luckily I see a guy come running from the corner, ok good now I am off the hook.





I continue walking but keep taking a look back to see what transpires, as there was no reason for the guy to have crashed on such a wide open empty street. The helper picks up the bike, and then I see he is going to drive the original driver home, which I think is nice. As they go past me I see the guy who crashed hanging sideways of that back, slowly coming closer and closer to falling as the new driver is trying to hold him up with 1 hand while driving the scooter and trying to come to a stop. Turns out the crash was because the guy was shitfaced, to drunk to drive, and to drunk to be a passenger. I thought crossing the street in Saigon was dangerous due to the number of scooters, but now crossing the street really has me worried.







I continue north through the mountains often times coming very close to the Laos border. I eventually cut inland in order to hit up Hoi An, a popular tourist destination located on the coast and known for its picturesque lanterns hung all around town. Of course an hour or so outside town I missed my turn, but due to the rain that was just arriving I continued on and ended up in De Nang which is 45 minutes north of Hoi An, meaning I would need to backtrack slightly the next day.







De Nang is one of the larger cities in Vietnam, and slightly famous for its dragon bridge. I went out with some hostel people and had a great night, but I do not know that it had anything to with De Nang, and would have been fine skipping it, but it certainly wasn't a bad destination. It is a large city with stores and food, plus some bars....which is more than most of the destinations I will be hitting up in the next few weeks.





The next day I backtracked 45 minutes or so to Hoi An, which was a nice place to relax, but is a bit touristy. I enjoyed it but 1 day would be enough for me, though many people take 2-3 days here to bike around or just plain relax. I ended up staying 2 nights as I had a list of maintenance I wanted to get done with the bike, and was to hung over to get them done the 1st day due to the previous outing in De Nang. To give you an idea on Vietnam prices, I had the guy do the following which included parts and labor:







Replaced following for 50USD total: Stator (6USD), new front shocks which I could have ignored (30USD), Brakes, headlight/taillight bulbs, weld my rack that had broke, and a couple other misc things finishing off the remaining 15 USD.

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From Hoi An I continued past De Nang heading North, passing over the legendary Hai Van Pass, made famous by the guys on Top Gear, ironically they did not even see the best parts of Vetnam, but the episode is epic. Hai Van Pass is a very beautiful mountain pass with views of the blue sea contrasting with lush green mountains. It is only 21 kms, and located just outside De Nang which makes it very easy for tourists to rent bikes and make the journey. I admit I did not get the beautiful blue skies that others are lucky enough to get though the day was nice enough, I couldn't help but feel it is over hyped. It is definitely a must do, but there were plenty of other passes throughout Vietnam that simply put this one to shame.















The next stop was Hue, a city full of history which generally bores me, but I was only stopping here as it logistically made sense on my route. I assumed it was US war history, but at least it was from cool shit back in the 1700's. There were 13 emperors who ruled Vietnam from hue, and they are buried around the city. I went to 2 of the burial sites, as well as walked around the citadel which is where they resided. They had a no peasants rule in the city, that's right peasants stay out you are not good enough for us...I like these guys. The sites were all ok but being on a moto adventure makes this stuff kind of lame to me. Plus it is a very touristy city. There is a backpacker neighborhood full of restaurants and bars which cater to tourists, and guides constantly trying to get you to go on a moto tour or sell you weed. If you are busing the country by all means check it out as it is a nice enough place, but the city did not impress me. The reason I spent 2 days here was the guy at the hostel had asked if I could stop by the local school, and mentioned it was difficult to get clean English speakers, those damn Brits or Aussies ruin it for everyone with there terrible accents. He said we would head over at 2pm, so I figured worst case scenario I am stuck there 3 hours, sow as happy to help as well as get the experience with local children.







I jump on my bike and follow him over the school. We cut through the citadel and I realize the actual citadel city is huge, it probably took us another 10-15 minutes of motoring until we exited the walls on the other side. It is enormous, and has portions of the modern city of Hue withing these walls. We arrive at school where he passes me off and I am given a brief break down of expectations, there is a teacher present but I am leading the class, asking them questions and letting them ask me questions. Here I thought I was just going to go in and speak, but they are giving me a list of topics and things to cover, I am basically teaching on the fly, without getting paid....can I talk to the union?











I walk into class and in unison they give me the "Hello Teacher, welcome to class, how are you", like a bunch of robots. But it turns out their English is much better than I anticipated, and they are surprisingly well behaved. They are thrilled that I am there, I get a lot of stares from the kids who quickly look away shyly when I look at them. The classroom isn't all that large, yet for some reason I am handed a microphone which is completely unnecessary. We play games with key phrases from my cheat sheet, mostly consisting with "Whats-your-favorite-color...Mine-is-pur-ple". Class ends after 30 or so minutes and I think I am done, but they take me to another class. As I walk in the kid in the back gives me a high five, so naturally every kid wants to high five me. I walk up the isle to the front high fiving everyone I pass like the rockstar I am, yes these kids get me. Class is similar to before but the kids are slightly younger, less behaved, and we cover different topics.





Turns out school doesn't end at 5 like I assumed, and I am suckered into 6 hours of teaching kids, while each class got younger and less behaved. The obviously sold me with the best kids 1st, knowing I couldn't get free once I was in too deep. The last class had kids who might have been 6, and there was a lot of youtube sing alongs, it was a bit rough. At 8pm it finally ends, but they pay me with delicious food, ok forget everything I said this was great I will be back everyday, they clearly know the way to my heart. Once it was finally done I was quite thankful I had been asked to go, while a long day the kids were fantastic, and it is one of those experiences that I happened to be in the right place at the right time for.





Leaving Hue an old guy comes up to me and tells me my rear tire is wobbling. Since it is a touristy place I figure it is a scam but am 50 feet from the hostel so go back and ask the guy working to take a look as I drive away, since it feels ok. He immediately tells me it is a scam, so I pull away but look back and see him give the thumbs up. Thinking all is good I continue on, but of course there would in fact be an issue with my rear tire later.

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From Hue I go to Khe Sanh, another mountain town. It is another long day with more beautiful scenery, and I arrive feeling I am the only foreigner in town. These places in the mountains are mostly stops of convenience, there is not much going on, and the only foreigners they see are generally other motorcyclists. Even finding food at night is tough, everything is dead. Most towns have a small number of hotels or hostels so that is not a problem. Generally hostels in Vietnam have been 5USD A night, while hotels start at 10USD, though the hostels are often in better shape with more comfortable beds. If you are traveling with a companion you may want to throw in a few extra bucks for the next step up regarding hotels, as they are usually adequate but nothing special. A few have been fantastic for the price, while others are what you would expect for 10USD, but for someone who lived in a van traveling Latin America these places all fill my needs.









From Khe Sanh it is a long day on the HCMR to get to Phong Nha. This is probably the best ride in all of South/Central Vietnam, as I ride a glorified side walk which is generally in good condition, with minimal traffic through some amazing mountains. I stop at one point to snap some pics of an incredible vista, and by dumb luck, happened to park in front of a family of monkeys. I wouldn't even have known they were there if they hadn't suddenly went crashing through the tree from one branch to the next as they all ran away. Luck would stick with me later as I entered Phong Nha National Park, as I saw 2 more crossing the street, which I assume is a bit rare, as most people need to go with a guide who knows where to find them.











Phong Nha is famous for not only having the worlds largest cave, but a number of other impressive caves located within the limestone mountains. The largest cave has a wait list of 1 year and costs 3 grand, so most people do not see that one, maybe it doesn't even exist. The other caves were getting mixed reviews from the people I talked to. The only one consistently recommended to me was the dark cave due to zip lining and crawling through mud. That doesn't sound all that great to me so I skipped the caving, since again it is about the ride. I naturally hit up the duck farm though, because that is what tourists do.

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The what farm, yeah that is what I said too. I was talking to the couple from Edmonton at my hostel, and they mentioned the guy from Houston heard I had a bike and was looking for me as he wasn't able to take both girls to the duck farm on his rented scooter due to the cops in the area. Yeah ok that sounds stupid I probably won't be doing that, thinking he is traveling with his daughters and cannot take them to the duck farm, but keep my mouth shut. The guy from Houston eventually shows up, we all sit around chatting and doing the normal hostel meet and greet, and the guy from Edmonton jokes that the real question is if I want the blond or brunette. Oh...."girls", glad I kept my mouth shut. Turns out a couple of British girls they met earlier while caving wanted to go check out the duck farm, and while I had not yet seen if their teeth were straight, didn't want to ruin anyone's fun. Since they needed my bike I made the sacrifice and decided go to the duck farm.












Well the duck farm was weird, but cheap, and everyone had straight teeth. We fed the ducks, letting them eat out of our hands, off from our laps., as well as off of our bare feet which was awful, did a few other weird things with them and then finally tossed them in a pond. The best part was the delicious food we had at the end, and no we were not served duck.

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