Day 26 May 16 2013 Nihn Binh to Hanoi To have a lonely planet is almost a must as the advice and recommendations from other travelers can save a lot of grief and time. Nihn Bihn is famous for its limestone Karsts rock formations. Halong Bay on Land it is referred to in various brochures and travel books. So let's have a look at it. About 5 km out of town there is a place where one can get into a rowing boat and be taken along waterways to view the limestone fo...

Day 25 15 May 2013 Ha Tinh to Ninh Binh Day 25 May 15 2013 Ninh Binh There is something about motorcycling many people don't understand or simply never think about at home but more so here in Vietnam There are no words to describe the harrowing, heart racing, bare knuckle exhilaration of driving a motorcycle in Vietnam. It's two worlds consisting of the crazy rat race maze of the cities, and the death defying low speed motoring down a narrow highway that...

Day 24 May 14 2013 Hue to Ha Thin Recently I (re) befriended an old schoolmate called Ted Wesselius who I shared my school bench with in grade 5. We were friends in those day and made contact again about 50 years later via the Dutch School bank (school bench) website. We have shared many a stories already and share the same witty sense of humor. Why is this relevant? Ted is married to a Vietnamese lady who hails from Hue and had asked me a while ago to see her...

Day 23 13 May 2013 Quy Nhon to Hue Did something against my principles and got lucky more than once. Now that got your attention, I guess. It all started this morning. I had loaded up the bike and pushed the bike over to the service station right next door to the hotel I was staying in. During the filling up stage a lady walked over, looked at me and pointed to the ground. Petrol was pouring out of the bike. I hastily turned off the petrol tap and looked we...

Day 22 12 May 2013 Dieu Tri (near Quy Nhon) Flying down a mountain. Distance and speed have a very different meaning in Vietnam. First of all Speed. I have already spoken about the city traffic. Now for the country. Traffic still travels around 40-60 km per hour. The main reason is that the roads are hardly ever smooth but full of bumps and lumps. Travelling on a 110 cc bike seems small but in fact is already bigger than the norm. Most of the day it is me who...