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@ough
Riding in Vietnam was just amazing, despite enough reasons for the opposite: it’s loud, dirty, chaotic and impossibly busy. People are just too fond of noise, when it’s not the honking it’s a karaoke or worse, a ridiculously loud speaker thumping beats in the middle of a perfectly picturesque rural setting. It’s curious to have a mellow time in a hectic country, but mellow it was.
We had two stages in Vietnam, North and South. North was an area called Mai Chau and Pu Luong: mountains, rice terraces, and minority villages. It’s a beautiful area, relatively free of mass tourism and with a mild climate. On our way to Mai Chau we crossed our first mountain pass since my girlfriend’s injury, which was great for our confidence. We felt we had turned a corner and would be able to enjoy our cycling again.
From there we rode to the Ninh Binh area, which is also very nice with karst mountains dotting rice plantations. The plan was to turn West and head to Laos, but we changed it all and decided to head South to the Mekong Delta. I’m so glad we did, because this place made me happier than I could have wished for. There are so many tracks and side roads to be explored, and the land is just so rich. There are many river crossings on shabby ferries, which just add to the romance.
Vietnam breaks are the best we had so far. Cafes with hammocks, coconut water, sugarcane juice, and the amazing ice coffees with complimentary tea. Most people we met were lovely and quite upbeat, comfortable in their own skin. The absolute best were the schoolchildren we shared the road with every day. They were such a joy to be around, racing us on their bikes or scooters.
Accommodation is good and easy to find (we stayed in Nha Nghis, aka guesthouses). Most things are very cheap, and vegetarians can eat well enough. It’s very easy to avoid the tourist areas and there’s plenty to enjoy in most regions of the country. For our kind of touring, it was perfect.
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