We arrived in Saigon late and hungry and quickly found some grub and a local beer on the backpacker street of Bui Vien (please excuse the lack of accents!). It felt a bit like Ho Chi Minh City’s version of Khao San road complete with neon lights and loud music. The English menus were the gentle introduction that we were after!
Day one in Saigon and, bellies full of Pho, we armed ourselves with a map and set out to explore the city. The centre is small enough to walk around and we took in Ben Thanh market, Notre Dame, the Opera House, the Continental Hotel, Ho Chi Minh’s statue as well as some beautiful parks. Having read a few books set in Saigon, it was interesting to see the places mentioned come to life! We also visited the War Remnants museum which was as harrowing and upsetting as you would expect, but also very interesting – I would definitely recommend spending a couple of hours there.
On day two it was time to pick up the bikes that would carry us all the way up to Hanoi. We had arranged to buy two Honda Blades from a company called Tigit who guarantee to buy the bikes back at the end of your trip. You can buy bikes from other backpackers who have finished their trip and this is usually cheaper but we liked the support and security that Tigit offered and knew that their bikes would be in good condition.
The rest of the day was mainly spent practicing driving round the busy streets of Saigon and route planning with a fair few ca phe den da. We finished the day with a drink on a rooftop; from there it was suddenly very clear how much smaller and less developed the city is than Bangkok.
Day three. We were up and away well before dawn, hoping to escape the city whilst it slept and make our way to the Cu Chi tunnels to learn more about the Vietnam War. We planned to spend a few hours there in the early morning, and then really get on our way. I was surprised at how much traffic was on the road already by 4.30am, but we made our way onto Highway 1 and were on our way!
Almost.
I could feel something was not right with my back tyre so I pulled over and saw that there was a nail in it.
Time to make a new plan!
Fast forward four and half hours and we are leaving a Honda garage in central Saigon, 333,000 Vietnamese Dong down but one functional back wheel up. We had the new tyre but were way behind schedule. We decided to leave town a different way and make our way to Cat Time National Park, our Cu Chi dream in tatters. We made in up to our riverside cabin in the hills just as the heavens opened and the sun dipped down for the night!
Day four and the fun driving was beginning. We were taking the back roads to Dalat and driving through the hills and tiny villages afforded some great views of rural Vietnam. It was a long day, and when we finally made it to Dalat it was darker and colder than I ever expected Vietnam to be! A hot shower and amazing curry at Ganesh was very welcome!
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Day five. We spent our one full-day in Dalat going canyoning with Phat Tire Ventures. I felt a little nervous but our guides were really professional and made us feel very safe. We put on all the gear and were given a safety briefing and chance to practice on dry ground before heading to the waterfalls.
There were six stations that we walked/swam/floated between: four abseils, one including a zipline, one rock slide and one free jump. It was an amazing day and so much fun (except for the free jump which I hated just cos I’m a wuss!) and I would love to do it again!
(Note: If you are thinking about canyoning in Dalat please do your research when choosing a company as many are operating illegally).
We returned to Dalat and spent a beautiful afternoon wandering it’s charming streets and markets, still exhilarated by the morning’s activity. We kipped that night exhausted but full of smiles and feeling that, despite the hiccup with the tyre, the first leg of our adventure had gone very well indeed.
Check out our first video from Vietnam here.
Great journey guys. Have a great time.
Thanks! And thank you for such an amazing experience