Rain, rain, rain, oh and rain again??? I had a different imagination in my head if I am honest, but what to do. ^^. The it will be a rainy Motorbike tour through Vietnam also special experience and definitely wet^^
After 10 days that felt like waterfall showers all over the way, I can see a yellow round ball sticking out half of the clouds, and I can’t feel any wed drop anymore. Off course at that moment Helga (our motorbike) had a complete breakdown she was on the end of her nerves, what is kind of ok for an old lady. Thru that it was Vietnamese New year, where good beware nobody is working or moving at all. So, we stopped or where stopped in the middle of nowhere somewhere on the road, we were so lucky to find the only one in the village that spoke at least a few words of English and he really managed us somebody to fix Helga, so we are back on the road again. That was a small miracle, and how we could figure out after woods our big luck.
Finally, we ended up at the place that we imagined in our heads the whole time, in Bobby’s home. Bobby is from Sweden and settled half down in Vietnam since close to 10 years by now. A beautiful house with pool and terrace directly at the beach, and all-inclusive service plus private 5 star cook, Bobby loves to cook for his life. It is even better than a luxury 5-star hotel and much cheaper as well^^^.
And I am finally back at the ocean again, good I missed it so much never though so before until I finally reached it again after 6 month, already to breath the air of it without seeing it is making me incredible happy. This time my travel and my travel vibes are completely different than ever before in my life, I am travelling with a group what I never did before on purpose and on a motorbike a quiet long way, and third point as I mentioned lightly at the beginning in flooding rain and to the forth point I am not really exited or curious about what I am doing.
In the meantime, Saugat and I separated us from the other too, and create the whole trip a little more relaxed, what means not spending everyday 8 hours per day with 60 Kmh thru the rain to see every viewpoint. Now we just drive to a place that seems to be nice and stop there, maybe stay or go just as it comes J.
After the second day after our split up we landed at bobby’s place, as I already mentioned a small paradise on earth. And, booby his own special kind of human being, and we have the pleasure, or the not chose able option to picture the life of Swedish motorbike club, just out of lot of story’s but well with his own charm.
On the way thru the dessert in the direction to Mui Ne, a wonderful panorama, kilometres of sandy made up hills next to the ocean, Helga is losing her energy once again. Just with luck we are reaching the entrance sign of Mui Ne. In the same second the police are so friendly to stop us, and leads us thru the next police station. Off course we both don’t have an international driver licence and as Saugat tells the officer he is from Nepal and the officer thinks in mistake Nepal is in Amerika, they put old Helga in chains. After farther going discussions we could buy her free for 1 Mio. Dong and she is making it to the city centre.
The first impression from the high recommended holiday place is, we found small Russia Resort in Asia. The small fishing village is still a bit surrounded by its old charm but seems to be a bit lost in the world next to tithe Beach stripe after the village is more a garden of popped up resorts and from the beach and the ocean is not really a lot to see. Anyway, on the next day we make it to a tiny part of the beached that is not owned by a resort giant and finally after 7 month my bikini gets to see the sunlight and I can dive into the wonderful blue ocean. J
Maybe we picked out the wrong travel time, over Luna new year that is celebrated on the 27th of feb and all prices raise up to 30 % more and half Vietnam is making holidays at the ocean
After we left small Russia behind and fixed our metal luggage carrier of the bike, that broke down two minutes after we left the hotel, we are reaching a wonderful coast road to nowhere. Off course the also here the half of the road is spitted by resorts, but in-between there is a beautiful coastline to see. It’s too sad that we are afraid to stop, because Helga doesn’t sound good again, so stops are just allowed where a Motorbike hospital is located next door. After 3 hours with nearly no stop we reach our final destination for the day La gi, a small farm in the middle of nowhere. I am wonderful relaxed and chilled out here, no other tourist to see at all, if you don’t count the mass of the Vietnamese’s ones. ^^
After a four minutes’ drive from the farm to the beach, we are surrounded by a spectacle that I have never seen before. Hundreds of people, drinking, making a barbecue and scrawling around the beach with Ochs cars are crowding the coastline, with a loud techno beat in the background.: D Incredible never saw something like that before, Saugat and I get watched as we are from a different planet. It is fascinating to see this, it is still Vietnamese new year and the locals are celebrating since over 7 days already.
After Helga since a long time just had a mini break down in between we are on the way to Saigon. We discover that google maps is pretty useless here and making a round around the city that just takes us 1 hour longer but brings us on a fairy and thru tunnel^^. After the stories of a few relatives I had a different picture in my head, I got told the traffic is massive and crazy as also the people. I need to say I found the surrounding quite normal for a big city.
After two days Sightseeing I am on my way back to Nepal with middle stop in chia again, as I already realized at the incoming flight, a smile is nearly impossible to get over here. Already as I left Vietnam the trouble started: “Where do you fly to? Nepal!”, “Really is this country existing?” and the main joke was: “The Visa you have in your passport is a face that can’t be a real visa of any country. I would have loved to say: “Oh yeah sorry I am flying to fantasy land with my fantasy Visa in my passport!”. After a longer discussion and I discover that the guy in Nepal that issued my visa made a mistake and made 13 day out of 30, even if my visa expires in the 17.02, I could check in. But just with the comment: “Your passport is so mighty because you are German, so we can’t do anything else about it” ^^
As soon as I arrive in Nepal a huge smile is coming in to my face. As I show my passport and my visa to the control man, he tries not to lose his face, after 10 minutes staring at my visa and me back and forward again and the question why I am not staying longer Nepal is such a beautiful country, he is reaching my passport back to me and wishes me a pleasant stay. I just waited that he would take out his pen to change the number of days in my visa to cover up the mistake of his college. I just love this country, it really feels like coming back home again so wonderful.
Resume…
After close to 2000 kilometres on Helga thru Vietnam from Hanoi down to Saigon under every weather condition to think of and repair consequences either of me or Helga, I’m definitely much richer with a few experiences. Vietnam is not my dream country and none of them I really need to return to. Said in an easy simple way not my world. The country is beautiful, the food is super delicious just amazing. But there is rarely a country that ever catched me so less before, I can’t really pick a point why. The Journey was like an extreme roller coaster ride, I took a few extreme intense experiences out of it, that I don’t want to miss and off course a good new fantasy story to tell 😉