When coming to Vietnam, beside big cities’ well-known tourism destinations, many foreign travelers love spending their time chasing the wind on the road of the wildly mountainous areas by motorbike.
Almost all people in Vietnam have a motorcycle or scooter, you will see it for yourself when you will be traveling in Vietnam. For the Vietnamese, it’s a cheap and quickest way of transport in the cities but also in the villages. Expensive cars are in traffic rather impractical and not everyone has the money to purchase them. The largest motorcycle chaos and millions of motorbikes you will see mainly in large cities such as. Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
If you are not brave enough to ride one yourself, sitting on the back of someone else is also an experience that most tourists should try. Since late 2007, it is required that all motor-users need a helmet. Any qualified motor taxi driver should have an extra for you.
“Xe-om” or motor-taxi is a cheap way to get from one place to another within the city. Do not forget to reach an agreement on the price before you put the helmet on.
If you are brave enough, a motorbike adventure to mountainous area may be a great way to experience Vietnam.
Motorbike is considered the best means of transportation for travelling mountainous areas due to its convenience and initiative. With a motorbike, one is free to go wherever he loves, despite all kinds of road’s condition. He can stop whenever he feels like to take photographs or relaxing, instead of depending on the driver or tour guide. Motorbike helps integrating people with nature and fresh air, and one will never be afraid of motion sickness. If choosing a car, people are likely to waste hours sleeping in passenger’s seat with air condition, not to mention the car sick caused by consecutive slopes and mountain passes. Riding on the motorbike means living on every single kilometer of your itinerary! Moreover, one can ride a motorbike in any kind of terrains, and it is much easier to repair in case of breaking down.
100 cc-or-more semi-automatic motorbikes are all suitable for roads in Northern Vietnam’s mountainous area. The main criteria for choosing motorbike are strong engine, gasoline-saving and flexible packing space.
This kind is suitable for mountainous areas in Northern Vietnam.
Weather is one of the most essential issues regarding planning for motorbike trip. The best time for exploring those mighty areas is from late September to the beginning of December or after Tet Nguyen Dan, when there is almost no rain and the temperature is cool. The spring’s rain and summer’s heat in high region somehow are hazardous for health as well as damaging to the road’s quality.
Be well-prepared!
There are indispensable things that one has to bring whenever travelling to remote areas such as specialized clothes and shoes, personal stuff, map, contact information and medical bags. However, a motorbike trip requires more than that. One will have to be well-prepared with a protective helmet and a motorcycle repair tool kit, and of course, certain skills of mending engine. An extra spark-plug and motorbike’s key are always in need. Remember to maintain the whole motorbike before setting off, change the oil and check its tyres, brakes, mirrors, horn, and light. Fill up your motorbike with gasoline and know the location of gasoline station!
On the way
If possible, travelling in groups of two or three motorbikes with one experienced leader is advisable. All members of the group are required to have detailed itinerary to get rid the risk of getting lost. People should not ride parallel to each other and talk while controlling the motorbike, thus, stop the bike if feeling a need for a conversation.
Pay attention to the bend and ones driving contrariwise and do not drive into other lane. Sometimes, there may be animals like buffaloes, cows, dogs or even pigs crossing the road, so one should decrease the speed and avoid making them panic. At night or in rain weather, when the vision is limited, travelers had better pause the journey for resting and safety reasons.
• Do not ride when you feel tired or sleepy.
• Do not ride after drinking alcohol.
• Avoid riding too fast or stop without noticing.
• Observe carefully and pay attention to road signs.
• Bring your identity paper and driving license because there will be police checking along the road (however, they will not be very strict to foreigners)
• Be extremely careful when crossing the stream; be sure about the depth of the water to have the best arrangement.
• Respect the ethnic minority people and their distinctive culture.
• Protect the environment and always remember: Safe is of primary important.a
