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The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end Read more

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🇻🇳 Rạch Giá, Vietnam
The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Can Tho
January 7 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
A day of small roads amongst fruit trees. So many different kinds; bananas, coconuts, dragon fruit, pomelos, oranges, jackfruit, limes and likely more. Huge bridge to cross to get to Can Tho, the biggest city in the delta. Found ourselves a very good Italian meal.Read more
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Tra Vinh
January 6 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Short ride to Vila Basi, a nice homestay within a beautiful garden. Rode into Tra Vinh and checked out a few Buddhist temples. Quite reminiscent of the Wats of Thailand. Picked up dinner food at the supermarket. Made a simple salad for dinner.Read more
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Ben Tre
January 5 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Very nice riding in the morning along a small road amongst the greenery. Stop at a fun temple in My Tho. Rejoin the big road, as we need to cross the Mekong. Somewhat surprised about how busy this area seems to be. Take advantage of the modern supermarket before heading to our homestay. Take a dip in the pool between rain drops.Read more
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To the Mekong Delta
January 4 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Slow morning. Must have been because we were up late watching the finale of Stranger Things. Find a nice place for breakfast before riding around the peninsula in search of a ferry. Find it and jump on board as it’s leaving. Cross a large finger on water and arrive on one of islands of the Mekong Delta. Many bridges later, and another ferry have us arriving in Go Cong. Check into a brand new hotel and go in search of food. An ok bowl of noodles, broth and some seafood.Read more
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On to Vung Tau
January 3 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Another windy ride along the coast. As we have seen in other places, there is a a lot of construction; mostly building big name resorts that seem very far from the rest of Vietnam. With the wind solidly behind us, make very good time into city of Vung Tau. A separate lanes for bikes and motorbikes provides some relief for cars and trucks. Check into our hotel overlooking the bay and indulge in a Western meal (steak, grilled fish, warm goat cheese salad). Quite nice.Read more
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La Gi
January 2 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Make our way slowly out of the sprawl of Mui Ne and then Phiet Nam. Dodge the self-centered drivers of all sorts who pull out in front of you without even bothering to yield. Stay along the coastline where waves are crashing due to big winds. Check out lighthouse before riding through massive dragon fruit fields. Arrive in La Gi, a non touristy town a bit away from the sea. Eat Pho Bo at a roadside vendor. Quite tasty and cheap.Read more
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A long New Years Day ride
January 2 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
The new year starts with a resort breakfast. As I can’t convince myself to eat Eastern style breakfasts, options are a bit more limited. With the wind at our back we continue along the coastline. Our first detour takes us through wind turbines and quiet fields. All is fine until our road becomes submerged. Do manage to traipse through the sand to get around. Arrive at a very quiet and recently paved road. Quick lunch stop before doing some climbing. Opt for a side road - which turns into gravel and sand. In the mode of not turning around (not my idea) continue onward. 6 miles and a long time later, emerge on the big road. Still have 25 miles. Race against the setting sun, losing the battle in the construction of Mui Ne (a busy resort town). Find a hotel and walk to a bustling food court. Odd assortment of food, but pretty tasty.Read more
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A New Years Eve by the sea
December 31, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Make a detour to Thap Cham Phan Rang, Cham towers from 14th century. Quite a different style from other pagodas we have seen. Clear the city and ride back towards the sea. Stop at Hon Ca Resort, a lovely place right on the sea. Spend the rest of the afternoon on the tiny beach, finally making it into the water. Pretty good dinner right by the beach. Unable to stay awake to ring in the new year.Read more
TravelerPrettiest pictures in a bit. Love the temple and the rocks and beach views. ☺️
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Helene RimbergBlue sky helps as a background
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Along the sunny coast
December 30, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
A bit of a rough night sleep wise. Though “beds” were relatively comfy, we seemed to go on very rough roads making for a lot of bumping. Arrive in Nha Trang quite early and make for a coffee shop. Wind our way out of town through resort areas and along a very pretty coastline. Strong tailwind keeps us moving. Arrive on the beach near Phang Rang, get a hotel and check out the beach. Lack of sleep catches up with us so order in.Read more
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Taking in the culture of Hoi An
December 29, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Spend our last day in Hoi An poking around the historic sights. But first taken our bikes to the car wash where they get the grand treatment. Leave them and our packs at the hotel while we walk around. Cross the Japanese bridge, walk through the Museum of Traditional Medicine and attend a dance and music performance. Take a nice walk by the water before picking up our bikes and riding to the bus stop. Have a good vegan dinner before boarding our 9 hour bus to Nha Trang.Read more
Traveler Ooo, like eggnog added to coffee?
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Helene Rimberg Yes. Surprisingly tasty. More like a dessert
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Cloudy beach time
December 28, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
A short spin on our bikes gets us to the local beach, AnBang. First grab lunch - grilled cheese sandwich on delicious sourdough. Lots of beach erosion and reconstruction. Must be an annual process following the rainy season. Too chilly to swim but it’s nice to be on sand and listen to the waves. Ride though the fields, including a humongous vegetable garden. Out for very good Indian food.Read more
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Hoi An
December 27, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
A very short ride south to Hoi An. Though skies seem a bit threatening, we do stay dry. Divert off of big road to ride through fields. Able to check-in upon arrival. Walk to secure bus tickets and then check out the very touristy, yet pretty Old Town. Nice dinner then wander around amongst the beautiful lightsRead more
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Marble Mountain
December 26, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
With no view to the outside world, end up sleeping in. Also it is raining so no rush to get anywhere. Food motivates, and continue our Western eating - bagels. Catch a Grab to Marble Mountain, a complex of caves and shrines amongst the Karst hills. Quite crowded. It does stay dry which is a welcome change. Return to the city and check out the festive riverfront. Return at night for the “fire show”.Read more
Hannah Boe Looks like a good bagel!
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Helene Rimberg Pretty good. Particularly for being in Vietnam!
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Traveler I love that! Soooo pretty
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Traveler The little yellow one over there
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A Christmas Day climb
December 25, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
As predicted, we are greeted with a rainy day. Try to catch a catch a dry window, but the rain quickly starts again in earnest. Deviate off the man road (thankfully) and begin our ascent of Hai Van pass. Generally a pretty gradual climb with some steep sections. Rain does taper off affording a few views. Clouds settle in as we approach the top. Zip on down and have a city slog to get to our hotel in Da Nang. Get separated again but both arrive safely. Check in as it pours again. Spend the rest of the day in hotel, venturing out for Christmas dinner.Read more
Traveler Was that good? What is on it? you should publish a book of just the pizza's you ate in every country! 😳
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Traveler Oh better, phew, Christmas was saved by the pepperoni!
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Helene Rimberg Yes it was good. Chicken and pesto.
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A frazzling ride to Lang Co
December 24, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Leaving Hue is a bit hectic and we quickly loose each other. Finally meet back up (how would we do that without GPS) and ride side roads to Khai Dinh Mausoleum. Quite impressive structure. Our time on little roads ends and we meet back up with the highway (AH1). So many trucks and buses). Though the day is sunny, visions of hopping on a bus enter my mind. Two tunnels to navigate - fortunately able to walk along raised walkway but still so loud. Arrive in Lane Co, at the base of tomorrow’s climb. Out for Xmas Eve seafood dinner. Just us in huge restaurant.Read more
Hannah Boe Yum!
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Helene Rimberg They were a tad bit sweet. Oddly
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A day in Hue
December 23, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Spent the sunny day wandering through the citadel; the Nguyen Emperors’ compound. Tried our first salty coffee (quite tasty) and explored a bit more of the city, including the sprawling market. Another good dinner ends our day.Read more
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A long ride to Hue
December 22, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Weighing our options, set our sights on the popular town of Hue, though it’s more than 100 KMs away. Morning rain gives way to patchy sunshine. Spy the sea as we cross over many bridges. Unfortunately, wind is not in our favor. Although we see no evidence of it, do cross through the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone); once separating the North and South. Enter Hue’s OldTown and confidently enter the fray of vehicles. A tad bit nerve wracking. Check into nice hotel which is strategically near a laundromat. Nice dinner out in the bustling tourist area and then reward ourselves with chocolate!Read more
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On the shortest day of the year ….
December 21, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
….. we ride 110 KMs. It’s a somewhat rainy day but not much to see anyway on this stretch of road. Manage to stay mostly off the big road, even having a brand new road mostly to ourselves. Wind is at our back for much of the time making for fast riding. Though we are close to the sea, don’t see it though sand dunes abound. Find a hotel in Vinh Linh; very cheap, a bit dirty, but they have a locked garage just for our bikes. Venture out for food, settling on what is closest.Read more
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Phong Nha and Tien Son Caves
December 20, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Dry but cloudy day, perfect for exploring caves. Walk to the boat dock and round up a few others to fill our boat. Motor down the river until it ends at Phong Nha Cave. As the cave is wet (always filled with water) take the boat into the cave. Our female crew paddles us into the back of the cave and then drops us off so we can explore a bit on land. Crazy cave features - very other worldly. Walk up to the smaller, Tien Son cave - walking amongst huge and colorful stalactites and stalagmites. Return via boat and again have a relaxing afternoon at our hotel. Out for a very good dinner: a set menu allowing us small tastes of a lot of things.Read more
Traveler Viet Mars
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TravelerAmazing cave pictures!
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“Botanical Gardens” aka jungle scramble
December 19, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Though morning clouds linger on the hills, they quickly dissipate yielding another sunny day. Fuel up on banana pancakes and ride into the national park. Up a short but steep hill and we are at the Botanical Gardens. Actually a misnomer as no gardens - just a jungle and waterfall. Lots of clambering up and down boulders, at times next to lovely flowing water. Great waterfall at the end! Dunk feet and legs before heading out. Hear a few monkeys in the trees on our way down. Chill for a few hours before finding dinner.Read more
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A sunnier disposition
December 18, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
An odd sight greets us in the morning - blue sky! Short day ahead to get to Phong Nha National Park. Stay on small roads as long as we can - until we hit a muddy construction site that we can’t go through. Zip down the main road, crossing a few tall bridges. Turn off and enter the hills. Quite a bit of undulation; especially compared to what we have been riding lately. Bridges get smaller as well! Make it to the touristy town of Phong Nha. Grab some lunch, check into our hotel and do a wee walk about. Karst hills look much better with clear skies around. Short walk for mediocre pizza.Read more
Traveler Oh goodness!
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A soggy one
December 17, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Rain and wind greet us this morning. Continue our journey south at times having wind at our back. Not most scenic ride as nearby hills are covered in clouds. Witness a cow vs. motorbike accident - cow ran away but the kids on bikes did not. Though helmets are mandatory many people don’t wear them. After about 40 miles we had had enough so checked into a hotel. Quick walk down the road for cheap fried chicken dinner.Read more
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Thien Cam
December 16, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Check out beach before packing up. The hotel staff are, again, incredibly helpful; insisting on carrying bags and holding bikes. Another flat and relatively quiet ride. Day stays cloudy but no rain until we arrive at Thien Cam - our destination. Lots of construction or reconstruction going on throughout the town. Continue to draw a lot of attention- even off bikes. Definitely not in a touristy part of the country.Read more
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To the South China Sea
December 15, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Still cool but the air has improved and it’s not raining. Stop for coffee and breakfast before winding our way through back alleys on our way to the sea. A few detours are needed before arriving at the sea. Wavy and grey. Very quiet roads along the coastline. It definitely seems to be off season. Opt to stay along the coastline rather than going into Vinh. Checked into a huge and deserted hotel. Get great service though.Read more
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Head down and ride
December 14, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
A cool and rainy morning. Get a late start, trying to let the rain pass. Riding split between some quiet roads and busy main roads - though traffic seems lighter (Sunday?). Pass through small nondescript towns before stopping for the day. Find a small and cheap hotel a bit away from noisy road. Wind up in a restaurant that only serves goat. Not bad.Read more
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