The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end Read more

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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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Tucking our bikes in
November 2, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Our plan to leave early to avoid traffic does not materialize. Repacking and cleaning the mud off our bikes takes awhile. Ride a hectic 10 miles to where we met Tu, who had agreed to house our bikes while we are in Portland. Pare down to what we need and hop in a Grab which takes us to our hotel. Check in and map for awhile - frenzy of the past days having caught up with me. Venture out into the city and explore the Old Quarter. Good dinner!Read more
Traveler Beautiful!
11/5/25Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
And we go upscale
November 3, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Spend the morning wandering around Ho Hoan Lake, the French Quarter and Old Town. Pack up and after fueling with a Banh My, walk to our new hotel - PanPacific. Great view from our 11th door window. Enjoy the facilities before heading to up to the roof top bar. Tis raining so sit inside. Back out into rain to a nice restaurant nearbyRead more
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
First time for everything
November 4, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Another cool and rainy morning. Indulge in room service as we need to spend our credit. Don jackets and head out to explore. Find our way to Hoa Lo Prison (aka Hanoi Hilton) where Vietnamese were imprisoned by then French and then later American pilots imprisoned. Checked out a cat cafe before going to the spa my first ever massage. Social entrepreneurship in action - they train vision impaired youth in the art of massage. Somewhat enjoyable experience. Do a bit of shopping before stopping for another good dinner (have eaten well in Hanoi).Read more
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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A final day of wandering
November 5, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
A dry and sort of sunny day - finally. Walked the land bridge we had been looking at from our window. Continue through well protected HonChiMinh park. From there go to Temple of Literature, showcasing the importance of education throughout Vietnam’s history. Do some final shopping before heading out. Good dinner at a very popular restaurant for tour groups.Read more
Hannah Boe That cat looks like such a diva
11/7/25Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Goodbye Vietnam: Hello South Korea
November 6, 2025 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Pack up and bid adieu to our lovely hotel. Catch a ride to the airport and breeze through check-in and security (so much easier without bikes). Sit in the lounge for a few hours awaiting our departure. Do miscalculate flight time vs change in time zones arriving 2 hours later than expected. Quick entry into S. Korea and find the train into the city. Quite chilly out. Stop for vegan Korean food before checking into hotel. Walk around the city a bit, marveling at the quietness and orderliness.Read more
TravelerWe love Seoul, Korea!
11/7/25Reply
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A 3 palace day
November 7, 2025 in South Korea ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Chilly morning so we take our time getting ready to go out. Greeted by a beautiful blue sky - first in awhile. Fuel up with coffee and hit the tourist trail. Catch a changing of the guard ceremony at the first palace and then again at the second. Walk the hilly streets admiring the older buildings. Another palace, a market and a walk along a river finishes off our tour. ( Added benefit is that everything is free) Find dinner nearby as quite tired.Read more
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Namsan Tower and National museum
November 8, 2025 in South Korea ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Head off in another direction this morning. Up to the Namsan park and tower. As it’s Saturday it’s very busy with people enjoying the fall day. Nice 360 view. Walk through the park and then head to war memorial. Lots of police presence for some unknown reason. Skiddadle out of there and walk through nice neighborhoods to the National museum of Korea. Learn a bit about the country’s history - lots of occupations. Take the metro back and have a good last meal in Korea.Read more
Hannah Boe Wow I want that to organize my rhinestones ✨
11/11/25Reply
Helene Rimberg That could work
11/12/25Reply
TravelerIt looks so much like Portland in the fall!
11/14/25Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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Final day of exploration in Seoul
November 9, 2025 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Up early and head into chilly sunshine for some exercise. Jog up to the tower along trail. Stop a bit for some strength training as well. Pack up, and after stashing out stuff, grab some breakfast. Walk past Cathedral and catch the metro to the Olympic park. Many people out enjoying the sunshine. Do a quick walkabout before taking metro back. Catch the train to the airport and pass through security easily spend some time in lounge before boarding plan. USA - here we come. Definitely ready for a break!Read more
Hannah Boe Glitter Day?? ✨✨
11/11/25Reply
Helene Rimberg A K-pop band concert. They were all dressed like school girls
11/12/25Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Goodbye Portland
December 6, 2025, Bering Sea ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
After a 4 week break in Portland, we are heading back to Vietnam to resume our journey. A quick morning flight gets us to Seattle and then the 12+ hour flight back through Seoul.
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
The lost day
December 7, 2025 in South Korea
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, Saturday became Sunday. Land in Seoul after being awake for 20 hours. Make our way through immigration and board metro to our nearby hotel. In bed before 9:00 pm local time.Read more
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Hello Hanoi
December 8, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
Up early to return to the airport. Very chilly morning (32F). Navigate Seoul’s large and busy airport and board our last plane. 4+ hours later we arrive in Hanoi. Return to the hotel we had stayed at before, though a bigger room. Meander around, enjoying a photography display along the lake. Have a nice dinner - sans rice!Read more
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Art and healing
December 9, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Enjoy a nice breakfast before wandering to National Museum of Fine Arts. Nice collection, showcasing the unique style of Vietnamese art. Interesting how central the war is in late 20th century art. Head back to spa for a therapeutic (ie .painful) massage to heal sciatic pain. Try one last restaurant - another good one.Read more
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Ninh Binh
December 10, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Catch a ride to where our bikes have been safely stored and load them up. After a quick breakfast, tackle the Hanoi traffic. Maneuver through a few sketchy intersections and find ourselves on quiet side roads, mostly free of car traffic. The air quality is horrible, muting all views. Decide to push on to Ninh Binh, and check into a quiet “homestay”. Clean up and walk into town for dinner.Read more
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Adventures amongst the Karst
December 11, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
After a morning of bike repairs and organizing, venture off on a walk amongst the Karst hills. Air continues to be bad, minimizing views. Head off on bikes to Hang Mua. Drizzle begins as we climb up the steps, making for some slippery rocks. Though visibility is poor, still appreciate what we can see. Continue on bikes to Thung Nham Ecotourism park. With limited daylight remaining, only do a cursory tour. Zoom back to
room before sunset. Another good dinner in town.Read more
Hannah Boe How was it??
12/11/25Reply
Hannah Boe They're so flat!
12/11/25Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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Ruins and temples
December 12, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
After another round of bike repairs at a fantastic shop in town, we headed in the opposite direction from yesterday- towards Trang An. Road along the river amongst the “hills” winding our way past local homes and ‘resorts’. Came to Hoa Lua, ancient palace site. Lots of tourists on bikes wandering amongst the narrow paths. More riding along the river and arrive at a very quiet Bai Dinh, a recently finished temple complex. Took an electric bus to enter the massive grounds. Polluted air continues to mar distant views but structures are beautiful. Another dash back before sunset.Read more
Hannah Boe Whew so smoggy 😮‍💨
12/13/25Reply
Traveler Awesome photo!
12/13/25Reply
Traveler Is that like a Uni-fart?
1/1/26Reply
Helene Rimberg Sort of. Actually those are Winmarts. Have everything
1/1/26Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Southward
December 13, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
Our journey south continues. Day is both cloudy and smoggy. Leave the karst hills behind and hit the busier roads. Sprinkles keep us moving quickly. Rain begins around noon as promised. Get to Thanh Hoa and hit a bit of inhospitableness. Not sure if it’s our bikes out that we look like dirty drenched rats. Finally find a fine hotel. Hunker down for the rest of the day, not even venturing out for dinner (delivery instead). Too rainy.Read more
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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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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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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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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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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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!
12/23/25Reply
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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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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
1/1/26Reply
TravelerAmazing cave pictures!
1/1/26Reply
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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
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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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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