Hunting Uncle Ho, The 'Bears Vietnam Journey
Senior Member and Montana roustabout :)
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From: Flathead Lake, Montana
Thanks SB. I'm not a world traveler, so I wasn't sure. Been to Canada and Mexico, but that's it 
Looking forward to seeing what you and Mrs. SB get for transportation!
Looking forward to seeing what you and Mrs. SB get for transportation!
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All in good time Grasshoppers, all in good time
We are taking the oriental mindset, it will happen but when 
??Cheers SB
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Day 4
The best laid plans of mice and men.............
Mrs SB and I set off while the Vietnamese day was still setting itself up. We went by taxi to this dank, industrial backwater where we were told there was a good bike rental place. It was so depressing with bikes in bits everywhere that I didn't even take a photo.
We sat down and collected our thoughts, drank some Vietnamese coffee and went back to the planning literature I downloaded before we left. The rental places it suggested were very near our hotel - where we should have started in the first place. But first we had to greet Jay and Suzie who were delivered to the hotel in a jet lagged heap after their flight from Australia. Jay's was even worse because he had flown down from the Moomba gasfields 3 hours before he got on the international flight.
After a shower and short rest we set off again for the rental shops.
Half a Minsk anyone?
I tried a few bikes
Too small perhaps??
Too expensive at $60 USD per day, which perhaps explains the 50 and 60 KMs on the odometers of two of them. I do have a soft spot for these though having ridden over the Himalayas on 3 separate occasions on them
Eventually we found a shop with the 160cc Hondas we thought would be suitable and negotiated a suitable price, but we won't be able to see/test the bikes until tomorrow. So, just a short wait until the beasts will be revealed
Next was the helmet chase. We have all our riding gear except the helmets, so taxied to a few places in search of HJC or similar full face helmets - not that common in Hanoi.
Eventually we were all equiped with either HJCs or 'Snell' which I think is very clever marketing.
It's a comfy fit, buckles up well and has an Iridium visor, all for the princely sum of under $50 AUD I do think the graphics may have me confused for an Englishmen (or a mad dog out in the mid day sun!)
Bikes sorted, helmets sorted, all we now have to do is sort the rough itinerary and bus tour to - and boat trip in - Ha Long Bay.
So it was off to the Hanoi Night Market.
Not busy at all really..........................
Cheers, The Travelling 'Bears
The best laid plans of mice and men.............
Mrs SB and I set off while the Vietnamese day was still setting itself up. We went by taxi to this dank, industrial backwater where we were told there was a good bike rental place. It was so depressing with bikes in bits everywhere that I didn't even take a photo.
We sat down and collected our thoughts, drank some Vietnamese coffee and went back to the planning literature I downloaded before we left. The rental places it suggested were very near our hotel - where we should have started in the first place. But first we had to greet Jay and Suzie who were delivered to the hotel in a jet lagged heap after their flight from Australia. Jay's was even worse because he had flown down from the Moomba gasfields 3 hours before he got on the international flight.
After a shower and short rest we set off again for the rental shops.
Half a Minsk anyone?
I tried a few bikes
Too small perhaps??
Too expensive at $60 USD per day, which perhaps explains the 50 and 60 KMs on the odometers of two of them. I do have a soft spot for these though having ridden over the Himalayas on 3 separate occasions on them
Eventually we found a shop with the 160cc Hondas we thought would be suitable and negotiated a suitable price, but we won't be able to see/test the bikes until tomorrow. So, just a short wait until the beasts will be revealed
Next was the helmet chase. We have all our riding gear except the helmets, so taxied to a few places in search of HJC or similar full face helmets - not that common in Hanoi.
Eventually we were all equiped with either HJCs or 'Snell' which I think is very clever marketing.
It's a comfy fit, buckles up well and has an Iridium visor, all for the princely sum of under $50 AUD
I do think the graphics may have me confused for an Englishmen (or a mad dog out in the mid day sun!)Bikes sorted, helmets sorted, all we now have to do is sort the rough itinerary and bus tour to - and boat trip in - Ha Long Bay.
So it was off to the Hanoi Night Market.
Not busy at all really..........................
Cheers, The Travelling 'Bears
Last edited by Sebastionbear1; Oct 12, 2012 at 10:12 AM.
Senior Member and Montana roustabout :)
Joined: Aug 2012
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From: Flathead Lake, Montana
SB and his new CBR10F 
It's funny how I believe motorcycles here in the USA (and other countries I suspect) are considered "toys" or "luxury items", but there (in Vietnam) and other countries, are a main source of transportation....
It's funny how I believe motorcycles here in the USA (and other countries I suspect) are considered "toys" or "luxury items", but there (in Vietnam) and other countries, are a main source of transportation....
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From: Mud hut, Zululand
Uncle Ho Bear - Spiderman's alive in Hanoi ! 
I think the first thing I would have packed would have been a GPS.............................
and a tool kit for sure.
Enjoy !
Có một chuyến đi tuyệt vời và có rất nhiều hình ảnh ..........
And I think, Matt, if the price of gas goes up much more a lot more people will be buying smaller bikes .
We see a lot more scooters and smaller bikes around 150cc on the roads here. A number of friends have bought them for daily rides to work - at 50-60K's on a liter of gas it makes sense when you can't do more than 30-40 MPH or 50-70 KPH anyway.
I think the first thing I would have packed would have been a GPS.............................
and a tool kit for sure.Enjoy !
Có một chuyến đi tuyệt vời và có rất nhiều hình ảnh ..........
And I think, Matt, if the price of gas goes up much more a lot more people will be buying smaller bikes .
We see a lot more scooters and smaller bikes around 150cc on the roads here. A number of friends have bought them for daily rides to work - at 50-60K's on a liter of gas it makes sense when you can't do more than 30-40 MPH or 50-70 KPH anyway.
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Day 5
So we had one more bike rental shop to visit before signing up and paying a deposit for the bikes.
Would you like meat with your bike??
Lucky we did look at this shop as not only were the bikes newer, but a cheaper daily rate as well. Very pleased indeed!
Mrs SB looking pleased with the rented steed.
I'm just looking........................................... ....................gormless
The bikes are a Honda Fortune 125 cc (I don't think the power will rip my arms from their sockets)
Jay got a 160cc Honda from another rental shop for two up riding so now we are all set for the off on the bikes on Tuesday.
Once the deal was signed, we went in search of Uncle Ho again, but instead found this little shop full of old French - mainly Motobecane Mobylette - mopeds.
From the road
I just love the styling
This one was just hanging around
Shortly after we found a lovely place for lunch and after a couple of beers decided to try a local Hookah (Shisha). Not the sort of hooker you need to remove your clothes to enjoy. Mint flavoured tobacco through the water was incredibly mild.
After the Shisha I saw dead people
And the really good news is that I found a peaceful, dove like, baby hugging Uncle Ho on a very large billboard
Tomorrow we are off early for a two day, one night cruise on Ha Long Bay before we collect the bikes on Tuesday morning. Back to Hanoi on Monday night.
I can say, it will be nice to escape the smog of Hanoi - which is significant - and I'm very restless to get my leg over a bike. So much so, that when Mrs SB and I found yet another bike rental place on the way to the night market, I talked the girl into letting me take the mini Triumph copy out for a short ride with Mrs SB aboard. The bike was a Kawasaki W250 type such as this.........
It was nice to be riding again and a good introduction to riding in Hanoi. There are pictures, but on Suzie's camera
Cheers, The Travelling 'Bears
So we had one more bike rental shop to visit before signing up and paying a deposit for the bikes.
Would you like meat with your bike??
Lucky we did look at this shop as not only were the bikes newer, but a cheaper daily rate as well. Very pleased indeed!
Mrs SB looking pleased with the rented steed.
I'm just looking........................................... ....................gormless
The bikes are a Honda Fortune 125 cc (I don't think the power will rip my arms from their sockets
)Jay got a 160cc Honda from another rental shop for two up riding so now we are all set for the off on the bikes on Tuesday.
Once the deal was signed, we went in search of Uncle Ho again, but instead found this little shop full of old French - mainly Motobecane Mobylette - mopeds.
From the road
I just love the styling
This one was just hanging around
Shortly after we found a lovely place for lunch and after a couple of beers decided to try a local Hookah (Shisha). Not the sort of hooker you need to remove your clothes to enjoy. Mint flavoured tobacco through the water was incredibly mild.
After the Shisha I saw dead people
And the really good news is that I found a peaceful, dove like, baby hugging Uncle Ho on a very large billboard
Tomorrow we are off early for a two day, one night cruise on Ha Long Bay before we collect the bikes on Tuesday morning. Back to Hanoi on Monday night.
I can say, it will be nice to escape the smog of Hanoi - which is significant - and I'm very restless to get my leg over a bike. So much so, that when Mrs SB and I found yet another bike rental place on the way to the night market, I talked the girl into letting me take the mini Triumph copy out for a short ride with Mrs SB aboard. The bike was a Kawasaki W250 type such as this.........
It was nice to be riding again and a good introduction to riding in Hanoi. There are pictures, but on Suzie's camera
Cheers, The Travelling 'Bears
Last edited by Sebastionbear1; Oct 13, 2012 at 10:34 AM.
Senior Member and Montana roustabout :)
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 410
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From: Flathead Lake, Montana
And I think, Matt, if the price of gas goes up much more a lot more people will be buying smaller bikes .
We see a lot more scooters and smaller bikes around 150cc on the roads here. A number of friends have bought them for daily rides to work - at 50-60K's on a liter of gas it makes sense when you can't do more than 30-40 MPH or 50-70 KPH anyway.
We see a lot more scooters and smaller bikes around 150cc on the roads here. A number of friends have bought them for daily rides to work - at 50-60K's on a liter of gas it makes sense when you can't do more than 30-40 MPH or 50-70 KPH anyway.
SB, in your photos from Ho Chi Minh city, it looked smoggy there too. Was that smog or just fog?
I should have Paypal'd you some money to send me a post card from Vietnam
My postman here gets a kick out of where some of the mail I get comes from. Just got my 2012 Isle of Man TT shirt and goodies yesterday from the Isle of Man. He was laughing all the way to the front door...
Last edited by montana.matt; Oct 13, 2012 at 12:09 PM.
I would love to have one of those Kawa thumpers for an in town errand-runner. They sell Enfields up here but I could probably find two 1kf's for the price of one of those. Like Matt, I'm living vicariously through the 'Bear clan's travels
How about the food. Find anything interesting?
Eating local or preferring fare suited to the western palate?
Pho and Bhan Mi shops abound in my neighborhood. Also there's a favorite Vietnamese place I used to go to. Asian, but with a heavy French influence
Enquiring foodies need to know
How about the food. Find anything interesting?
Eating local or preferring fare suited to the western palate?
Pho and Bhan Mi shops abound in my neighborhood. Also there's a favorite Vietnamese place I used to go to. Asian, but with a heavy French influence
Enquiring foodies need to know
Last edited by wooferdog; Oct 13, 2012 at 01:54 PM.
Senior Member and Montana roustabout :)
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 410
Likes: 0
From: Flathead Lake, Montana
How about the food. Find anything interesting?
Eating local or preferring fare suited to the western palate?
Pho and Bhan Mi shops abound in my neighborhood. Also there's a favorite Vietnamese place I used to go to. Asian, but with a heavy French influence
Enquiring foodies need to know
Eating local or preferring fare suited to the western palate?
Pho and Bhan Mi shops abound in my neighborhood. Also there's a favorite Vietnamese place I used to go to. Asian, but with a heavy French influence
Enquiring foodies need to know