Yeah, a short ride, but it is all the time I have remaining once the GF leaves. I am flexible on the route, but having ridden through SaPa I am more inclined to head towards Ba Be Lake and northeast. Probably renting a Honda SL230/Serow225/XR250 through Flamingo, am awaiting their response now.
John
I might be interested, can you give me a rough itinerary please.
I have been in Sapa before but only did a bit of trekking, it's a beautiful area but also dont mind exploring other areas this time like you suggest.
But how about the weather that time of the year, you have any experience with that?
Pleased to hear.
Rgds
Frank
Depart Hanoi the 13th:
Hanoi-Ba Be Lake
Ba Be-Cao Bong
Cao Bong-Ban Gioc-Cao Bong
Cao Bong-Lang Son
Lang Son-Hanoi
Throw in an extra day for contingencies, rerouting, whatever. I fly back the 20th.
But I just bagged that route off a motorcycle tour website and am open, I have not been in the NE so am open
to suggestions.
I expect could be 60's and cooler in the elevations, especially could get cold if fog. The monsoon season will be over but could still have rain. Sapa would be colder, I was very cold the day I rolled in from the west in November I think it was. This should not be so bad, nevertheless I may bring along along a heated vest, I think a Honda SL230 could power 40 watts.
I'll potentially be in the region at the time, with the same thing in mind. I'm not quite sure what my itinerary will be yet, so I don't want to commit and then have to back out, but should we stay in touch?
Cheers
Trip is on, just sent the deposit for one Honda SL230
Katalyst, your PM box is turned off, was going to send you my VN cell number in case you were interested at the last moment. Reply here or PM me if you decide...
deepcdiver,
As I'll be touring through the north in feb/march a trip report from you would help in planning.
Thanks in advance.
Sorry about the long delay deepcdiver - I actually made it to Hanoi, but then contracted such a serious combination of gastro/flu/chest infection that I aborted the Vietnamese adventure and went to the US for a month, to recover
I'm planning to return to Hanoi within the next week or two to also ride the north. The problem that I was having, before I left Hanoi for the States, was that I couldn't find any good bikes. I tried Cuong (little to no help); Vietnam-motorbikes.com (no reply); and a person recommended by an Easy-rider (though I insisted that I wanted a Japanese bike, she repeatedly tried to sell me Chinese junkers).
Rod, what's your strategy for obtaining a bike?
Go to the 'Trip Planning' thread at the top of the 'Vietnam - Road & Trip Reports' forum.
ALL the information you need is there.
There's also an associated link where you can post your comments & questions.
(Only request - that you furnish the forum with a report).
Sorry Rod - the question probably appeared more general than I had intended.
I've already been in Vietnam and bought a bike, which turned out to be rubbish. The issue now is finding a better one in Hanoi, and I've had problems in doing that as well. What I had meant by the question was are there any particular/reputable/reliable vendors whom you'll be contacting in Hanoi?
No different from anywhere else - caveat emptor/buyer beware!
If you are not mechanically minded then the rental proposition with its associated support starts to look pretty good.
Where are you heading?
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