Most Inspirational Moment
It was all inspirational, but the highlight was cycling up the Hai Van Pass, then down, past exotic beaches and lagoons. The Vietnamese are so welcoming and all ages shout “Hello” as you cycle pass.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Long Li, our guide was fantastic at keeping the energy levels high. His sense of humour, encouragement, attentiveness, even during meal times meant that we couldn’t have been in better hands. His historical knowledge meant that all the visits came alive. Even losing my luggage on the way there, between Kuala Lumpur and HCMC didn’t spoil the holiday as Long contacted the airline and ensured that it was delivered to the hotel just a few hours later. He organised the best karaoke on the overnight train to Hanoi which will go down as an epic evening.
Also Sow, our driver was always there with coconut sweets, fresh water melon, fresh mango, nuts, dried fruit and many other luxuries, and the fresh cold lime juice hit the spot every time. Len, our truck driver and Suel our sweeper/back stop, were so supportive and even ran around re-filling our water bottles during our breaks !
Advice for Potential Travellers
It is a very busy trip and there is a lot of packing and unpacking so travel lighter than I did ! There are opportunities to do laundry. If you’d like more time in HCMC or Hanoi, it’s worth having 1-2 days extra at the beginning or the end. The weather is changeable so you need both T-shirts/shorts as well as a wet weather jacket. It can also be cool so you need a sweatshirt and long trousers. Some people brought their own saddle but I found just a gel cover was sufficient. It was useful to have a small handlebar bag and to learn to take photos on the move as there is not a lot of time for stopping.
