Most Inspirational Moment
I think that when every single member of our group managed to cycle up the Hui ven pass that was pretty amazing
Thoughts on Group Leader
He was very professional - he gave us a great overview of the Vietnam war as his father had been a general in the south vietnamese army and the detail and personal aspect of this was a one in lifetime experience. He was very serious though and sometimes seemed very upset / angry if we asked questions whilst he was talking making me at times feel very uncomfortable. Towards the end he explained that in his culture teachers talk and explain things and people listen and do not interrupt or ask questions but in our western culture it is different and we are encouraged to ask questions and he finds this difficult. I wish he had explained this at the start! I would have preferred a guide who was more light hearted at times but this is not a complaint just an observation / preference. The only other comment is arriving at first meeting as single person in a group of mainly couples was a bit weird and he made no attempt at all to introduce everyone. To me a basic thing would have been for us all to say our names and introduce ourselves at that first meeting but this was not facilitated by the leader and as not everyone came to the first dinner it was awkward for next few days not even knowing some peoples names. In the same vein there was a real mixed ability of cyclists and again no attempt made to get an idea of abilities before we started cycling.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Vietnam is not flat - its very undulating with some difficult road conditions too (pot holes / water buffalo / motorbikes / monsoon rain / landslides ) - make sure you are a confident and competent cyclist!!