Cycling Vietnam

[sulis]

Has anyone done a cycling tour in Vietnam? My father was drafted into the war and has expressed interest in going back. I think it would be good for him to bring some resolution for him. Plus he wants to loose lots of weight, so I'm thinking what a great motivator if he and I worked towards a cycle tour of Vietnam together.

Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has been on a cycle tour in Vietnam and would be interest in hearing your experiences.

Thanks

[DeniseGoldberg]

I just took a look over on crazyguyonabike.com, and there are some journals there where the author traveled in Vietnam. I've read some of these journals; I think that you will find some useful information there. I believe that these were all self-supported tours, but I know that there are touring companies that operate there too.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/l...octype=journal

[Kalidurga]

I just received this month's issue of Cycling Plus UK and it includes an article on cycling through Thailand. Just based on skimming through and looking at the photos, it looks like anywhere in that part of the world would be beautiful and interesting to pedal through. After I read the article, I'll let you know if there's anything in it that might be pertinent to cycling the Orient in general.

[snowtulip]

Hi Sulis,
Unfortunately I haven't been riding Vietnam, YET. But I did a lot of reseach, just haven't been able to afford the plane ticket. Here are a few links I came across.

http://www.handspan.com/?opt=intro&c...egion/vietnam/
http://www.grasshopperadventures.com/kk.html

I hope you get a chance. Vietnam and Cambodia are on my list.

[Cali Sunshine]

I have contemplated cycling Vietnam, coincidentally. I have been to Vietnam twice, once with my dad who was a Vietnam Vet. Visiting the countryside made me think about cycling it. I also recall a while back seeing a website of a guy cycling Vietnam, as well as a site (don't know if it was the same one) talking about his experiences cycling Vietnam. I don't know if that's the same site posted above. I also wonder if there are cycling organizations within Vietnam where you can cycle with other groups.

[Kalidurga]

The one tip from the article on cycling in Thailand was to check out Lonely Planet, which doesn't seem to have much specifically about biking in Vietnam. Through that site, though, I found this: World Adventures: Cycle touring in Vietnam.

This sounds like such a great idea. If you do this trip with your dad, I hope that you take lots of photos and post them here for us to see!

[crazycanuck]

Hi,

Just an idea, why not try a co that does small tours in vietnam & supports the local community

www.intrepidtravel.com

I don't know how expensive it is in US $ but can recommend them.

c

[sulis]

Wow! Thank you everyone. You always provide such great information. I will see my father this weekend and give him some of this info so we can talk about it some more. More than anything, I'm hoping a planned trip like this with his oh so fabulous daughter will encourage him enough to get serious about taking care of himself. He has many health problems right now but they are all related to the extra weight he is caring around. So hopefully this will take care of two things at once - the weight and his dream to return to Vietnam to see how it is now.

And if I do end up going...I will definitely take many pictures and post the adventures!!

[Deanna]

I once read a great book called "Catfish and Mandala" by Andrew X Pham. He emigrated to the US as child and this is story of his bicycle ride through Vietnam when he takes a visit back when he's older. Probably won't offer a lot of advice, but would probably be good reading.

[snowtulip]

Ditto on "Catfish and Mandela", loved the book and interesting to read about his self supported cycling tour.

[russtaitai]

Sulis, I did a tour with four friends a few years ago. A short tour, and mainly along the Mekong Delta, but it was an absolute blast...except for the heat. This was my husband's first time back since the war and he did, indeed, get some closure.

We used http://www.tuliptours.com/vietnam-bicycle-tour.html

You can see some pictures of our trip at: http://homepage.mac.com/bhuff123/PhotoAlbum20.html


By the way, I've "lurked" here every once in awhile, and it was your post that got me to register.

[bike_odyssey]

You can also try cycling tours with the Bike Odyssey team. They are on of the best bicycle touring business in the world. BBC and National Geographic has documented their tours long before.