Vietnam- Easy riders tour!

Another day another bus.  Our stay in Nha Trang had come to an end and we were headed 3 hours south bound to the beautiful town of Dalat. A stones throw in the scheme of things.  Suzanne had heard from her friend that the Dalat Easy Riders tour was a superb way to see south Vietnam and at the start of our trip she suggested that this could perhaps be our mode of transport when travelling this area. It is no secret to anybody that I have had car accidents in the past. As a result I have been left with this crippling fear of being a passenger. I can't bare speed. The other girls seemed really excited at the prospect of cruising for bitches around south Vietnam on the back of a motorbike. I on the other hand (although I think I hid it well) was shitting myself. However I was there I had agreed to do it and there was no turning back now. Even if I wanted to I couldn't.. I had no lift!!
We were greeted in Dalat by a lovely Vietnamese man called Mr. Young. He had organised our guest house for the night and accompanied us there. Just by chance the Dalat Easy Riders end of year party was that day (Vietnam uses the Chinese calendar) and Mr. Young invited the 7 of us to join them. What an unexpected treat this was. They really made us feel so welcome with unlimited food and drink. We were in our element. These guys liked to drink. It reminded me of a scene from Fr. Ted. They loved toasting and after most drinks they would get us to stand up with our drinks and say 1...2...3... SLAINTE!!!

Dalat easy riders staff party...nutters!!

The next day we embarked on what was to be a 4 day 3 night bike tour along the winding dirt track unmarked roads of southern Vietnam. We were each assigned a driver and the 7 motorbikes drove in a line one after another. Such a wonderful way to explore Vietnam's culture. We saw how silk was made and I will never forget the image of the factory girls hands. They were red raw from the work. I really felt for her. They brought us to a Saturday food market. Let's just say they wouldn't have anything remotely resembling a bord bia food hygiene approval cert on the wall. There was a bowl full of live frogs. Each one of them was tied with rope around their waist. My heart sank as I saw the poor little guys take their last breath while the shop worker sat beside them waiting for them to pop their clogs so she could sell them. A different world.

Vietnam Saturday market

Final day of the tour

Myself and my driver Ba

We were also taken to a coffee factory. Here we had the pleasure of tasting weasel coffee. What is weasel coffee? Coffee beans are fed to the weasel. The weasel ingests it and defecates it. It is then made into coffee and served. Of course we had to taste it and do you know what it was grand!! I wouldn't run out and buy it but I'm glad I tried it. After all variety is the spice of life. 

One of the highlights of the trip was getting the opportunity to see the way in which many families in southern Vietnam live. The houses were completely made of bamboo stick yet had big satellite dishes hanging off the side of them. This left us baffled. The Easy Rider guides told us that Vietnam was becoming overpopulated and this was a government intervention scheme. They had tried educating them on contraception. When their attempts failed they used a different approach. Believe it or not they introduced free televisions in the hope that the Vietnamese people would become distracted from their spouse and concentrate on something else. We howled laughing at the explanation but they assured us this was the governments rationale.

It was a humbling experience. These people have so little but yet are so content. It proves a valuable lesson. Possessions, as wonderful as they are don't really count for a lot in the end. It's the simple things that mean the most.

We had an amazing time with these guys. The price of the whole trip was 180 euro. This included all our food, accommodation and transport for 600+ km as well as brilliant company, once in a life time experiences and unforgettable memories.

Checking out a waterfall along the way

Meeting local boys in the rice fields

Our journey ended in Saigon also known as Ho Chi Minh. There we disembarked our bikes and bid a fond farewell to our buddies who had looked after us so well for 4 days and carried us safely through the twisting winding roads of southern Vietnam. Cambodia you're next.

xoxo