Yesterday morning i decided to do the planned 400km in two days, in ONE day.
I had heard so many good things about Hoi An so i just couldn`t wait.
400km trough the most breathtaking redicioulusly beautiful scenery of Coffee plantations, pepper plantations and the most dense green jungle i have ever seen.
Passing trough the small minority villages (village people:p) stopping and looking around their tiny huts seeing again and again people living the simple life smile all the time.
After about 100-150km i got into the thick fog at about 800-1000meters aobove sealevel. and then of course, the rain came.. and it kept on comming for the next 200km!
The scenery was not any less beautiful because of the rain but i sadly did not take the time to take enough pictures. But i did take some, see below.
I had to get to Hoi An before dark.
When i arrived in Hoi An around 6 o`clock after 9 hours driving i was soaked and somwhere up in the mountains, freezing my ass of i decided that when i get to Hoi An i`ll check in to a nice hotel and relax.

I did check in to a nice hotel, but you know me.. did i relax?
Noep. I needed somthing to eat.. and what do you need when you eat.. yes, Beer!
And what do you want when you have had one beer?.. yes.. you guessed it..

If you are thinking of taking the same trip, here i got some tips for you:

• If you arrive in No Chi Minh, buy you bike from Mr. Raven. Contact me i f you want his number.

• Make sure you have a front light and a back light on your bike

• Wear a helmet
• If possible, blend into the traffic when you see the police on the side of the road.
• If they try to pull you over, predtend like you didn`t see it and keep driving and the same speed, they probably won`t bother driving after you.
• Carry with you a 500.000 VND bill to pay your way out if you get pulled over.
• Allways have your "blue card" and vietnameese incurance with you, Mr. Raven will help you with that.
• Do not drive in the dark, it`s a 50/50 chance you will die ;p
• Make sure the horn on your bike works. concider buying a louder one.
• Bring basic tools and spare parts.

Repairmanual for Minsk 125: http://www.lotushanoi.com.vn/pdf/Minsk%20Repair%20Manual%20by%20Digby%20Greenhalgh.pdf

Sunrise at the beach in Mui Nè

I found this abandoned place in Mui Nè,
I think it`s suposed to be a hotel of some kind. I took this picture from the entrance steps facing towards the road passing by.
The round patio thingy on the water there makes me think of scarface, it looks like somthing he would have in his mansion.
And who the hell knows what the whatchtower is for?!?

My View When Driving.

Of course, the fruit ladies seen from my balcony in Saigon.

Liquid water, sinking boat.

This is my planned route when i get back to Vietnam.

I`ll try to get to the north of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) as fast as i can.

Since i`ve heard that the north (especially Sapa) is the most beautiful.

Today and tomorrow i`m packing to leave Oslo and i`m arriving in Ho Chi Minh on friday 8th.

Happy new year! Hope you all had a great christmas too.

Back in Sài Gòn.

Back in Mui Nè who produces 17 million liters of fish sauce each year. yes it smells.

I`m going home for Christmas :) :) :)
So now i`m going back to Mui Nè 160km in one day! (mountain route)
Staying in Mui Nè 2 days and heading for Saigon on friday.
(back in Saigon to continue my trip in the beginning of January.

Put the bike in Neutral, save som gas and some nature and enjoy the silence (not so silent for you, because of the microphone noise)


A cow. in a small town one hour before Ma Lâm.

Hills and jungle as far as the eyes can see.

In Ma Lâm i met Lan. (vietnamese for Orchid) a lovley and a little shy girl.
it`s common for the Vietnamese girls are named after a flower.

Finally, On my way to Da Lat!

This is a spectacular trip with beautiful scenery. Highly recomended!You might even have the chance to get married, if you dont have kids apparently (!)
ps. i passed on the offer :)

You will also see some odd-looking buildings.
makes me think of Moomin :)

Da Lat even got their own Eiffel Tower :)

On my way from Mui Nè to Dalat, unfortunately i spent too much time trying to find a smaller nicer road, (whats the point in having signs along the road..) so i ended up again taking the 1A Highway and i realised that i wouldn`t make it to Dalat before it gets dark so now i`m spending a night in Phan Rang.. not the nicest place in the world but i`m really looking foreward to Dalat tomorrow morning (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Lat )

Got stuck in Mui Nè for a coupple of ekstra days because my bike broke down agian..
luckily there was a guy who actually knows how to repair Minsks there so he fiksed it within one day.. price: 120.000 VND :)

My new friend, guiding me from Phan Tiet to Mui Nè (not so many places you can go wrong:) and around Mui Nè today.
Note the beer with a straw for breakfast :D

The bike works like a charm.

My HERO!!!
Abit over an hour outside Saigon my carburator got flooded and it didn`t help to drain it and then the sparkplug fucked!! so the effing bike wouldn`t start!! so, out of nowhere my new hero shows up, on the side of the freeway. with more tools than i got and he tried to fix my bike for about an hour before he towed (!) me by HAND with a rope to two more Honda repair shops.. of course they don`t know shit about Minsks so the just made the mess worse (but thanks for trying) so he actually toed me all the way back to Saigon. BY HAND!! he didn`t speak a word of English but we had the best time!!
-So, now im back in Saigon to get a new carburator since it keeps flooding and i`ve checked in to a HOTEL!! AirCon!!! so nice.. hitting the road again tomorrow! :D

I`ve bought myself a 125cc Minsk to try to find my way from Saigon to Hanoi.
Shouldn`t be a problem right? it`s only about 2000 + Km.
If you are wondering how much i payed for det bike: 7,7 mill Dong (about 400USD)