I Did the Top Gear Motorbike Trail!


Once I started to recover from my second dose of food poisoning, we had to decide what our game plan was. I felt really bad that my boyfriend was stuck inside most of each day because of me for the second time during our trip. So, I agreed to do something I was completely terrified of, but he was utterly desperate to do...a motorcycle tour. Do you know what? It was the most awesome activity of our whole trip. Good job Jay, I should trust you more often ;)

When Top Gear came to Vietnam, Jeremy, James and Richard rode motorbikes from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, all the way up the country. If you've seen the episode, (if not go watch it, it's one of the best) you'll know they travel through the mountains on a road called Hai Van Pass. Our trip was from Hoi An to Hue, driving alongside the gorgeous views of stunning white sandy beaches, bright blue water and the greenest forests.
On this map, Hoi An is marked M and Hue is marked L. The journey would usually take around 3 hours, however it was stretched into a full day with stops Marble Mountain, an American war bunker, a beautiful beach for fresh seafood lunch, a waterfall and a fishing village.

Now, before you all start panicking, no we did not ride the motorbikes. We each had a guide and we rode on the back of their bikes, I would say they were fully qualified, but this is Vietnam. They could ride a bike and we had helmets, it was all good. We booked on the trip through a company associated with our hostel, but their so many others offering this trip.



When we were on the oat trip in Laos, we actually met two Australian women who recommended this trip to us. My initial reaction was NO WAY. I could never imagine riding on the back of a motorbike in the middle of Asia, especially because of how against travellers hiring their own motorbikes I am. I thought about them while I was on the bike and let out a laugh, I couldn't believe I was actually doing this, stepping waaaayyy out of my comfort zone and fully embracing travelling. I am so grateful to be feeling the wind rush past me while we rode through the mountains, falling ill had really put a downer on things for the both of us and we were in a rough spot full of negativity. This memory will be with me forever, I don't think I will ever do anything so cool ever again!

It had been about 5 days since I had done anything at all other than lay in bed and try to drink water. I was very dehydrated and so I was mostly just sleeping. The day before this trip I managed a 5 minute walk to the closest cafe for a sandwich, but I couldn't really eat any of it, it was just an attempt to get out of the room. So I do apologise for looking all pale and frail in these photos, but that's what I was. I wasn't feeling well enough for the hike around Marble mountain, so I stayed at the first level while my boyfriend walked around to get these shots.






Our lunch spot
Traditional fishing village, a boat for each family

Beautiful views from the bike
We had booked ourselves one night stay in Hue and had a late flight to Ho Chi Minh the next evening. During our one day we decided to visit the huge Imperial City, which is absolutely huge and hours can be spend there wandering around and taking in all the amazing architecture. It was ridiculously hot that day though, so we decided to take it slow.







That was our awesome motorcycle trip for ya! I'd love to do something like that again. If you ever go to Vietnam this is by far the BEST thing to do there, it made the whole trip! That honestly may have been the best day of my life so far, it's up there for sure!

Lon x

Comments

  1. I'm glad you're feeling better! And it is so good that you conquered your fear and tried something as exciting as this motorcycle tour.

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  2. This looks so good! Wish I had the opportunity to do something insane like this

    Chloe MySecondAttempt

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  3. This looks amazing! Definitely going on the bucket list! I'm glad you had a great time
    Gina'x

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  4. Glad you're feeling better! Those places look awesome! The photos are simply beautiful !

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  5. Your trip looks absolutely incredible <3
    ♥ Fran - www.frannymac.com xx

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