In the most bizarre, out-of-character turn of events, I decided to go on a trip to Asia by myself and with very little planning. Normally this kind of approach would give me sweaty palms and fits of hyperventilation, but I was overcome by a surprising level of calmness as my plane descended upon Ho Chi Minh City, very little on my itinerary and zero Vietnamese phrases in my head.
It turned out to be the smartest decision I made.
My second night in Ho Chi Minh City (the first I spent unmoving and comatose in my narrow hostel bed, which to me might as well have been a king-sized mattress with 1000 thread count sheets for the magnitude of my sleep-deprivation) I sat sipping on one of my two free beers in Long Hostel’s lobby, chatting with a couple from London, Tim and Amber, the two coolest, poshest, and prettiest people I had ever seen, who I spent the next two weeks running into in random cities and drunkenly clinging to with love. Another girl that I had meandered around the city with earlier, Tiz, plopped down on the couch next to us and began regaling us in tales of her Top Gear-inspired trip along the Hai Van Pass. She had dozens of pictures from her GoPro that she flicked through on her phone, her smiling face beaming as she gripped the back of a motorcyclist on the edge of a mountain. This shit is right up my alley, and I was intrigued.
I am me, far less free-spirited than I pretend to be, so I obviously had a loose itinerary to ensure that I could see most of what I was hoping to see on my very first trip to Asia. Hoi An and Hue were both places I had planned on exploring, but my original intent was to take a three hour bus ride, likely suffer without air conditioning, and enjoy the countryside through the smeared, fingerprinted windows.
ENTER: the perks of playing it by the goddamn ear.
The Hai Van Pass (in Vietnamese, Ocean Cloud Pass) is a mountain pass along the East Sea of Vietnam, deriving its name from the mist that rises from the sea and obscures visibility. It is a road renowned for its scenic beauty as well as its difficulty to traverse, treacherous curves and steep cliffs abound. Upon a bit of research while traveling, I saw it is a popular route to rent motorbikes and ride on your own, but to that I said fuck no. There are plenty of people who ride motorbikes for the first time in Vietnam, but the amount of trust I have in myself to not hurtle off the side of the mountain to my untimely death is not even enough to fill a thimble.
I ended up staying a couple extra days in Hoi An, the food, the views, and the vibes making it hard to rip myself away, and the night before I emailed several companies in the hopes of finding someone reputable and trustworthy to bring me and my backpack up to Hue. I went with the first company who got back to me, its owner, Hieu, having crafted the sweetest and friendliest email I have ever received. Even on such short notice, he said he could have someone outside my hostel to meet me at 9 am the next morning. I excitedly agreed and went to the pub down the street to pound some beers, run into and harass my favorites Tim and Amber, and meander on back to bed scarfing down a banh mi I negotiated down from $1.50 to $1.
Hue Riders
http://www.huerider.org/1-day-hue-to-hoi-an-tour.html
As promised, my guide was waiting for me in a navy Hue Riders vest outside of my hostel in the morning. His name was Trang, the son of the owner of the company, and was about 2 years younger than me, incredibly gentlemanly, and a ridiculously safe motorcyclist. Not once did the thought of potentially flying off the side of the motorcycle as he whipped around curves enter my mind, a thought I was oh-too-familiar with after years of riding around on the back of my ex-boyfriend’s motorcycle up the California coast. I miss the days of riding along the coast about one billion times more than I miss that ex-boyfriend.
Trang strapped my backpack and my camera bag firmly onto the back of his motorcycle, so you don’t have to worry about getting your stuff to your destination separately (I hate being separated from my stuff, so this was a big deal to me).
Hue Riders offers several different tours, including multiple tours between Hoi An and Hue for different lengths of time (1 day to 5 days), a tour of the Phong Nha caves, and a day tour of Hue. They will also go either from Hoi An to Hue or from Hue to Hoi An (the company is based in Hue, but they were so accommodating of my last minute request that they sent Trang up at 5 am from Hue to meet me in Hoi An and take me back again).
The itinerary for a one-day trip between Hoi An and Hue:
Marble Mountains, a cluster of 5 mountains outside of the city of Da Nang, each named for an element (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth).
China Beach, the white sand beach on the coast of Da Nang.
An amazing ride along the Hai Van Pass, obviously. The very best part of the tour, in my opinion. The road was misty and cool, a sharp contrast to the heavy heat surrounding Hoi An, and you are surrounded on all sides by lush, green, rolling hills, with accessible views of the sea right over your shoulder. Despite the treachery surrounding this route (there have been some bad accidents, which I didn’t read about until after hopping on the motorbike, thank Jesus), I never once even felt like I was balancing precariously on the back of a complete stranger’s two-wheeled vehicle.
A local and authentic restaurant, where you’ll get a bountiful feast of seafood and noodles, as well as some lovely conversation about our families, where we’ve traveled, and where we grew up with the sweetest guide in the world.
Elephant Springs Rock Pools, a natural spring that the locals frequent on hot Vietnamese days. Trang bought me a can of his favorite beer here, the beer local to the city of Hue, and we had a nice chat about the education system in Vietnam, and I answered (or attempted to without getting too heated) all of his questions about Donald J. Trump.
A small fishing village, which gives you a glimpse into how locals live outside of the big cities. Excitedly, I ran into Tim and Amber here as well, they on their own motorbike trip to Hue per Tiz’s excellent suggestion.
Trang gave me as much or as little time as I needed at each of the stops, and made sure to give me bottled water and face wipes every once in a while to keep me cool and clean. The combination of dirt and sweat creates a nice mud mask all over your face, which is actually a big reason so many Vietnamese people wear face masks as they ride around the country (in addition to the fact that “tan” is a dirty word to them and they will do anything in their power to protect themselves from harsh rays of the sun). I also received a Hue Riders t-shirt as a souvenir. From what I have read online, it is the thoughtfulness and the attentiveness that sets Hue Riders aside from some of the other motorbike touring companies.
Around 3:30 pm, Trang dropped me off outside of my hotel in Hue. I paid him there in cash. The tour is 55 USD, or about 1.25 million dong. For a backpacker on a budget, this may be a little bit pricey, but it includes the private tour guide, the motorbike, fuel, water, entrance to all the sites, and a massive lunch by the water. If you think about the fact that renting a motorbike one way to ride yourself could cost upwards of $30, this actually gives you a lot more bang for your buck (and the peace of mind that you will likely not be wiping out and paying the damages).
Do not, I repeat DO NOT, hop on a bus straight to Hue from Hoi An. Vietnam is a country full of gorgeous, natural views, even in the most unexpected places. I went to Vietnam for the history and the big cities, and I left with the best memories from riding through mountains, trekking over landscapes, sailing across bays. This country is a special one; there is a plethora of beauty to behold that you might not even know about if your itinerary is too rigid. The best way to travel isn’t always the quickest, and some of the most incredible experiences are spontaneous. Thanks, Hue Riders, for letting me live a little.
