Read about the trip here below; click the headline to get to the photos of that day.
Saigon to Hanoi Scooter Run 2008
I learned about this event by organizer Pat Joint while visiting Saigon last year for a week of crazy scooterboy vacation and I immediately started to plan my participation.
The Saigon to Hanoi Scooter Run was explained as a zigzag drive from south to north of Vietnam on scenic routs all the way. Vietnam is a very interesting country with diverse nature and mad driving conditions on roads almost fit for dirt bikes.
I could hardly think of anything else the weeks before departure and suddenly it was time to take off.
February 3rd
Left Hong Kong with 12 Litre 2 stroke oil, a new helmet and driving gear for weather from 36°C down to 6°C.
Hong Kong is an extremely well organized place and Vietnam the other way around. The wonderful chaos did hit me in the face just when I walked out of the Tân Sơn Nhất Airport building in Saigon and trying to find a taxi that only cheated me slightly and that is hard here. Love it.
The taxi took the 2 stroke oil and myself directly to Saigon Scooter Centre were Pat waited with coffee, chat and a white Vespa PX kitted with DR177, T5 carb and double fuel tank. Nice.
February 4th
Met up Pat and Hamish for early morning pre-scooter run preparations.
The scooters was serviced and the green Lambretta with newly fitted RB22 got its Variotronic fine tuned and a brand new exhaust. The fork of the series 2 was renovated and we were ready to drive.
The afternoon was spent buzzing around with the PX in Saigon and yes I have missed the craziness of driving here. It only took some metres to get into the traffic rhythm again. I really have to remember returning to civilized driving when I’m back home in Hong Kong again, driving like this and you loose your driving licence in seconds.
February 5th
Got out of bed at correct vacation waking up time. Took the scooter out for a four hour drive around the city, just driving without a goal in a city like this is marvellous.
As this is the day before Lunar New Year it’s the last time for the traffic police to get some hard cash and yes they target foreigners. I were stopped by an aggressive small man in tight Khaki uniform who asked for driving licence, vehicle licence and a lot of other questions, in the end he told me “now you pay” and he ripped me off USD50 and VND100000, surely his boss get’s the VND100000 and he himself the USD50. When I understood that they targeted foreigners I also found out that my shiny new Japanese tinted visor could save me from further economical losses and it did.
Usually when I eat eggs they are not fertilised but here it’s a delicacy if they are. It took some local ba ba ba beers to get down the duck embryo with feathers and all.
Both fuel tanks are filled up and the riding gear is packed, can’t wait!
February 6th Saigon – Vung Tau
All of us crazy drivers and hangarounds met up for early breakfast at X Cafe in Saigon.
Eight scooters en route to Hanoi and five more following us to Nha Trang only.
It’s a very interesting group of people doing this journey, a couple doing this as one leg in their around the world trip, Scooterists from UK, France, New Zeeland, Australia, USA, Vietnam and Sweden. Everybody are living in Saigon except for the couple on the around the world trip and me.
Saigon is truly a large city; it took us one hour of zigzagging and a ferry ride to get to the winding country roads. And the country roads are beautiful, some running along rice fields, some along the sea. Amazing.
The place we stay in tonight is a beach town and the hotel is located up hill with a stunning view. Tonight is New Years Eve, for Vietnamese that means everybody with something to drive will cruise up and down the streets, usually on a Honda but sometimes on a Vespa Sprint, we joined in.
Back at the hotel I examined the mini-bar that contained water, beer, ice tea and…a frog. The frog were caught and handed over to the hotel staff that was having a New Year barbeque and faster than fast the poor frog also landed on the barbeque.
February 7th Vung Tau – Phan Thiet
Two of the drivers heading for Nha Trang used 4 stroke gearbox oil instead of 2 stroke in the petrol, that’s not good. One of the scooters seized up beyond repair, the other one just seized.
The rescue Honda Dax were pulled out but somebody has pulled its oil plug so it soon had to be pulled of the road.
The scenery at today’s driving is interesting, sand dunes, roads along the beach and rice fields and even more rice fields.
Some of the country roads are in very bad shape, some not existing, partly as a true dirt bike path, partly with half broken wooden bridges were you really have to choose the correct plank for your 10 inch wheels to get over. It’s not the easiest to do but great fun and very existing.
At one photo session the wind did throw the green RB to the ground and broke its front brake lever bracket, luckily there is a new one in the spare parts boxes.
At the last stop before this day’s final destination the engine in my scooter gave up beyond repair so now I know how I will spend the night.
The hotel of today is a beautiful resort with bamboo bungalows and a large parking area that we turned into an outdoor scooter workshop together with wine and northern soul to cheer us up. Pat changed his exhaust, Hamish his hydraulic disc brake lever bracket and I changed the complete engine unit. The resort’s security staff overlooked our late night fun and had very hard to understand why we were driving all the way to Hanoi with our antique vehicles.
February 8th Phan Thiet - Nha Trang
The day’s first leg was on a very windy road on something that almost looked like a highway. At one petrol station the manager and his wife were celebrating New Year heavily and we joined in to get some strength for the rest of today’s long drive.
At these roads there are a lot of tour busses and they drive as they own the road and they do, as a scooter driver you have to throw yourself of the road sometimes. Scary. At the turns they cut the corners like Michael Schumacher and by this also cutting our way. If they want to overtake another bus or car, they just do so, even if there is not place for every vehicle and even if there is a high risk of head-on collision with another bus or truck.
We stopped at least three times at road side coffee sheds, the Vietnamese drip coffee is excellent, very strong and almost for free.
The green RB’s fuel tank cracked but a ingenious construction with a plastic can using self-siphoning system got Hamish enough range, even when it were leaking out a lot, to reach between the petrol stations, since his RB is crazily fast he could hold the same average speed as the rest of us.
February 9th Nha Trang
Now we have almost made one third of the distance and take one day off in the beautiful beach city of Nha Trang.
Some of us did a motocross like driving up to a country park were we hiked up to beautiful refreshing waterfalls.
Tomorrow is time for a long days riding again and from here eight of us continue to Hanoi, the rest stop here.
February 10th Nha Trang – Buon Ma Thuot
We are heading up to the central highlands, the nature and temperature is changing as we go.
At the previous long leg we had to look out for tour busses but here we have to look out for cows, they are everywhere and they do really jump out on the road at anytime.
The battery on my scooter fell off and took the ignition unit with it on its fall, crazy, but a new ignition unit connected the Vietnamese way soon made the engine give out that traditional Vespa buzz again.
We all did look out for cows, so did Mark, but he still had to brake so hard that the front wheel locked to not hit one just jumping out in front of him. Luckily he have an amazingly effective disc brake on his Lammy.
Buon Ma Thuot is called the Caffeine capital of Vietnam, apparently since most of the coffee is produced here. It is also the beginning of a highly militarized area were we are not allowed to drive outside of the main highway (Highway in Vietnamese; that is badly maintained village road anywhere else).
We had almost dinner twice, first in a God forgotten hotel were we actually almost got nothing of what we ordered, only one of us were satisfied. The second dinner was marvellous and very tasty, DIY rice paper spring rolls and cold beer. Couldn’t have been better.
February 11th Buon Ma Thuot - Pleiku
The day started off good with a Vietnamese breakfast, and yes the coffee was amazing.
We are now on the very scenic rout called “Ho Chi Minh Trial” nice roads and a very beautiful nature, the only bad things on the roads are the bloody busses and trucks that pushes us off the road, over and over again.
This is the area of village tribes, ethnic people and street gangs. Did I tell that it have the highest murder rate in Vietnam?
After three quarters of today’s driving suddenly I couldn’t see the other scooterists in front of me, so I drove as fast as the scooter could take me and after some 15km I and Jason caught up, we decided to push ahead and after some more tens of km’s I contacted the others that told us of noodle soup and punctured front tire. So Jason and I got to the closest roadside shed and had drip coffee and noodles. Great.
When sitting and doing nothing I see a dog running over the Ho Chi Minh trial, bad thing to do, a car surely hit and killed it, and very soon some villagers carried it off the rood, presumably to cook it. I wonder if I’m invited for dinner? Hope not.
After a couple of hours most of the others arrived and Paul went off to fetch some beers in next village, he had to do it three times before we were satisfied.
Soon Hamish also arrived and told us that there was a big fight down in the village. At our friendly café, a couple of guys started collecting thick bamboo sticks and a large axe. Then it was surely time to go. Full Throttle that is.
A day of pure hardcore scootering!
Our destination of the day is a city architected and built by the Soviet Union in the 80’s, and it is as boring as it sounds.
February 12th Pleiku – Hoi An
Here it’s usual to park your scooter in the hotel reception at night to prevent it from being stolen. Feels kind of strange with the antique vehicles dripping oil on the polished marble.
At 6:36 we pulled out our scooters from the reception and headed through some old villages and then north over a mountain pass, today’s ride is 440km and we have no idea how long time it will take.
We had some great first 70km and then we lost Scott, the map and Jason’s gearbox.
In this region we have no problem with busses and trucks as they are all old, very slow and massive vehicles from Soviet and DDR or left over from the war. The black smoke they give out is giving you a free ‘sunless tanning’ of your face.
Jason got on the white PX, his Lambretta in the van and Paul pulled out a map he had stuffed away. On the road again!
The mountain regions have very beautiful virgin rain forest and natural waterfalls and we were so high up that we drove through the rain clouds. Cool, cold and wet. The kids up in the mountains all cheered and waived to us while their dads walked the roads with big machetes. I really don’t want to have a night time break down here.
The road down from the mountains kept us fully occupied looking out for cows, water buffaloes, goats, rocks, dogs and also trying to find out were to drive when the road were missing. Interesting I must say.
Just as we got down from the mountains the dark fell and it did get dark quickly. The last 70km were very hard driving looking out for busses and trucks that swished by in full speed and not always on the correct side of the road. Pat took the white PX from Paul who got his Series 2. The white PX was now missing clutch, headlight, front break and possibilities to fill up the main fuel tank. It takes a man like Pat to drive a Vespa in that condition.
Anyway we arrived in Hoi An after 14 hours on the road with all limbs still attached and with some scooters fairly intact. Tomorrow is a day of relaxing and scooter mechanics.
All in all, one of the absolutely best days of scooter riding in my whole life!
February 13th Hoi An
We had a lovely cold tourist, very touristy that is, boat trip on the river and watched the old Japanese bridge and old town. Back to the scooters.
Jason’s Lambretta got a new engine, my Vespa got new rear tire, front bearing and general service. Pat’s seat locking mechanism was repaired since a not so clever guy at a petrol station simply broke it off .Hamish who has been riding his RB for several days with a plastic can get his original tank welded up and re-installed. Sorted.
February 14th Hoi An - Hue
Hoi An was a nice place but it’s even nicer to get back on the Covolo seat again.
In Vietnam it’s quite usual that they try to cheat you at petrol stations. But this morning was mine. The guy at the petrol station charged me for 8 litres but he had only filled up 5,8 litres. After some heavy arguing with my not at all existing Vietnamese he finally understood that I only accepted to pay for 5 litres. I realized on the way from the petrol station that he actually had given me more money back that I should have got. 1-0 to me.
From Hoi An we travelled up to a beautiful but rainy and very cold mountain pass. At the other side of the mountains were beaches and an old American air force base.
Scott tried to get close to the hangers, but local militia with AK47 seems not to like it. Time to hit the road again.
The rest of the drive went hassle free and we arrived at good time in Hue for checking out the old Forbidden City that almost don’t exist.
If you are into Indian food, don’t have it in Hue. Pat got the worst curry ever, Paul had a Nan bread on his head and I had use of my Japanese food poisoning medicine.
February 15th Hue – Dong Hoi
Yes, parking is strange here. We parked our scooters at the hotel’s bicycle shed in their back yard. To get there we had to drive the very unusual way through an art gallery.
The leg today went almost without problem, Jason had a flat tire and the weather was cold but we all survived in our very many layers of clothes, so many it made us Bibendum look-a-likes.
This is a area of flooding and by the road are markers for water depth up to 1,2 metres. I’m happy we don’t drive here during monsoon rain season.
The drive into Dong Hoi was beautiful along the river and we arrived early at the hotel for a hot shower followed by some cold beers.
While Chai were busy fixing Jason’s Scooter, all the rest of us squeezed into the hotel’s own shuttle, happy and joyful we thought that we went along to the restaurant street we found in the guide book, but the driver took us out of town to a deserted beach restaurant and guess what, they already had put out plates and chopsticks for exactly the number of people in our group. We were smelling scam. Since it were in the middle of nowhere we had to walk a long way to get a taxi to down town.
We finally found a place and it all ended well with Paul, as usual, going into the kitchen and getting us the best food the place could offer. And yes, this time it was good, really good. The beer was cold, maybe from the coldness outside and Hamish did almost eat a gecko lizard.
February 16th Dong Hoi – Vinh
After a tasty breakfast, Pat handed out stickers to us for making cosmetic tuning of our scooters, best tuning you could get!
Chai spent most of the night fixing Jason’s scooter but sadly the clutch burnt just at the test drive. The Dax became Jason’s ride for the day.
The Dax took him out of town and to the next, but not further, luckily all towns always have crazily many Honda workshops. The one we stopped at changed the CDI box for 2, 5€ including the CDI!
The ride went along Highway Number one and there were cows, water buffaloes, busses, trucks and dogs everywhere.
When Mark overtook a bus, it pushed him to the right and he hit a bicycle. It all ended at its best with a shouting bicycle owner and a nice battle scar from the mudguard to the side panel handle on his beautiful Lambretta Silver Special.
Arriving in Vinh is a strange feeling, this town was planned by Soviet architects and yes indeed, you notice it by the wide boulevards and the massive monuments.
Heaters are not very popular in Vietnam and the hotel in Vinh was stupidly cold. Jason, Hamish a guide from the hotel (on a Honda as always) and I went heater hunting. We did not have any success in our hunt but Hamish gearbox gave up with a very strange symptom. Another Honda guy offered his pushing service back and we went along to turn yet another hotel into a scooter workshop.
We simultaneously opened some bottles of wine and Jason’s and Hamish’s gearboxes; Jason’s only needed a new front sprocket and a clutch change. Sorted in no time. Hamish had a very strange fault; one of the selector pins had come off and was flying around in the gearbox. Unusual problems like this happen when you drive on roads only fit for dirt bikes. But unusual problems are interesting to solve and so we did. Ready for the road again.
February 17th Vinh – Ninh Binh
The breakfast was served at the building next to the hotel what seems to be a meeting place for party officials. Even more peculiar were that the coffee was cold and the orange juice hot. Maybe that is how the politicians like their breakfast in Vinh?
With our minds and stomachs fulfilled by the breakfast experience we mounted our now perfectly working scooters. From the communistic boulevards a guy from Vespa Club Vinh turned up, he told us that they had 20 members in this strange town and he was going to their weekly meeting. He told me just as we were about to drive that he will follow us for a short while, but actually he only followed us the 16 metres until the hotel gates, then he went the other way. Very short while indeed.
A clutch cable broke and all villagers turned up to watch the changing of it. At stop for lunch even more people turned up to watch us and I were offered two semi-ugly sisters for marriage, thanks but no thanks. But I still wonder if they offered me both as a package or if I should chose one?
Traffic lights are not so popular to pay attention to, but you do sometimes pay attention if a traffic police stands in the middle of the road. I did not. He pulled me over and we discussed for a long time, he in his language I in mine. None of us understood a word and he got angrier by the second. I pulled up my Swedish passport and he did surely shine up, and just showed me that I was free to leave. Great!
My exhaust got loose when I were overtaking some busses and yeah it sounded scooterboyish, I have to give full throttle to catch up the other guys and by doing this I also overtook three motor cycle police men that seemed to be too chocked to stop me. A stone and a 14mm spanner re-mounted the exhaust in no time.
Arriving silently into the hotel and they showed us the way to the scooter parking area, through the hotel corridors. I’m still amazed by the crazy hotel parking experiences here.
February 18th Ninh Binh - Hanoi
The last leg of this crazy trip was a dangerous one. The trucks, busses, motorbikes and bicyclists here have no traffic sense at all. But we all survived without fatalities. Quite interesting is that the closer to the capital you get the better the roads get and the worse the vehicles gets. In south the potholes are big enough to loose a Lambretta series 2 in and in north you can’t even loose a Vespa in the potholes.
When driving into Hanoi I noticed that the stressed look on the faces of my fellow crazy scooter drivers changed to big and happy smiles. Me I was singing/shouting under the helmet visor and the tune was ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ embarrassing when I think about it.
The scooters went very fine today, one overheating, that's all. In the beginning I were sure we should be eight people on the Dax arriving in Hanoi, but no, we all arrived in style on our breathtaking beautiful Lambrettas and Vespas.
Hanoi is a really great and classical city to arrive in with a gang of crazy scooterists; old buildings, beautiful surroundings, crazy traffic beyond compare, many beautiful Vespas and Vespa girls.
The scooters are now shipped back to Saigon and we ourselves will go back to reality.
Facts and summary
At beginning of the run we had not really any good idea of how many kilometres the drive should be as maps and information of distances varies extremely much from were you got it from. Arriving at the Hotel in Hanoi’s old French quarters it turned out that we have driven 2591,4km all in all.
It have been a truly amazing trip with experiences, thrills, great driving, relaxing driving, very scary driving, very friendly people, very unfriendly axe-murderers, amazing food and an odd ball mix of great travel companions, all in all an adventure that I will remember until Alzheimer’s kicks in.
The drive went along desert, sand dunes, jungle, rice fields, mountain passes and rain forest.
We did use up all spare tires, all spare engines and had to buy five more inner tubes on the way.
Thank you Pat, Ash, Hamish and Saigon Scooter Centre for the excellent service, organization and planning!
The team:
Drivers:
Pat Joynt – Lambretta Li Series 2 200cc (UK/Vietnam)
Ash Groom – Vespa Vbb DR177cc (Australia/Vietnam)
Mark Brooks – Lambretta Silver Special Mugello 186cc (UK/Vietnam)
Hamish Stalker – Lambretta Li Series 3 RB22 231cc (New Zeeland/Vietnam)
Paul Scheiffer – Lambretta Li Special with top secret engine (France/Vietnam)
Jason Huang – Lambretta Li Special Mugello 186cc (USA/Vietnam)
Calle Krokstäde – Vespa PX DR177cc (Sweden/Hong Kong)
Scott “Maxi Man” McGravie – Vespa PX150 and Maxi Trailer (Australia/Vietnam)
Hangarounds and models:
Chai “Mister Mechanic” (Vietnam)
Yen (Vietnam)
Anchari (Thailand)
Han (Vietnam)