Hi, I’m Sonia.
A few years back I decided to load my bicycle on to a plane and take it from Melbourne to Vietnam.
My aim was to find the very best best bits of Vietnam for cycling.
Well that fabulous experience was enough to make me fall in love with bike touring and want to do more of it.
Why cycling in Vietnam?
If you’re reading this, it’s likely you have a romantic vision in your head about cruising along a peaceful windy path through rice fields where buffalos roam and craggy mountains rise in the distance.
Well that all exists (only better) – it’s just knowing where to find it.
Of course, some roads or locations will be busy, industrial and unpleasant, and sometimes its a matter of pushing through those to get to the good bits. Sometimes (depending on budget) a linking bus or taxi would be the more enjoyable way to go.
With accomodation being so affordable and street food aplenty, it is also a great country to travel light. Most bicycle tourists in south east Asia choose to leave their camping gear behind. (Vietnam is also a densely populated country with limited camping options, something to keep in mind).
It also goes without saying that tiring, challenging and downright ugly stretches will be part of any multi-day cycling trip.
But you know what? The ‘wow moments’ are well and truly worth it.
In a country like Vietnam, where everything around you is different and fascinating, cycling allows you go slowly and quietly enough to soak in the details of everyday life.
My story
Before my recent bike trip in Vietnam, I’d never attempted cycle touring before. In fact had never ridden much more than 30 or 40 kilometres at a stretch.
Some of my best memories from that crazy expat time involve putting my bike on top of a local bus and heading to the limestone-studded countryside south east of Hanoi.
What I did have is a long-running love for an interest in Vietnam, going back to the few years I lived and worked there back in the early 2000s.
A whole other world opened up, a world that has bubbled at the back of my mind ever since.
For some reason, the country keeps pulling me back.
Having been to all the popular tourist sites I figured now was the time to see what Vietnam really had to offer. and I figured the best way to do it would be on a pushbike.
So, in late 2018, I headed off on a two-month trip, helped by Google Maps. In 2022, I went back again, this time navigating and recording routes on Komoot, which worked well – mostly.
The pandemic delayed my return to Vietnam and in the meantime I packed a tent and headed off to a beautiful part of Australia – Gippsland, in the south east of Victoria. Read more about my Gippsland adventures here.
Contact me: sonia@ricepedals.com
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