6 Weeks. 50ccs. From Saigon to Hanoi.

To start off with, can you do this route on a 50cc? Yes. Should you? Probably not.

Let me give you some background/context. I am a big rider, I also love riding, most years clocking in anywhere between 25,000 Kms to 40,000 Kms on the saddle back home and ride every day (helps I never bothered with a car license). A good weekend for me is to clock out early at work and put in 1,500 Kms over the Friday + weekend. I've also not only ridden in New Zealand but also in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (approx 3~5,000 kms each) so SEAsian traffic wasn't the most foreign to me. I also teach people safe riding/slow speed technical skills (come to Bike Night on fb if you are in Auckland!) so I have some notes on that too.

So why a manual 50cc?

Because NZ IDP means jack shit in Vietnam. Years are different so therefore it's not recognised. However, I wanted to do this trip for a long time and I wanted to stay legal and also eligible for my travel insurance. Lucky for me, in Vietnam anyone over the age of 16 can operate something under 50ccs without a license even! So I found a fella selling a 50cc manual bike (a Honda Cub knock off, a Thai-Viet "Cup") and probably paid a little too much for it.

I also wanted a Cub or a Cub style motorcycle because I think in my head that the Cub is the vehicle that built Asia and this 50cc model is what started it all. Do have a look into the story of the cub as well as the surprising amount of places that it pops up in through the ages.

I also wanted a manual because I'm a big guy and my luggage... well there's a lot of luggage. Manual means I can shift down when uphill instead of having the v-belt slip on an automatic as well as just having a shifter is nice for me. I find automatics too boring and hate having rear break as a handle bar lever, it's just... weird when doing technical stuff/off roading(which there is a lot of)/dragging the rear for more control.

My route and some notes:

Start in HCMC. Leave through Vung Tau to catch the ferry over to go to Mui Ne.

Mui Ne - Holy mother of construction, I was pretty confident I'd seen the worst road conditions already but this beats it out of the damn stratosphere. Sand as deep as the rims on the road and heavy equipment inadequately coned off from the traffic (a common story along Vietnam). Stayed by a guesthouse overlooking the fishing boat harbour for 350k a night. Great times. Go to Head Spa Mui Ne for the best Goi Dau Duong Sinh of your life and escape that helmet hair. Sunrise at a spot called "Cham Nam" is also amazing. Sand dunes were... well yeah there was a lot of sand.

Stopped at Bau Trang on the way to Phan Rang which I thought was okay, the lake was great but I don't see myself paying for ATV rides or whatever, seemed like hell under the sun there. The real highlight of this route was a place called Quan Bien Chill on Google Maps. Coffee and some quick eats on a hammock along the road right by the sea! Instead of going through QL1A all the way to Phan Rang swing over to Ca Na Salt Field then follow the coastline for some AMAZING views.

Phan Rang - Sunniest city in the country! Really liked the beach life here. At about 5 PM (approx an hour before sun down) every body comes out to the beach goes for a swim, there's nice street stalls. Cham sites are okay but I actually enjoyed riding around the rice fields and finding the bases of wind turbines to take photos with the bike more. Try Com Ga Phan Rang - made with "wild" chicken and it's quite a unique mouth feel.

On the way to Nha Trang hug the coast once again, it is arguably one of the most beautiful coastlines you will ever see and I've seen a lot of fucking coastlines in New Zealand.

Nha Trang - The little Russia? This is where I found out that yes the bike can do hills decently. Visit "Chùa Trúc Lâm Hòn Bà" for some pretty sick riding and views on the way there but also stop at a place called "View Coffee" to have a coffee while looking over the reservoir in a hammock. Mud baths were great when I went during a heavy rain pour since no one else was around and I actually enjoyed VinPearl mostly for the gondola ride. Went nice and late and waited around while taking some photos for the jetski show. I'd say it's worth it for 200,000 dongs!

From there again, hug the coast. You can get some stunning view of the fishing fleet on the way to Tuy Hoa/Phu Yen. The coastal route around Hoa Xuan around QL29 is pretty brutal though with how steep it is.

Phu Yen houses Vietnam's longest wooden bridge as well as Gan Da Dia both very worth a visit. One for the riding experience and other for the extremely unique natural formation. This is also when I managed to get 3 punctures in 1 week riding through this area. Don't ride too close to the edge. Also got histamine poisoning! Learned that improperly stored mollusks can develop histamine and it gave me a full body hive! Those sea snails were delicious though, would do again.

Next stop for me was Gia Lai. Stop by on the place called "The Sound Quy Nhon" for a coffee overlooking Quy Nhon. Just past the place called Ben Lo Dieu there's a a very steep bit of road so do watch out. There really wasn't a hell of a lot in Gia Lai... It was a small highway town but I did enjoy the local experience. Also picked up a ice container here to hang off my bike and I'd say I can't believe I waited that long. Just about any tap hoa will sell you ice for very cheap or nothing if you are buying a few other things.

From there direct to Hoi An. This was a brutal and rather boring riding day. I'd been before so I didn't stick around long. I do recommend visiting My Son though if you get the chance and Monkey mountain is a pretty fun bit of offroading.

From Hoi An, I went over the Hai Van pass. Did the bike struggle? No not really. It was actually easier than some of the coastal roads that came before it. There's actually a nice trail/road that leads down to a beach behind a place called "Quán nước đầu đường vào Bãi Chuối" on Google Maps. It sits just past the peak of Hai Van. Do not attempt if low on fuel, you've been warned.

In Hoi An I also found out that both my front and rear wheel bearings were seized. It explained why the bike was feeling like shit for a while. Got that fixed!

I spent a whole week in Hue. I paid for the biggest combo ticket and visited every single site that was on it. Worth it. Highlight was Huyen Khong temple which is a Theravada buddhist temple but not in the Thai style but more in the older/traditional ascetic buddhist style which I found very fascinating.

On the way to Dong Hoi next you can visit the 17th Parallel bridge where the country was split in half. Worth a quick visit and looksie as well as Vinh Moc tunnels sort of nearby.

There's not a hell of a lot in Dong Hoi but it's surreal visiting the site of the old cathedral to see the canal still there but the actual building are very much... gone. There is a place called "Cat's Pizza" that had the best pizza I've had in Vietnam (for whatever that's worth)!

Next was a quick overnight stop in a place called Song Tri, again another highway town. This is when I learned that truck stop food portions are gigantic. I had one meal with rice and sweet and sour pork and didn't eat for the rest of the day.

On the way to Vinh there's a place called Koi Coffee right next to the old citadel in Ha Tinh (which again is gone thanks Americans) that has much needed air conditioning. Stop by Huong Tich Pagoda as well for a nice temple visit.

Vinh is surreal going there knowing that at one point it had the official population of 0. It's now a bustling city! If you are in the region you may as well try some mud eels. If you like unagi it's nothing like it and I dreamed that the eels crawled out of my mouth at night so there's that... It is worth noting that this is where you can get to the birth place of Uncle Ho himself. It gets pretty busy so go early!

Next was Ninh Binh. Not a hell of a lot of excitement on the way there except the increased amount of trucks and tour buses.

Ninh Binh was pretty cool. Go to the Van Long Wetland reserves, the entire boat ride I was there I didn't see a single another tourist and I got taught how to count by my rower. Trang An was also absolutely stunning and Mua caves as well as Bich Dong is something I'll remember for a long time especially since I got pretty close to dying at Mua caves since I stubbornly went all the way to the top. My favourite part has to be just taking photos of cows, water buffalos and ducks riding around the paddies and the dirt roads. The cub is a offroading beast. Got another puncture here, ripped the tube stem right now. Must've been just sending it a bit much hahaha. Got bit by a dog too and gotta start taking rabies shots now but VNVC is a damn good set up.

Then to Haiphong I went to Vương Cung Thánh Đường Phú Nhai and took the nearby ferry over the river, got another puncture but the people on the boat were so nice and helped me to a mechanic.

Got to Haiphong mostly to visit Cat Ba island. I would skip the tourist section if I went again but riding around the island otherwise was great. You should go on the boat ferry on the northern end of the island it goes through the limestone areas and it's beautiful.

And now I'm in Hanoi wrapping up. If you time it right you can ride on Cau Long Bien while the train is crossing the bridge. It was a nice send off to my journey.

Some general notes on riding in Vietnam:

Technically there's 3 lanes on most motorways/interprovincial roads.

There's the left most lane which is where vehicles with 4 or more wheels go, unless they want to go in the middle lane. It's also where you line up for an agressive u-turn on the highway.

The middle lane is used for passing more than anything, usually while you blast your air raid siren and driving at 3x any other road user's speed (especially fi you are a bus/tour van).

There's the shoulder land where you would think the motorcycles would go but you'd be wrong. This is a 2 way multi purpose lane. You have oncoming traffic (usually a motorcycle, may or may not have a trailer or a cow on it), bicycles, pedestrians and most importantly it's also used for parking around blind corners. So don't feel too safe riding here and keep your wits about ya.

I think this is why riding in Vietnam has felt rather exhausting for me? There's a lot more to keep track of than on the road back home but I guess it was good practice.

I didn't want to take the mountain roads or go into the mountains in the road because as nice as the coastal roads are there's a lot more fun to be had there with the twisties. However, this bike is not made for those roads. Would I have made it? Probably, is there a lot less support in the mountains not being as close to all the townships along the coast? Yes. I just didn't want to sit in 1st gear at 12km/h for hours a day.

I'm fairly certain that this bike is a "special" 50cc with a 90+cc cylinder on it given how it's performed for me.

Motorcycle mechanics are plentiful so if something did go wrong on the route that I've done you'd never have issues finding help. You can always sit down at the nearest cafe and ask the owner to message their local travelling mechanic too if you can't find someone nearby and if it's just a small puncture or something like that.

Goi Dau Duong Sinh is a fucking godsend. After a long day in the saddle having someone strip all that helmet hair/oil out of your hair is... simple bless.

I clocked 250 Kms on my longest days and probably averaged 150 kms on transit days and 50~80 km on exploration/bum about days. If you are used to big bikes back home you kind of have to reframe things a little like I had to. I would say I averaged maybe 30 km/h? You have a lower top speed but also frequent breaks for sightseeing and also just stopping at a ca phe every hour at the minimum.

Ca Phe Vongs are awesome especially the ones by the sea. You get to have a drink and lie in a hammock!

Avoid the mid day heat if you can, I know that's nothing revolutionary but if you can leave early (good breakfast places open at like 6 AM anyways or even 4:30 AM) and stop riding by 1 PM~4 PM you will save a lot of heatstroke.

Anyone wanna buy a "50cc" in Hanoi lol. I would ship this thing home if I could hahaha.

What an unforgettable experience, thank you Vietnam!

Hello guys, I’d like to ask y’all what tourists often miss when travelling Vietnam.
Let’s share together, so that those who come after us don’t make those mistakes again

Hi everyone. I just want to preface this post by saying I'm trying to learn about my culture through whatever means are available to me. I am a first generation Vietnamese American. My father was a well-known southern Vietnamese soldier in the war and immigrated to America after the fall of Saigon.

Growing up, once a year, he would bring me to these reunions he had with his war buddies. It was a HUGE event where everyone would gather in one city and just be together again. It would have hundreds of attendees and my father often times helped to organize them or drive people in my area to these events (I specifically remember him doing a 17 hour drive by himself). I do idolize my father in some ways. He is a great man, incredibly patient, taught me not to fear people who don't look or behave like me and I truly think he does things because he thinks it's right-- not to be liked.

That all being said, my whole life I grew up surrounded by the Yellow with Three Red Stripes flag. I always understood it as a symbol of pride for Southern Vietnamese people and the hardships they faced and the consequences of war.

Now that I'm older and seeking answers about my heritage and where I come from (my parents were the only people in their respective families to immigrate here so my siblings and I don't have any cousins we grew up with or talked to, and so our only links to our culture are through our parents). I speak and can read the language okay, I'd say maybe like a 4th grade level if I were to equate it to the American school system. I can definitely converse on my own but I definitely could not translate this post in Vietnamese. 😅

Anyways, I'd like for people with experience to really explain to me why the yellow flag is seen negatively or maybe why it's not really accepted at all. I know some people equate it to the confederate flag here but I'm not sure that's the same? Again, I don't really know all the history and I truly am looking to learn from both sides. I wouldn't say to reply to me like I'm an idiot, but I would like people to educate me (nicely) about both sides of my question. I have tried googling it but it's a lot for me to understand and a lot of the info is very biased (one side or the other), so I suppose I'm looking for unbiased perspective without shaming one side or the other.

I do plan on visiting Vietnam next year (it will be my first time going as an adult ☺️), and I just want to feel connected to where my parents came from and the culture, even if it's a country they chose to flee for the sake of my future. Thank you all in advance for reading this so far and for helping me. ✌️

(also, I wasn't sure if I should tag this as history or culture as it definitely pertains to both but given that I think this is more a social question, I tagged it as culture)

Emphasis on planned

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/south-korean-wins-biggest-vietnam-lottery-prize-ever-claimed-by-a-foreigner-5100141.html

He identified himself as K.S.H and chose not to reveal his face.

Vietnamese locals are claiming that the government has hired a Korean to deceive people. Many Vietnamese believe the lottery is a scam that high officials rip the citizens off.

As the title says, I’ll be in Vietnam for two and a half weeks, including five days in Saigon. I’d love some recommendations for the best places locals actually go to eat.

I’m not particularly interested in fine dining, since there’s already plenty of that in the States. I’m looking for affordable local food, street food, and hidden gems.
I’ll try to visit the top 10 most recommended places in the comments, then share photos and ratings after I return. Thanks!

Breakfast buffet absolutely packed, it's now 11AM and it's us, a couple of others and the pool staff in this ginormous resort.

Understand Viet locals don't like the mid-day sun, but it's Ho Tram and not like Da Nang/Nha Trang where there's alot of daytime activities.

Hello! i will be travelling to Da Nang, Vietnam soon and i’ve been looking for a restaurant that has ca mau crab. If you have any restaurant suggestion please let me know! Thank you so much

Hi, I'm from South Korea. I'm working as a foreign stock(usa, japan, hogkong) broker.

i'm trying to research on Vietnam finance market as possible client, but it seems like the law forbids Vietnamese from investing aborad.

Can you tell me how normal Vietnamese invest in foreign stocks?

*My goal is to establish connection to Vietnamese peoples so they can trade South Korea's stock (so i can earn brokerage fee)

Thanks for your kind answers!!

Cheap Charlie thought no one was looking. Vietnam is already so cheap why exploit locals evens further.

Video shows foreigner walking past local store, comes back to pickup a carton of beer worth $17usd. Shop makes only $1-$2 per carton.

Facebook

Hello,

I'm travelling to Vietnam (again) in October, we enjoyed it so much we have invited my dad (79) and my in laws parents (both in the low 70s) My kids are 9 and 12

Our trip so far is planned as Hanoi (3 days) Ninh Binh (5 days) and Ha Long (6 days).

I've been to Hanoi and Ha Long.

My questions are for Ninh Binh, are the boat tours and trekking suitable for my dad and in laws? And for children?

Any tips? Travelling to and from ect

Thanks heaps

There were two versions of the jacket: 400k and 600k (after haggling in the beginning they were about x2). I paid 600k for the better one, the seller went to get my size for me and put it in a bag. When I got home, I realized she had put the cheaper 400k version in the bag.
Should I go back and ask for the correct jacket? Could this be a genuine mistake, or is this a common scam at the market?

Where can I find a place to play DDR in this city? I'm visiting and would like to be recommended! Anything similar is also cool!

So, I’m talking to my friend and he mentioned that he has been a Grab Unlimited member for over a year. He showed me that since mid May 2025 he has 708,000 d in savings on rides and deliveries. It cost him 215,000 d a year to join.

Since we will be here for at least that long I signed up. 5% off a standard car, 20% off Grab Bike and 20% off Grab Car Plus. And 12k off of food deliveries. I got 34k off the ride home from seeing my doc at VinMec!

Not trying to spam the subreddit, I just wanted to alert folks to a good deal. After being here nearly a year and not being the sort of person who pays for discounts I never bothered to investigate further.

Once you join, when you book at the bottom of the page where you select the type of car there is a button that shows your automatic discounts. There is also another button there for More Discounts, I got an added 10% off my ride!

Hi everyone,
I’m currently visiting Vietnam and wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced something similar with Chapa Express.
My partner and I booked a private cabin for two months in advance through Klook because we specifically wanted privacy during the overnight trip from Sapa (Lao Cai) to Hanoi. We paid extra for a private cabin, so we expected to receive exactly what we booked.

When we arrived at the VIP lounge before departure, we were suddenly informed that our private cabin was no longer available due to an operational issue. Instead, we were told we would have to share a cabin with other passengers.
The biggest issue wasn’t just the downgrade—it was that we were only informed at the very last minute. By then, we had already checked out of our hotel, arrived at the station with all our luggage, and the train was about to leave. We didn’t really have a practical alternative anymore.

While we were waiting, we were already inside what we believed was our assigned cabin. Several staff members were speaking loudly to each other in Vietnamese. I couldn’t understand the conversation, but it felt like there was confusion about what would happen next. We waited without any clear explanation before eventually being asked to move from Cabin 8 to Cabin 12.

The refund process was also confusing. Different refund amounts were discussed, but we ultimately received 2.5 million VND in cash. We even had to ask for a handwritten acknowledgment because there was no official receipt provided initially.

I was also asked to speak with someone introduced to me as the manager over the phone. Unfortunately, instead of feeling reassured, I left the conversation feeling that my explanation was being questioned because I was told the receptionist had a different version of what happened. It made an already stressful situation even more frustrating.

To be clear, I understand that operational problems can happen. I’m not upset simply because something went wrong. What disappointed me was how it was handled and how late we were informed. If we had known earlier, we could have chosen another train or changed our travel plans.
I’ve already opened a case with Klook, and they have escalated it for review, so I’m currently waiting for their final decision.

I’m just curious:
Has anyone else experienced a last-minute private cabin downgrade with Chapa Express?
Is this something that happens often, or were we just unlucky?
Do you think the refund we received sounds reasonable given that we paid for a private cabin but were moved to a shared cabin?
I’d appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences. Thanks!

So I’m interested in studying business majors in Vietnam as an international student from Cambodia. It’s not that Cambodia doesn’t have a decent international uni but I just want to experience sth new and really interested in VN due to it’s economic growth in recent years, cheap cost of living, reasonable tuition fees and stuff..
Asking if any Vietnamese locals can recommend me any school? Or any international students that already attended business school there even better. As I do research so far here is my top list: VinUni,RMIT,Fulbright,UEH,FTU, and VNU Hanoi.
I’d appreciate your help!

Xin chào mọi người!
Mình là sinh viên quốc tế đến từ Campuchia và đang quan tâm đến việc học ngành Kinh doanh tại Việt Nam.
Không phải vì Campuchia không có các trường đại học quốc tế tốt, mà đơn giản là mình muốn có một trải nghiệm mới. Mình rất hứng thú với Việt Nam vì nền kinh tế phát triển nhanh trong những năm gần đây, chi phí sinh hoạt khá hợp lý, học phí phải chăng và môi trường học tập rất hấp dẫn.
Mình muốn hỏi các bạn người Việt hoặc các sinh viên quốc tế đang học ở Việt Nam: các bạn có thể giới thiệu cho mình một số trường đại học đào tạo ngành Kinh doanh tốt không? Nếu có ai đã hoặc đang theo học ngành này thì mình càng rất mong được nghe chia sẻ về trải nghiệm thực tế.
Hiện tại, sau khi tự tìm hiểu, đây là những trường mình đang cân nhắc:
VinUni
RMIT Vietnam
Fulbright University Vietnam
UEH (Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM)
FTU (Đại học Ngoại thương)
VNU Hanoi (Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội)
Mình rất cảm ơn mọi người nếu có thể chia sẻ kinh nghiệm hoặc đưa ra lời khuyên. Xin cảm ơn rất nhiều! 😊

The game (linguil) asks you to guess the language family, language and meaning of a random word in one of 64 of the world's most-spoken languages each day, and you use your knowledge of linguistics to work out the answer via multiple choice. Therefore, it's important my translations/transliterations are correct.

Each language (including Vietnamese and White Hmong) includes each word on the 100-word Swadesh list, and where the primary script is Latin-based and an alternative/historical script is available, each word's transliteration too (hence the inclusion of Vietnamese Chữ Nôm and Pahawh Hmong).

Please can any Vietnamese/Hmong speakers verify the accuracy of my translations and transliterations? 🙏

Thanks!

Note: The Chữ Nôm and Pahawh Hmong characters may not display correctly on mobile.

If you want to add another Southeast Asian language to the game, follow the guide here. I've compiled a language wishlist here.

Let me know if you need any help and I'd be more than happy to explain anything or provide resources :)

I’ve done a couple business trips with various groups of Vietnamese men and I’m kind of perplexed by their humor. They are all married men, and yet they have no issues openly joking about checking out women they see in public, they about taking foreign woman as their mistresses, they joke about how their wives are following their locations to make sure they aren’t cheating on them, etc.

I’m actually having a hard time understanding how they have no problem making such jokes, and like is this a cultural thing to Vietnamese men?

There is much controversy about how worth Sa Pa actually is, but in want to experience by myself and make my own opinion.

I opted for a 2-night stay, and looking for good spots. I don’t know if something like hidden gems exist in Sa Pa besides the regular tourist attraction.

Feel free to comment.

And lastly, for short term vacation like mine, better to look for an hotel/apartment in the city or in outbacks (up to 6 km)?

Can you share your fav low calorie products in supermarkets, stores, online or ect..and even stores and websites! Thank you