Most Inspirational Moment
The people. So friendly, almost without exception.
(I dropped money in a wallet in Hanoi without realising, and was pursued by a young mother out with her children calling after me, to give it back. The thing is that whilst incredibly grateful, I didn't feel at all surprised at this)
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader was Nguyen Tan Danh or Danh, also known to all as the 'Happy Buddha' He was simply wonderful. He is so organised, and always willing to go the extra mile to make things better, always volunteering extras. For example, having watched a large group from another country arrive in our Hanoi Hotel whilst we were there, tired and confused from their flights and all wanting the attention of a rather harassed looking leader - we compared it to how Danh almost without exception had organised all our rooms prior to arrival at hotels so we just walked in and picked up keys. He'd also got all our passport details and did all this in advance or on the road too! Five star service plus! He was also a font of knowledge on the history and geography of Vietnam and always a pleasure to talk to. As for food and coffee, he always found interesting out of the way places to visit, we will never forget the tiny cafe up a back stairwell and the 'special 'Hanoi' coffee - with eggs' which sounds dubious, but is actually completely delicious (think coffee flavoured meringue). We were very lucky to have Danh as our group leader.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If you are not a regular cyclists, do get saddle fit. We are not cyclists, but did three months on and off prior to going. Do take your own pedals/saddle if you want, they are no problem to fit for the bike team, and you'll most likely find them more comfortable than the ones on the bikes. You will want to carry a camera; the bikes are mountain bikes with disc brakes - the handlebars are quite thick and many front panniers (like ours) didn't fit. Some folk had bought relatively cheap ones from Decathlon with long velcro straps which fitted fine. I ended up using a small rucksack, this causes a pretty sweaty back. Don't worry about malaria, but you will need DEET as mosquitoes and mosquito borne diseases such as Dengue are. Consider buying a knock down fly spray for use where there are mosquitoes in the rooms, such as Whale Island and to spray under your mosquito net. We would also take plug in mosquito coils and tablets for the same reason. Consider staying extra nights at the start/finish if you want to see Saigon and Hanoi, otherwise there is very little time, and there is plenty to see for a couple of days in each.
