Most Inspirational Moment
I find it hard to identify a single most inspiring moment , but the overall experience certainly was inspiring. Some beautiful scenery, friendly people, great food, some challenging cycling (and some fun descents), plus insights into the history, economy and the everyday lives of Vietnamese people.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Nam Nguyen was great! Each day would typically start with him saying "xin chào, xin chào, story time!" followed by an explanation of the day's itinerary and insights into Vietnamese life. He was friendly, organised and kept us safe and happy.
Advice for Potential Travellers
1) Pack light - there were opportunities to get clothes laundered at reasonable prices whenever we stayed more than 1 night in the same place and we also successfully hand-washed our own cycle kit in hotel washbasins and it dried OK after rolling in a towel and being left in front of the air conditioning. We took far too much stuff with us, which was a nuisance when travelling on the sleeper train and when lugging it through the airports.
2) Choose flights carefully - we preferred to fly from a regional airport rather than Heathrow. Exodus offered us a few alternatives and we opted for night flights which we hoped would minimise jet-lag (they did). The downside, which we hadn't thought through properly, was that we arrived after the rest of the group and departed before them, thus missing out on time to explore the cities of Saigon and Hanoi.
3) Cycling in high heat and humidity can be hard going - quite a few of our group thought that the cycling was harder than the official "moderate" rating of this tour might suggest. Heat and humidity affects people differently, but I think a decent level of fitness is needed for this tour. If in any doubt, you could opt for an e-bike.