Hey it's me again. Contrary to popular belief I did eventually end up leaving Nha Trang and I am alive and well living back in Melbourne. I was in Nha Trang of a little over 2 months. Actually, it was more than that as I very much lost track of the days and weeks. I then rode Oscar down to sleepy Mui Ne before riding into the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City. It was a magnificent ride coming into Mui Ne and although I later had my camera stolen I'll never forget those last few days with my bike Oscar. The windmills scattering the coast line, those martian like plains, the deserts of Mui Ne and the sunlight reflecting off that tarmac. Vietnam is such an incredibly diverse country and now, a year on I still miss it terribly.
I was expecting traffic chaos in Saigon and although I witnessed it first hand the 4 months I'd already spent on Oscar and the time in Nha Trang had prepared me well. I rode in with ease and sold Oscar for a bargain basement $250 with my riding jacket thrown in. I know I sold him cheap but then, poor old Oscar was in a sorry state and I needed a fast sale. The riding jacket I used as a bargaining tool for a few more dollars as I had fully intended to leave it in Vietnam anyway. I'd rather it potentially save the life of another traveller than have it collect dust in my wardrobe back home.
I didn't like Ho Chi Minh City. It was so... touristy and being perhaps I was just spoilt having experienced so much in the previous months that I found the capital somewhat lack lustre. So a surprise to some but I booked a night bus back to Nha Trang to spend my last few days in my paradise. Unfortunately when I woke up on the bus coming into Nha Trang I then realised that my camera was no longer in my pocket. To say I was pretty annoyed is an understatement but I try not to dwell on the fantastic images that are now lost. I took an early morning flight from Nha Trang (which I nearly missed!!!) on the day I was to be leaving Vietnam, spent the remainder of the day in Ho Chi Minh ticking off a few tourist sights and then boarded a plane to Melbourne, Australia.
I'll go back to Vietnam one day. I have every intention to live and work there for at least 6 months but when that will be is anyone's guess.
A lot's happened in this last year and I credit a lot of this to what I learnt in Vietnam. I moved out, got a new job and started a new business which although very much in it's infancy I'm expecting great things. Without a doubt I would not have started this venture had I not rediscovered my love of motorcycles whilst riding my wheezy Honda Win across Vietnam. I now import classic bikes from Japan and looking to cater to the emerging cafe racer scene back home I'm now heading to Thailand to source parts and suppliers. The cafe racer scene in Thailand is quite large and of course, this is not an 'all work, no play' type trip. On the contrary, 2 weeks of this trip is going to be spent on the back of a bike riding across northern Thailand with a good friend of mine who I've managed to convince that riding a motorbike across SE Asia will be his deathbed memory. I'll then be spending a few days in Bangkok shopping for bike parts and catching up with a friend from Melbourne who now lives there and then spend the last few days of my 3 week trip down south for a spot of diving before flying back home.
Not quite the epic 4 month adventure of Vietnam but not bad for a 'business' trip! Two weeks on the bike again... I can't wait for my flight tonight!
Peace.
“I finally felt myself lifted definitively away on the winds of adventure toward worlds I envisaged would be stranger than they were, into situations I imagined would be much more normal than they turned out to be.” - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara "Motorcycle Diaries"
Enjoy, my friend.
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