Motorcycle tour of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

When I was researching our trip to Vietnam I kept coming back to the idea of a motorcycle tour. In a city with over ten million motorbikes it seemed rude not to. Ma is 71 so safety and comfort had to be taken into account, and of course a company who offered helmets and insurance!

Having finally settled on a tour Ma was surprisingly easy to convince. Happy to go along as long as she didn’t have to drive the motorbike 😂 as she can’t even balance on a bicycle I would say that was a given!

We were met by our three cheerful guides at 8am at our hotel (the new, pretty basic, spotlessly clean and comfy one we’ve moved to) and once our helmets had been secured we were off. Not that many years ago I would have been clinging on to Anh, my driver and guide, for dear life but a few months in the Philippines with JHubz ferrying me around and I’m an old pro, hands on my lap or on my camera, my butt doing all the work ☺️

Our first stop was at the memorial to Thich Quang Duc. The Buddhist Monk who captured the world’s attention when he burnt himself alive in an act of defiance at the governments treatment of Buddhists in 1963. A large statue engulfed in flames sits overlooking the junction where his immolation took place. It’s a somber experience and reminder of the heartache this beautiful country and its people have suffered.

Back on the bikes and we were soon whisking through the streets for our next stop for a breakfast of Bun Bo Hue, a fragrant beef noodle soup, which was delicious. Vietnam is great for me as they don’t add chilli to every dish like they do in some of the neighbouring countries, rather it is on the table to be added as you choose.

The remainder of the morning was spent on and off the bikes. We visited a Chinese Temple and had our photo taken with a charming traditionally dressed lady who had been making offerings and for some unknown reason wanted her photo taken with us. We stopped for a drink at the oldest coffee shop in Saigon Cafe Cheo Leo, a lovely café with a sharing ethos and saw how their famous coffee is made. We visited the first apartment block built after the end of the American War and rode through the huge flower market as well as a few other stops.

All of us felt incredibly safe, even when crossing a mahoosive roundabout where no one seemed to have priority, it all flowed, slowly, but surely.

Our guides were awesome, friendly and communicative and Ma’s guide looked after her as if she were her own. The Tour was booked through TripAdvisor with Vietnamese Street Food Tour and we all absolutely LOVED it, even Ma, who as we all know is notoriously hard to please 😂❤️