Top Gear

After the best part of 3 months together, with only ever 15 minutes chunks of time apart, Sarah and I have had a day apart! Don't worry, the glorious Cope-Broad union is fine - but thought this adventure was safer done on my own!

I took my Compulsory Bike Training back in Norfolk before we left on this slightly epic honeymoon - knowing that at some point we'd need to use mopeds or motorbikes to get us around. Vietnam's roads are very different to the sleepy backwaters of the Norfolk Broads - there are millions of bikes buzzing around in every direction. We've seen a family of 5 crowded onto one bike, baby balanced on the bars. Live pigs being transported on the sides and back of a bike. And a very odd sense of road safety.

But - the roads are amazing, the scenery stunning and Top Gear's Vietnam special was still in my head. I had to get on a bike and explore. If you haven't seen the programme, have a look on YouTube and watch out for the Hai Van pass, part of my day out.

Step 1 - get a bike, £3 a day for hire

Quite nippy, without 4 children  or pigs

Step 2 - consider buying a present to strap onto the back of the bike

Not quite my colour

Step 3 - pick up some dodgy tailoring

A sneak preview of our fashion blog
(in production)

Step 4 - Head out to Hai Van pass, described by Clarkson as one of the most beautiful roads in the world. 

Traffic rule 1 - always give way to bigger things!

What I didn't bet on, was that Danang (Vietnam's 5th largest city) would be quite so busy at rush hour. That was quite an interesting experience. Plus I got lost. But, I made it out eventually by following the Sun!

Step 5 - Kick it into a low gear, and head up to the ancient natural barrier of South and North Vietnam - snaking round hairpin turns and steep inclines. Dead of traffic, thanks to the super new tunnel far below.

The view from the top. Stunning!

American Fortifications

Step 6 - Complete the journey, by heading back down the other side. Then come back to the top again!

Dream roads

Step 7 - Complete your planned day of motoring by 1pm, so explore what the locals consider to be the  best coastal road. Top Gear was wrong, the locals are right.

The most fun road I've ever tackled

Smooth and curvy...

Touring round Monkey Mountain was stunning - the perfected roads were deserted as all the resorts are still being built. Then the building sites end, and the concrete track to the old radar stations begin

Looking back to Danang City

Step 8 - realise it's 8 hours since you've eaten anything, so find somewhere without a single foreigner. After running out of petrol (and buying a litre of green liquid in a coke bottle, which seemed to make the engine work okay) I came across this simple restaurant with 40 buckets of live seafood outside. I settled on 0.5kg of Mussels for £1.50!

The waiters took it in turns to serve
the scary foreigner!

Step 9 - Get reunited with Sarah after a fantastic adventure of a day. I'd highly recommend the North-South (or vice versa!) trip by bike from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, if this chunk of the journey is anything to go by. Just familiarise yourself with Vietnamese traffic mentality first!

I've smelled better.