Riding Vietnam … with the Family

Back in 2015, Transmoto’s Andy Wigan joined a posse of 11 Aussies for a memorable 11-day dirt bike adventure Vietnam’s remote northern frontier. Ever since Transmoto ran the feature article about that ‘Grand Tour’, the operator who ran it, Cuong’s Motorbike Adventure Tours, says he’s literally been inundated with Aussies. And he’s pretty happy about that, too. So when Cuong was planning a special ride to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of his tour company, it was inevitable that he’d invite the bloke who organised that epic ‘Grand Tour’ back in 2015, a bloke by the name of Andrew Hamilton. Hammo, being Hammo, said yes in a heartbeat. And as soon as he was back in Oz, the excitable character filed these words and pics about Cuong’s 20-year reunion ride…

People often ask me why I return to Vietnam so often to ride with Cuong. ‘Surely riding these tours Vietnam can’t be that good, can they?,’ they’ll ask.
Well, the short answer is: in every respect, Cuong’s tours are as good as they get.
So, late last year, when Cuong sent me an invitation to ride in his celebratory 20-year reunion tour, it was a no-brainer. Of course I was going to go. I said yes in a flash. The planned ride was from Hanoi to DaNang in Vietnam; an 11-day route that included a long section in neighbouring Laos as it followed the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail south along the munitions supply route through the most bombed country on the planet. And unlike previous trips when we’ve travelled light and without a support vehicle, this HCMT tour included everything you could possibly need, riding with a mixed group of about 24 other people.

We all know that motorcycling gets you like a disease, and as we get older we’re looking for any opportunity to get out with your mates and have a lash. Which is easy for single blokes. But what happens when you have family to consider? What happens when the children are getting older and showing an interest in riding (both your daughters and sons, much to their mother’s despair)? When they all want to join in the fun and experience the excitement, freedom and adventure that we all get from riding, what then?
Simple! You sign up with Cuong and clear it with the missus, explaining that this is the best bonding the kids will ever have with their fathers. And that is precisely what happened on this 20-year reunion ride in Vietnam.

As Cuong repeatedly says to everybody that goes on tour with him, “No pwaablems!” Cuong is a charming and pragmatic man who has the solution to any problem that arises, long before you’re even aware of its existence. I became acutely aware of this at the start of our tour in Hanoi, where we met our prepped and delivered bikes, along with our guides, mechanics, back-up trucks and drivers. Our roadside riders’ briefing at an out-of-town highway rest area was with 24 other people, all of whom were going on the same ride. There was, however, only 18 Honda CRF250s and three solo Urals. ‘Where are the other people going to ride?’, I pondered. ‘Surely this as a massive miscalculation on someone’s behalf.’

We all introduced ourselves, and soon I learned that 95% of the group was on their third or fourth ride with Cuong and his well-organised crew. The group comprised of people from all over the world, but with a large contingent of Aussies. Among the crowd, there were three English fellas aboard the Urals; two Aussies (called Bill and Ben, with striking colour-coordinated red camo riding pants); my good mate, Jeremy; and a bunch of senior Aussies, including an expat now living in the Philippines, called Scott. I also met three youngsters from Australia (all under 15 years of age with their respective fathers); a lady named Charlotte, a physiologist from England who doesn’t even ride a motorcycle; and some charming grandparents of one of the children.

I did the math. With only 21 bikes – and considering the fact that some of these people clearly didn’t have a license to ride – it became obvious that not everyone could fit on a motorcycle. Or could they? How wrong could I be? Remember Cuong’s “No Pwaablem” mantra? Sure enough, it was all in hand weeks ago. Yes, it soon transpired that the youngsters were all being doubled by their fathers. Charlotte was being doubled by one of Cuong’s crew (the ace sweep rider, Diep, who is better known as Johnny Depp). And the grandparents of the kids went in one of three support vehicles, which followed us the whole way around for 11 days.
I mustn’t forget to mention that the grandmother, a lovely country Aussie lady from a farm in Cobar, also got doubled for a few hundred kilometres with her son. Earlier, I said that father and youngsters were bonding here. Well, how about the fact the entire family was now getting closer than they have been in years?! The whole bloody tour was amazing, with ages ranging from 13 to people in their early 70s.

It turned out that one of the English riders, “Buffalo”, was a former enduro racer and could pedal the old, heavy Ural way faster than it was ever intended to be ridden. He worked his way up behind me on every bumpy and dusty trail we rode. Seeing his glowing lamp behind me was all that I needed to get on the gas and shake him off. But it was never for long; he’d always come back into view as we rode memorable fast and furious sections through villages and over mountains and into the early evening dusk.
Collapsing with laughter at this crazy fun riding, we would get to the hotel and share stories about our rides over a cold Beer Laos. Now we were bonding like life-long mates, so much so that Buffalo is now over here with me enjoying some Aussie hospitality and riding with my mates in the Blue Mountains – with Aussie legends such as Hans Appelgren, Porky Eldridge and Glenn Willcox.

So if you’re ever concerned about your life’s riding tenure or how you are going to engage your family on a bike tour overseas in one of the most friendly and amazing countries, be it Vietnam or Laos, then don’t be. Do yourself a favour and place one of Cuong’s tours on your bucket list, as the hospitality extends way beyond just the ride. It’s a must-do and his tours run all year round.
That’s why I keep returning; it’s that simply. Simply awesome!

Check out Cuong’s Motorbike Adventure Tour’s website for details about the Ho Chi Minh route that Hammo and co took, or any of the many other tour options available.