Motorbike guide Quy in Hue

My Motorbike ride with Quy from Hue: Day 2-Feb 23, 2009

What a great time with Quy in Hue for 3 days. The first and third day were kind of half days with the 2nd day a full one and one of the best overall days of traveling I have had in a long time. I will start my 3 day report with my 2nd day as it was such a great time; I want to write about it first.

Maybe a long report so up to you if you want to know about Quy, a great motorbike guide in Hue and about the places we visited. First off he met me for a few hours 4 days before we actually got together. In this meeting I told him what I wanted to do, having no clue about what it would take. He explained that my itinerary was way to extensive and said he would work on a schedule based on what I wanted to see. Well after our first day together and finishing up at 6pm he said he was willing to do what I first suggested but that we would have to get started at 5:30 am and that it would be a long day and not plan on getting back until late. I said. Great! I say all of the above to explain on how accommodating Quy is and if he feels something can be done, that he is willing to go the extra mile.

Brief history. I rented my own Motorbike in Da Nang and rode the 3 hours up to Hue via the Hai Van Pass so I had my own bike and Quy had his. I have ridden in Asia (Cambodia, Thailand and Bali) and felt comfortable doing so.

I had no idea what we were about to do. The wildest/craziest ride of my life took place at the end of day with a 2 陆 motorbike ride from the Vinh Moc Tunnels back to Hue at night. I start our adventure at the end because I want to apologize to Quy for putting him up to doing this ride. He said he rides his bike on Highway 1A all the time but I was awestruck that anyone on a motorbike would do what we did. To get a picture of this, think of this:

1: Picture only one road in your State/Country going N/S or E/W.

2: It is only a 2 lane highway with a one meter brake down lane on each side.

3: Picture every truck, bus, tour car/bus, private car, motorbike, bicycle, person walking between towns, buffalo and other animals using this highway

4: Picture that there are very few traffic laws and that passing at will is allowed (mostly by the biggest of trucks and busses.

5: The rule of the road is, the biggest Wins!

There were many times when we would have a bus passing another vehicle and barrel down our lane, the opposite way at 60 miles per hour only giving us the one meter brake down lane to ride in, to go in our direction (all of this at night with very few lights on the road). Why do I mention this above? It is so others will listen when the tour guide says it might be tough to do, then listen to him. Besides that, now that I am here writing this it was an amazing experience. Not the brightest but still an exhilarating one. I could have at any time requested that we stop and had our bikes put on a truck and had a ride back to Hue.

Ok, the trip. Every place he to took me to was incredible in its own right. Part Vietnam Kingdom and part War history.

1-Long Huang Church. A small ancient church that was just about completely destroyed in the war with the US. Just sitting inside and thinking of what happened here was hard to imagine.

2-Quang Tri the Old Citadel. A quite large old Citadel that was occupied by the US forces that was the stage for an eighty one day 24/7 battle between the US and S. Vietnam armed forces against the N. Vietnam forces. Again hard to imagine what took place.

3-Then we went to Khe Sanh via Highway 9. This ride alone was worth the trip. Highway 9 is a beautiful road that constantly winds through a river valley with a mountain side on one and a river and another mountain range on the other with small villages along the way. I am sure a great ride by any means but to be on my own motorbike and do this ride was like riding one of the great roads anywhere. Perfect for a motorcycle enthusiast!

4-The Rockpile: Nothing to see from the highway but the mountain itself. Still this was very beautiful with river and mountain views.

5-Khe Sanh: This was a key US military base in the mountains that saw some of the heaviest fighting of the Vietnam War. Hard to fathom what both sides went through here.

6-Ride up to the DMZ via a small part of the HCM trail.

7-A very scenic ride over to the Vinh Moc Tunnels. I did not get to see the Cu Chi tunnels in HCMC/Saigon but these tunnels were amazing to see. Three levels of tunnels ranging from 11 to 23 meters deep. You start on the top tier and work your way down. Other tour groups seemed to miss a lot of the tunnels but Quy took me to all that there was to see. All the chambers (living areas, meeting rooms, medical area, kitchen, maternity ward, toilets and other chambers and passage ways. All of this on a beautiful beach.

8-Then with still a little daylight we had a stunning ride along the coast for about 20 km.

9-Then our night drive down the main Highway 1A.

With all of this I was constantly stopping to take pictures and movies at just about every scenic view I saw, adding so much time to our trip which also included us stopping at will for drinks and food. Overall we rode just under 400 km in 15 hours returning to my hotel in Hue at about 8:30pm.

Quy was amazing at all points. At every location he gave a great history of each in great English. 戮 of the way to Khe Sanh in the mountains my motorbike broke down (I did not get it from him, but on my own in Da Nang: Next time I will get it from him) and he had it fixed in 20 min at a local bike shop.

I am sure there are a lot of guides out there but working with Quy was an experience I will never forget and am already planning on a 6 or 7 day trip with him from Hue to Dalat next year. This trip from what I have heard from discussion with Quy and other tourist that have done it, is the ride to do if you have the time. Until my time with Quy I was not even considering this ride but will make it a point to do so with him when I can in the next year.

Could go on but will stop. Motor biking whether on your own bike with Quy as a guide or with Quy and his co workers on their bike which is what most people do, is in my opinion the best way to see Vietnam. Try it if you can even if just for one day.

If you wish to contact Quy, you can do so at: quyhue_1978@yahoo.com

Thanks Quy!

Doug

Motorbike guide Quy in Hue

Very interesting posting. I%26#39;ve been to all the places you mention (some more than once or twice) and would certainly concur with your views. The Vinh Moc Tunnel complex is really great as it is not overrun with tour groups like the Cu Chi Tunnels.

I found your description of traveling by motor at night to be right on the mark. I read where Vietnam has 1000+ traffic fatalities a month and most take place between seven at night and one in the morning and are caused by speed and driving on the wrong side of the road. While traffic in Saigon and Hanoi is really, really heavy, at least no one can drive very fast. Outside the big cities the Traffic Police (the guys in the yellowish uniforms) stop working no later than six at night. In their own corrupt way they do some what slow down traffic with their speed traps, radar and check points. (My driver friend in Hoi an got caught with radar doing 70kph in a 45 zone and it cost him 2 million VND). After they finish for the day all the unlicensed truck and buses hit the road and go as fast and as far as they can before the check points start up again. Two years ago I stayed over night in Dong Ha near the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 1. The truck traffic was like the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos during the war. Every bit as bad as you described if not worse. In April I%26#39;ll make my 10th trip in the last five years and I make it a point not to travel at night. I really wonder about the overnight bus rides that compete with truck traffic (and unlicensed/unregulate buses). Also along lesser travelled roads like Highway 14 along the Lao border or Highway 1 between like Quy Nhon and Tam Ky you have all kinds of animals and live stock that wander across the road. Of course there is no street lighting of any kind and lots of animals sleep on the roadway. The trip from Hue to Dalat is great, although I have not done it on a motor. Very little traffic along the Lao Border and beautiful scenery. Lodging is pretty basic along Highway 14 until you get to places like Kon Tum and Pleiku. I will contact Quy and make some arrangements to tour around Quang Tri City and the area west of Hue. On the back of a motor with a local guide is certainly the best way to see things.