Magnificence on a Motorbike

We had ridden on serpentine mountain roads for most of the day after leaving Cat Tien National Park, about 150 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). That morning, we awoke to gibbons whooping in the thick jungle canopy, but had left the muggy rainforest for progressively heavier rain as we climbed into Vietnam’s southern mountain range. The weather finally began to clear as my partner, Jane, and I approached our destination for the evening: Da Lat, formerly a French colonial retreat and now one of Vietnam’s most popular destinations in the south. As we ascended to 1,500 meters above sea level, we whizzed by towering pines and gleefully passed slower traffic.

And then it happened. The familiar rumble of my 110 cc Honda Blade turned to grinding metal, and the accompanying whiff of burning oil led to a sinking feeling. The engine had seized. We were about 500 km into our 2,460-km journey across Vietnam, travelling south to north, during January and February 2018. Exacerbating the situation was that our accommodation in Da Lat was less than 10 km away, evening was setting in and our stomachs were grumbling. For now, we were stranded on the side of the road – not the best way to begin our three-week mototrip.

HEADING DOWN THE MOUNTAINS FROM DA LAT WAS PURE JOY AS WE SLICED