Oww. Lots of good lessons in that one.
WARNING FOR OTHERS, A rider probably dies in that video.
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Adventures of crashing in Vietnam, breaking my leg
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WARNING FOR OTHERS, A rider probably dies in that video.
I went 2 years ago and will go again in '21. I had no concerns with heavy traffic or the roads, but this was in the northern mountain region. Being the mountains you have lots of switchbacks, hairpins and blind corners. Makes for a good ride but need to be vigilant for oncoming traffic (especially trucks) to be about half in your lane coming around the blind turns.
No street lights and copious amounts of drunk drivers would likely kill off any plans to ride in the south/party areas.
If you need any tips/advice for Thailand feel free to drop me a line, i would highly recommend riding there.
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jeez.
Really depends on what part of thailand. Just got back a couple weeks ago. If you go north to Chiang Mai etc scooters are cheap and traffic manageable.
I spent over a year riding around Thailand and SE Asia. It's fine. There are more dangerous places in the world to ride a motorcycle.
What routes did you do in Thailand? I'm thinking of riding from Chiang Mai to Pai but I've heard some horror stories about those blind corners.
World Nomads didn't give you issues for riding a bike without a Vietnamese license? I thought Canadian licenses even with IDP weren't valid in Vietnam.
Mae Hong Son Loop.
The corners aren't bad once you do a few, you learn appropriate lane position. Also keep in mind you aren't flying around these roads at 100km/hr. I did get a nice surprise (twice) of wild oxen crossing the road just past the crest of a hill, that was more of a pucker moment than the trucks lol. (I went clockwise from Chiang Mai)
I rented a 250 and it was perfect for throwing it around, this route has over 1800 curves. I would suggest nothing bigger than a 500, waste of power.
On another note i hated Pai. Great food but it was just full of hippies and massive bugs that were flying around everywhere. Thankfully i didn't stay more than overnight.
If its anything like Thailand, the local business don't care about enforcing that law and the police don't bother to punish them. Opens up tons of 'taxation/fine' opportunity on the road.
I picked up my IDP (for Thailand), saved me a $50 fine so it paid for itself.
He's not talking about the rental company, he's talking about the insurance company which paid out his medical claims.
Officially, Canadian IDPs are not recognized in Vietnam, so technically, he was riding illegally if he didn't have a Vietnamese drivers license. The surprising part is that World Nomads didn't refuse his claim, given that insurance companies are so notorious about finding loopholes to deny claims.
Edit: never mind. Just read in another thread, the OP got a Vietnamese drivers license. As you were.
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I did the Chiang Mai to Pai run a few years ago. It's honestly no big deal. You do need to watch out for minibuses cutting into the oncoming lane around corners, as well as cow's and cow dung on the road. There isn't a lot of traffic so you can take it at your own pace.
I rented a Triumph Bonneville and had a blast.
There's a lot of grey information about IDP in Vietnam. Some sites say it is recognized, others say no. I got a temporary Vietnamese license just to be safe, which I wrote about in another thread. World Nomads was ok with just the IDP though.
Yeah, it's the insurance I'm worried about. Bribes I'm okay with, but that medical bill and the flight back? Less so.
The grey area exists because despite the name, IDPs are not a universal document. There are different Geneva Conventions that countries sign on to.
The original convention in 1949 had Canada as a party. However, Canada (as well as the US, Australia and New Zealand) did not participate in the updated 1968 convention. Since Vietnam recognizes only the 1968 convention and not the 1949 one, Canadian, America, Australian, and a bunch of other drivers cannot drive in Vietnam with their country-issued IDPs, whereas UK drivers can because the UK were a party in both the 1949 and 1968 conventions.
So complicated!
That explains it, no wonder this is so confusing.
Going to be a fun time trying to get this license converted in Hanoi. Doesn't help that I won't have the M yet either.
Yeah gear wise, I'm thinking to bring gloves, hiking boots and pick-up an LS2 helmet there with some elbow/knee pads. Speeds should be low enough that it won't be too bad with all that?
I only had M2 going to Thailand
Sounds to me like everyone involved went out of their way to help you and that the shop treated you very fairly on the buyback. Maybe not a great experience with the crash and all but it could have been much worse.
fingers crossed then all goes well. Absolutely stoked for this trip, what started as just a few rides is now a month and a half of riding.|
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