A motorcycle trip through the hidden Vietnam

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I have never been happier to see asphalt. The gray ribbon of the road ahead of me shines through the lush green of the Vietnamese landscape. It comes at the perfect time. I just fell off the bike and the rear end went off mid-corner on a dusty gravel mountain pass in Hà Giang, so to be back on a proper, real road is a relief.

I rode 300 miles through picturesque tea plantations, boarded a boat on Thác Bà Lake, and traversed the single-lane tracks of Hoàng Su Phì. Three days into a 12-day, 1,000-mile guided motorcycle adventure through Northern Vietnam, I am already spellbound by this beautiful country, its people, and its food.

The ride, organized by Vintage Rides, begins in the capital Hanoi, where the air is thick with gasoline and garlic: two-stroke scooter engines in a constant battle with sizzling pans on the sides of the street. Crossing the street is an achievement in itself, a dizzying feat of calculated steps, motorbikes and cars dancing in their search for space. Join on your own scooter or motorcycle and you’ll never question traffic in London or Los Angeles again.

But life slows down soon after we leave town. An hour’s drive north of Hanoi find the deep field where farmers grow rice or tobacco. Rice paddies open up, country roads narrow and spectacular karst rock formations appear.

Each day is made up of a ride of approximately 100 miles. The default routes are designed to challenge riders with roads that go through small towns, mountains, and off-road sections. Riders can expect to spend between four and six hours a day in the saddle, making the ride as much a feat of stamina as it is skill. It is run by François Combes, 41, an experienced guide and expert horseman who has toured the world. He is supported by three Vietnamese assistants who help the riders communicate with the locals and offer daily support. Viet, who was born in HÔi An, prides himself on making fresh coffee for the group every morning, while Nam is the available mechanic.

The trip attracts a variety of people, from 25-year-old engineers to 64-year-old retirees. There are 11 of us in all, from the UK and France, and the camaraderie is growing fast. Hastily we share intimacies during lunch, such is the intensity of the cavalcade. It’s a shared experience completed as a package, with problems solved as one.

Further north of the country, we head towards the UNESCO-protected geopark of Đông Văn. We are greeted with honking horns and friendly waves as we pass through each small town, the kids just out of school and heading home on their bikes.

Bikes can navigate the cracks and crevices of the country.

Such friendliness has to do, at least in part, with the fact that we travel by bicycle. People are used to seeing scooters on the roads of Vietnam (there are more than five million in Hanoi alone) and much of the country is made for two wheels. Big bikes are more rare, thanks in part to their impracticality, but also to the 100 percent import tax on foreign-assembled vehicles. I ride a Royal Enfield Himalayan, a 411cc mid-size adventure bike designed to traverse all types of terrain. But, with its small size, quiet engine, and retro ’80s good looks, it’s far from an intimidating engine.

Over the 12 days we ran into everything from smooth asphalt to grass to freshly rained mud to clay to gravel. The Himalayan can handle it all with its high suspension travel, predictable power, and relatively light weight. It inspires confidence (in my case, maybe a little too much confidence). You can trust it through slippery terrain, lean on its skinny tires in turns, and make use of its upright riding position when you want to take in the scenery.

Accommodation changes every day, from the very comfortable Hanoi Allure Hotel to places like La Vie Vu Linh, a community-run homestay overlooking the atmospheric Thác Bà Lake. It is run by Fredo Binh, a friendly host who employs local Dao people. Each room overlooks the lake, while guests eat together in the evenings, barefoot on traditional mats. Fredo makes the rounds, sipping shots of homemade rice wine as he regales us with his own adventure stories.

In the Dao village of Quan Ba ​​​​we stay in wooden huts, while in Hoàng Su Phì there are huts on stilts overlooking the rice paddies. Each is perfectly decent but makes us grateful for the relief of the hotels in Đông Văn and Cao Băng, with their soft mattresses and air conditioning, as daily temperatures reach 38ºC.

While the quality of places to stay is variable, the food is universally excellent. Bun Cha Hanoi sets the bar high on the first night, with its mix of sweet and sour sauce and fatty grilled pork. The most famous Vietnamese dish, pho, is an almost daily necessity. Maison Teahouse Bungalow in Hà Giang specializes in its own version, serving it with raw beef and noodles that you cook yourself in a bowl of steaming broth. Incredibly fresh and spicy, it’s the perfect fuel for a long day on the road. Other highlights include a ginger fried chicken dish, served with the head and legs so you know you’re getting the full value of your bird, and a black pudding that has a distinctive juicy, sour flavor.

The landscapes of northern Vietnam are vast and wildly variable: one moment flat and green, the next jagged, mountainous and intimidating. The karsts hardly look real. Huge limestone pyramids sit challenging each other, proudly competing for height and width.

On the Hà Giang loop, we climb up and through the mountains, embracing their unusual shapes. There are wide, high-speed Monza corners, Monaco hairpins and long Mulsanne straights, where you can admire the trees, water buffalo and wild dogs as you go by. The slower times include the ancient lands of Ba Be National Parkwith its endless rice fields, narrow streets and farmers in their not the conical hats. In these areas, the very scenes one associates with old Vietnamese footage and images remain largely unchanged.

Two wheels are an exciting way to explore Vietnam in more depth. Such a physical experience immediately makes one feel more connected to the landscape. It also opens up otherwise hard-to-reach areas: bikes can navigate the country’s cracks and crevices, hidden passages, and unfinished tracks that are still off-limits to normal backpackers. As such, the journey still feels exclusive, a glimpse into a traditional society that is opening up more and more to visitors and thus inevitably changing. It’s an incredible experience, even if you can’t stand completely upright.

From €3,430, vintagerides.travel