When one thinks of traveling in Vietnam, you’re more likely to imagine floating down the Mekong River in a dug out canoe than dodging towering karst formations in a sea kayak while enjoying the tranquil waters of Bai Tu Long Bay. I’m here to say, change your perceptions of Vietnam. Yes, go for the culture, but keep in mind the great outdoors are beckoning and quite often, if you know where to go, you’re going to be alone.

We had a great time mountain biking in Dalat, but one of the other highlights of our time in Vietnam was sea kayaking in Bai Tu Long Bay. Now this wasn’t necessarily a wilderness trip per se. We boarded a junk with ______ (looking for name of company) and spent 3 days cruising this truly amazing waterway that is NE of the over-touristy Ha Long Bay. The itinerary was pretty simple: cruise for a while and then jump in your kayak and spend hours paddling calm waters, exploring hidden coves and pulling up to white-sand beaches.

Sometimes it really did feel like paradise.

Heading back to “camp” – a traditional-style junk.

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Nothing can really prepare you for the streets of Saigon, Vietnam, where crossing the street is truly a risky venture. There really are no rules of the road here. Everything goes.

The below video clip was shot with a Canon G9, which was a great back-up camera by the way

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The Mighty Mekong. You may never have been there physically, but I bet you could conjure up an image pretty quickly if asked, maybe an exotic land where a thick jungle slips into a slow-moving mystical river, a place where tiny villages are hidden from everyone & everything. Well, toss in a lot of brown, a couple crushed up Coke bottles (ok, a lot) and hundreds of banging diesel engines. The Mekong is mighty, it’s very alive and in many places oddly beautiful; but in southern Vietnam, where the river fans out into a massive delta, reaching as far as Cambodia to the north and spilling into the South China Sea to the south, it’s a place where everything comes together, including lots of people.

Latte Anyone? Drinks on the Mekong River

After running away from Saigon as fast as we could (which was very slow given the horrendous traffic), we spent the next three days in the Mekong Delta region. Over the next couple days I hope to put together what images I can (video too but that’s coming later) of this fascinating region. Stay tuned…

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Located at an elevation of 4500 ft (1500 meters) Dalat, Vietnam, provides a much needed respite from the searing heat seen elsewhere in the country. It’s a land of rolling hills covered in towering pines, while hidden valleys reveal fields of artichokes and small rice-growing operations. It’s also one of the few spots in Vietnam (that we knew of) that offered the mountain bike geek an opportunity to enjoy some aerobic exercise, fresh air and a unique, locals perspective of the “vegetable capitol” of Vietnam.

Below are a couple mountain bike photos from our 3-hr tour with Phat Tire Ventures. We had two very friendly English-speaking guides accompany us, both of whom were quite impressed with our (or should I say Jeannine’s) ability to ride all the terrain.

Our guide, with water and food (lots of bananas) mountain Biking in Dalat, Vietnam

Phat Tire Ventures offers other mountain bike rides in and around Dalat, as well as in Hoi An, a town we visited later (photos coming soon) on the central coast of Vietnam.

Pine-covered hills felt almost like eastern Washington, not Vietnam

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Ok, so I’ve been a bit behind on updating the site with photos and harrowing travel stories from SE Asia. The truth is, there haven’t been any harrowing stories (thankfully) except for one minor motorbike accident in Dalat, Vietnam, and a small mountain bike crash Jeannine suffered on the dirt roads of Koh Phangnan, Thailand. Oh, my digital Canon SLR died a couple weeks ago. So, nearly half the photos were shot with a Canon G9 point and shoot. Not ideal, but better than many of the options out there.

Until I arrive home, here is my parting shot from Saigon. We ended up spending about three weeks in Vietnam, traveling via trains, planes and automobiles, south to north, before wandering west into Laos. A couple days bike touring combined with more bus rides brought us to northern Thailand about a week later.  A bit overwhelmed by the pressing heat and humidity, Jeannine convinced me the beaches of southern Thailand were worth a visit. I obliged and will admit it was a great choice.

With a day to kill in Saigon before hopping aboard the plane for San Francisco via Seoul, South Korea, I watched the city scream by. While enjoying the madness of hundreds of motorbikes race between stoplights, I snapped this image of a tuk-tuk driver sleeping during the late-afternoon rush hour, a sole monk (one of the few I ever saw in the city) slipping by amidst the chaos.

Thoughts diverge on the streets of Saigon, Vietnam

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Until I feel comfortable snapping photographs at will of this downright crazy (I mean that in a good way) part of the world, I thought I’d share one photograph and one short video (if it can upload) that, in some respects, capture the essence of this captivating city in southern Vietnam.

Safety concern? As long as it all works right?

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