One of the countries included in our Asian adventure was Vietnam. The former French colony where the 20th century conflict was one of the most widely reported in the media is now leaving its turbulent past behind and entering the modern age. However, it has lost none of its charm and mystery and attracts visitors from all over the world who come to discover its dramatic landscapes, relax on its beaches or meet remote local tribes in the Mekong delta or the mountainous regions. From Saigon in the south to Hanoi in the north, zoom to one of the FTT team’s most heart-stopping countries!

Our Vietnamese tour started in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south of the country. We reached it from Phnom Penh (in Cambodia) at the end of a 250 km cycle ride and were welcomed – as we had been somewhat expecting – by screaming hordes of motorbikes and scooters jostling to fill any vacant space and obliging us to use all our concentration. An exciting arrival, to say the least, and yet we were immediately charmed by the city whose communicative energy is derived from its apparent chaos, noise, markets, vendor restaurants and tides of humanity.

We decided to rest there for a few days to absorb the local culture, meet Vietnamese and foreign people and, above all, pick the best possible cycle route the country could offer us. Our objective was Hanoi, the capital, 2,000 km away in the north of the country. We would certainly have to take a bus, but hoped to cover some 700 km by bicycle as far as Hoi An, in the centre. We had two possible solutions: the coast, which would enable us to ride on the flat and camp on the beach – delightful prospects – but where the traffic was said to be dangerous, and the mountainous centre, crossed by the Ho Chi Minh Highway, a little-used road with fine views.

In choosing the second solution, we were left in no doubt that the word “fine” was an understatement, so overwhelmed were we by the variety of the scenery, so moved by the kindness and humour of the people of the remote villages, and that intense – and difficult! – week that left us staggered, filled with wonderful memories, some of which we are about to describe to you.

First, we went to Dalat, a mountain town with an extremely pleasant climate. Because of its geographical situation, it made the ideal starting point for our new cycling adventure. Once we had passed the tumult of the town, avoided the road work and got on our way, we soon found ourselves alone once again in a landscape of hills and coniferous forests, far from the image people have of the country. Strange. That environment continued for three whole days. We were not idle. We rose early to make the most of the cool mornings. Our days were long, but our bodies adapted to the efforts cycling demands. We grew stronger, we could feel it, and that increased our motivation. Vietnamese food – the food of the countryside and the “boondocks” – is excellent and we enjoyed conversing with the Vietnamese. Like many Asian peoples, most of them didn’t speak a word of English.

Nevertheless, using signs, smiles, facial expressions and all kinds of gestures and other communicative tricks we had learned over the previous four months, we managed to make ourselves understood.

Over the following two days, Vietnam offered us an arid, burning environment. The ground was red, vegetation sparse and the horizon shimmering in the heat. Earth and sky appeared to merge. We seemed to be in a spaghetti Western landscape. The country had surprised us once again… but the Vietnamese flag, flying patriotically above all the houses, reminded us of where we were: at the end of the world. And there, we sweated buckets!

Yes, we had never felt so hot, never before had we found the midday sun so unbearable, there was so little shade! And yet we were experiencing something unique, in a unique environment. Especially during the last two days, the Vietnamese mountain massifs presented us with an astonishing sight: a tropical forest into which we plunged down a little road branching off the Ho Chi Minh Highway, covering some 200 km in that greener, more humid and above all more unspoilt zone where villages are sparser and people seldom seen. When we at last reached Hoi An after cycling for seven days, we were literally submerged in happiness, with the town so crazily charming and the fact that it was high time to celebrate Loïc’s birthday!

The colours, architecture and calm of Hoi An reminded us of the villages of Provence.
The country’s previous French occupants certainly had something to do with that, but Hoi An has kept its exotic, Asian character, and is one of those colonial towns spared by the Vietnamese war, a stroke of luck that assures it the beauty of a bygone age. Now classified as one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites, Hoi An was the dream town for relaxing after our long ride – the most difficult stretch since we had set out – and we felt almost sad to have to leave it barely two days after our arrival. We had to get a move on, in fact. Our flight to Hong Kong was awaiting us and the Tet – the New Year in Vietnamese – was approaching fast.

During the Tet the country is paralysed. We urgently needed to find a bus that would agree to take us and our bicycles to Hanoï, and then, from there, to find a way of crossing the frontier to China and then on to Hong Kong by bus. The first stage was not too difficult. When we reached Hanoï, we realised the importance of the Tet to the Vietnamese. The capital becomes almost a ghost town, all the shops are closed and the temples are full, bursting and smoky with incense.

We visited the city, found a solution for getting to Hong Kong by bus via China – we already had our Chinese visas – and, while we waited, did not resist the temptation of going to Ha Long bay, a wonder of nature, almost a symbol of the country, with its 2,000 islands rising majestically out of an emerald sea under the effect of millions of years of erosion. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the emerald side of it, but were greeted by fog and a wintry temperature, which was far from what we had been expecting. However, it was still memorable, the mist bringing a touch of mystery to that strange landscape.

Just a few words about microfinance: we had envisaged holding only one interview in Hanoï – Vietnam is not really a microfinance country. We simply had to cancel the interview because the people we had hoped to meet were on Tet holidays! We will catch up again in the next countries we visit, where we will get straight back down to business and return to our microfinance-interview objectives.