The new law in Vietnam regarding the international driver's license is that you must have it translated into vietnamese language, have it certified then go apply for a government issued license. If you are here for a short time, don't bother, it just too much hassle. Mine expired last year and I didn't bother to get it renew. 200 thousand dong (less than 10 dollars) will get you on your way in most cases. Just don't pass the money out in the open. Have it ready in your front pocket. When needed, stick your hand in your pocket and take it out with the bill in the palm of your hand. Don't bother with any papers or documents, just walk over and shake hand with the guy who stop you. With the feel of paper bills touching his hand, he will wave you away. Also, beside not showing any paperwork, as soon as you shut off the engine, pull out the key and stick in your pocket because some may take it for 'hostage', for more money.
Great "bribe" tips. We had heard about grabbing the key immediately from the company we rented with. Somehow we didn't end up getting pulled over at all in Vietnam, but did end up having to pay some cash while in Bali! Didn't know about the license situation- I'm guessing that tourists might still end up having to pay some bribes even if they have all the correct licensing though. Def something good to know for the next trip.
Going back and Watching your Vietnam trip and am really enjoying them,I have Health issue's and some day's I can barely walk..So your video's and other's like them make me forget the things I can't do.You have no idea what your video's mean to me it's my own vacation when I'm not feeling good...So Thank you again...👍👍....
Truly sorry to hear that Roger. Completely floored that our stupid videos can help in even the smallest way. More to come weekly and absolute best wishes on our side to your improving health.
Another thing that you must have in you back pack when you go to Vietnam, is medecine for diarrhea. Nothing worse than a bad case of diarrhea that keeps you in bed for a few days. Don't get the over the counter medecine but ask your family doctor to prescribe some. I brought to Vietnam a bottle of "DIPHENOX/ATROPINE" tab. Whenever your stomach is feeling funny, just take one pill, you won't have any problem with foods or drink and have all your time to enjoy the trip.
Firstly, I really have no intention of riding a bike up through Vietnam yet I still found this fun & interesting! Secondly, Finny, you look stunning in this video xx
+Pocket Trailblazer Finney won't admit this, but she read this first thing and jumped out of bed "that's so nice! It's going to be an ameezing day". You girls need to knock it off.
Thanks Dewa! We'll be spending two months in Bali at the end of the trip here. BTW- love the baby turtle hatching footage on your video! Didn't know there was a major nesting area there!
One tip I received from fellow overlanders is to have laminated copies of driver licenses and important documents that can be handed over to police. Many can't tell the difference and this way if things go south, as we say, you still have the orginals.
Enjoyed your advice vid. I live here in VN so I don't travel like a backpacker. I have a 155cc Yamaha NVX, and when I travel I can slip on a large GIVI luggage box and a sling saddlebag . I keep all my road gear, in one side of the saddle bag, so all I have to do to hit the road is pack my clothes. A lot of the new bikes have tubeless tires. A can of aerosol flat fix goop is also a great thing to carry. Your local tire guy will hate you, but better than pushing. The rental bikes in Vietnam are awful. If you come to do bike travel, its best to just buy a decent bike and sell it at the end of the trip. You won't lose much. If you have it detailed you might even make a dong or 2. (million)
Thanks for the info! We got some nice new rentals bikes from Tigit when we were last there- one was literally brand new. At the time all they had was Blade 110s, but this time I'm renting a Honda Winner 150cc because they actually have the GIvi boxes too! Since we're always stopping to film, I'm sure you can sympathize with how much of a pain it can be to be pulling gear out of a backpack bungie corded to the back seat compared to some hardboxes on the side. Thanks for the heads up on the tubeless tires- hadn't thought about it. We had so many flats on our first trip but somehow ALWAYS seemed to be right near a tire repair place. The only time it didn't work out was when someone used obviously the wrong sized tube for our repair!
@@timandfin It's a common scam where the tire repair place actually put nails in the street to ramp up business, since your had many flat tire one of those occasion could be the case. Technically to operate a motorcycle in vn you would have to show proof of ownership and a driver license. So best option is just to bribe your way out of everything, that's what local do when they get stop by cop anyway, legit or otherwise.
Thank you for your tips. About international driving license, if you buy travel health insurance, they would require that you not engaging in "illegal activities". So question is if international license (not motorcycle specific) would make it legal to drive motorbike over 100cc in Vietnam?
@@timandfin yeah and while you gave some good advice I was just updating the information. a lot of people use RU-vid for researching trips. I am the president of one of the largest motorbike clubs in Saigon.
Thanks for the great video! Question: Assuming you used some kind of device for navigation while you're riding. ? I'm thinking of using my phone with Google maps. How do you mount the device? I was thinking of mounting it somehow around the handlebars but I'm not sure if it's safe to do that...maybe someone would steal it off the bike in traffic in the big city (Hanoi). What do you recommend?
We did just use google maps most of the time. Once you're out of the city there really are only main roads- in other words, you can't get lost. As far as navigating in HCMC or other large cities, we would just have to take our phones out of our pockets with our on throttle/brake hand and keep checking for directions. I would advise against mounting your phone on your bike. We had several people warn us about duos on motorbikes that would swipe cameras/phones from tourists and just drive away in the cities.
@@timandfinOkay, thanks very much. That was my suspicion! Alright...I guess I'll have to figure something out. Maybe I'll just put a headphone in one ear and hope to hear the directions! :)
This is probably a bit late, but if you’re talking a helmet from hone, perhaps consider installing Bluetooth in it. You could then get google directions spoken to you from your phone in your pocket, and as a bonus, I’d you’re travelling with a partner you could chat during the ride.
Other way not to pride csgt 200.000/10usd play dump n dumper 30 mins , on your way traveling free to next one stop but they call among them that pass you no waste time , G luck
Depends if you're going into the mountains or not. We traveled in Nov/Dec and only got cold when we got to the North of Vietnam. You can always pick up a brand new jacket while in country for $20 or less.
There were plenty of gas stations. Once you get away from the main roads, there are plenty of people with manual gas pumps in front of their house who would be happy to sell you petrol as well. It's a little strange walking up sometimes but they're happy to be making a sale. Just make sure you have Dong ready!
Hey guys, would love to know what motorbike essentials you wore in terms of under armour. I saw on one video that Alison was putting on elbow pads? What do you recommend?
+Seb & Kelly Travels Hey guys! Allison picked up some pads for elbows and knees that she wore the first couple weeks just because she hadn't ridden a bike before. We actually purchased them while in country. Everyone in vietnam wears helmets- we would recommend buying new ones so they have the right fit and you know they haven't been dropped or crashed in already. Also, shoes not sandals on "drive days". Most of the time, speeds are pretty slow on bikes and even in crazy looking traffic there is order to the chaos so it's not as dangerous as it seems.
Im gonna get the international license but do I need to get the M class added to it? Does it really matter? Or should a regular international license suffice?
The reason the cop pulled you over because you both are in close proximity to China and smugglers are attempting to smuggle goods every minute through out the day. Bribery is the easy part, fold some ding bills in your hand and initiate a handshake, that’s all. Beside, Vietnamese border protection forces like the CBP in the US they are constantly wary toward China. But again, Vietnam offered you quite an unforgettable trip regardless to nay and yay. A place more people prefer not to forget after spending sometimes with it. Vietnamese, throughout 5000 years civilization, had confronted countless foreign aggressions which shaped up their inevitable alertness behavior and sometimes combative. However, once you earned their trust, they might save your lives with theirs. I watched your videos to find it amazing and remember Vietnam just offered you a quick test and you passed. No other neighboring countries can offer you what Vietnam can, trust me.
U can easily tell how much you suffered more than u enjoyed your time during your trip to Nam…bad roads, bad food… but many people are so condescending and humble by not trying to offend Vietnamese by telling the truth
