Lost in Vietnam Day 0

We arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) on a Friday night after spending a week in Bali. Met up with everyone else on the trip at the Ben Nghe street food market. Unfortunately Andrew and I fell prey to Ho Chi Minh’s revenge and spent the night and next morning giving away copious amounts of bodily fluids. Carol and Ben represented and had a night out in HMC. 2.5 hour bus ride the following morning to Cần Giờ where we arrived at a beautiful resort for electric motorcycle training, swimming pool, dinner, a private concert, and cold beers.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 1: Approx 180km to Mui Ne

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We left the training grounds at 0830 after breakfast and a few minutes to mess with our bikes. Short ride to catch the ferry that took us to the Vũng Tàu peninsula. This shaved off five hours of riding back up around Saigon. The electric bikes were so much fun. Really zippy and sound like F1 cars. We stopped for tea and to test out how receptive cafe owners would be to charging. First place Andrew used Google Translate and she instantly showed us to the outlets. A round of ice tea was 5,000 VND (20 cents). We found a place in La Gi called the Java Beer Garden where we were going to charge up and eat lunch but they were inexplicably closed so we went down the street to a much more stripped down place that was basically a kitchen in a warehouse. Again, super nice people and charging was no problem.

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A little girl walked up to Ben with google translate that said “are you delicious?”. But our troubles began when Ben left his bike out in the sun and the battery got too hot. It rapidly lost power and we had to limp along the coast. He even had to walk it for one stretch before we found a family who let us hang out while it cooled. Got into Mui Ne after sunset and Andrew’s bike had a fit so we stopped at a wet market/karaoke bar for some water and seafood rice while he added some miles. Then Ben’s bike shit the bed again so Carol towed it before her bike shit the bed. We pulled over at a convenience store and charged her and Ben’s for a few minutes. Looking around all the signs were in Russian.

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Finally made it to the hotel and with the help of Google translate, had the front desk guy zip away on his scooter and get a bag of beers for us to enjoy in the pool. 41 cents for a beer here. Learned a lot about the motorcycles today, probably pushed the bikes too hard. At one point I checked the heat index/UV index and it was 107F/13. Trying for Dalat tomorrow which is up in the mountains. Signing off.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 2: Mui Ne to Dalat 165km

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Redemption day. Finally figuring this electric shit out. We were only able to charge two bikes at a time in the hotel lobby without blowing the circuit so set alarm for 1AM to switch. Got up early and left by 630AM. Weather was incredible as we rode along the coast for a while. Crossed by a few large sand dunes and one stretch of road with dozens of small colorful Jeeps parked with ladies having their pictures taken on the hood with the ocean in the background. Really bizarre.

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After a couple hours we turned North inland and stopped in the foothills for tea and breakfast and topped the bikes off before heading up the mountain. Bikes were great on the way up with Ben’s only having a small fit. We found a restaurant on the top of the mountain to take cover from the midday heat and top off the bikes. They even had hammocks for napping. It was then an easy 70km into Dalat. the last 10km was an incredibly scenic climb on a brand new paved road through an alpine forest. Pool beers of course and hit up the Dalat night market, dinner, and Tiger Beer over ice cubes on tiny plastic chairs. Weather in Dalat is much nicer.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 3: Dalat to Tuy Hoa (260km)

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Hotel last night had one outlet but they had a guy rotate the charger every two hours for us. What a guy! Drive out of Dalat was a fantastic mini drop through the mountains surrounded by strawberry farms and coffee plantations. Stopped in the area for espresso and strawberry smoothies. We continued towards the coast on an absolute banger motorcycle road through the mountains. No traffic, smooth road, and it was downhill so the batteries recharged a bit. Best road of the trip so far.

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Stopped for bahn mi and peach tea to escape the sun and top the bikes off even though we did 90km on just 30% battery. Andy didn’t follow the rules of one plug per outlet and blew the circuit breaker of the restaurant. After some debate decided to head for Tuy Hoa which meant reluctantly heading into the heat for an afternoon push because it was a long fucking drive. After two hours in what felt like the inside of Satan’s pizza oven, we stopped in Ninh Hoa for long enough to get us to 60%. Cafe owner must not get a lot of Americans because she kept taking pictures of us while smiling and refused to take any money from us for food and drinks.

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Sun went down and led to a couple hours riding in the dark. Here there are scooters who will ride the wrong way with no lights on so at any moment you feel like you could be deleted. Rode the Đại Lãnh mountain pass in the dark which was surreal. Showed up at a five-star hotel looking and smelling like actual hot garbage. Of course we found some Tiger beer and poured over glasses of ice. Ben ordered shrimp that showed up raw so we gave it to the dudes at the next table who were stoked. Bikes are in the basement of the hotel not charging.

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Got some questions about the motorcycles themselves so figured I would brain dump. They are made in Vietnam by a company called Dat Bike. Model is Weaver++. They claim the range is up to 125 miles at 20mph or about 90 miles at 45mph. This is highly dependent on elevation, speed, temperature, and weight. 72V battery at 68 amp hours (~5kWh). 6,000 watt motor which is around 8hp. From 0 to 100 the charge probably takes three hours.

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Our most common stop is maybe an hour or two and we do that once or twice during a full day of riding. They have a proprietary charging connection on the bike but a standard wall outlet on the other end. When charging they pull 15-20 amps at 3,000 watts. They can go 55mph. They sound like tiny F1 cars. Extremely torquey. Riding position is comfortable but the seat doesn’t have much padding. Front and rear hydraulic disc brakes although you rarely use them due to regen.

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The LCD display shows ECU temp, motor temp, battery temp, battery percentage and the current draw (either negative or positive if using regenerative braking). Cost brand new is 65,900,000 dong or $2,600 USD. We’ve only seen one while in Vietnam and the locals all seem to be very curious about them. The chargers fit inside the tank box. There is an app for them as well that lets you control and see a bunch of shit. Extremely fun little things.

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Day 4 of Lost in Vietnam: Tuy Hoa to Quy Nhon (90km)

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This is getting easy now. Earned ourselves an faff day on account of doing our night adventure last night. Started the morning off with a dip in the 17th story rooftop infinity pool, feasted at breakfast, and wrapped up with massages. All whilst we watched everyone else slog through the heat. Although we blew the circuit in the hotel basement last night we managed to bank enough electrons to get us going. Pretty epic to get a five star hotel with breakfast for $35/night here. Late checkout and then rode North on the CT01. One quick stop along the Xuan Dai Bay for an iced coffee and lemonade and to top off mine and Carol’s bike. The place was dozens of hammocks of people napping. It was $2 for a round of coffees, a round of lemonades, and some coconut drinks. Basically everyone naps in the middle of the day here because it’s so bloody hot.

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Nice riding being sandwiched between tall jungley mountains to the West and the south China sea to the East until we found the midweek meet up spot just south of Quy Nhon. We had to meander through a tiny alleyway for a bit which was quite fun. @losttravelco and @nerpatravel provided us with rum-filled welcome coconuts, an impressive seafood dinner, accommodations, and an endless supply of Quy Nhon lager. Ben and I went for a dip in the ocean. Not sure where we’re going tomorrow yet. I think the bikes are charging here they had a giant solar array on the roof.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 5: Quy Nhon to Quang Ngai (202km)

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Started a little slower this morning on account of the midweek meetup party. We erased many Quy Nhon lagers whilst sitting in tiny plastic chairs on the beach. Fortunately our bikes were visited by the charging fairy and were all topped off. Banana pancakes for breakfast and we set off North. Drove through Quy Nhon proper which was quite the bustling and developing city. We made it almost 100km before stopping for some Vietnamese coffees and a quick charge up. Found a couple fun mountain roads. Another day where we generally didn’t encounter much traffic. It was a national holiday so vast majority of cafes were closed. We had the first encounter where someone wanted money for charging. They asked for 50,000 Dong ($2).

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Finally found a little pho shop and had the best we’ve slurped up on the trip. Charged mine and Andy’s bike there while Ben and Carol went to a coffee shop. We met there and were laughing quite a bit as there were dozens of young Vietnamese ladies taking selfies while changing into different outfits. Weather got really weird and thundered. Bikes were good during the push to Quang Ngai (infamous for the My Lai Massacre) but Ben’s again had a fit. Riding in the dark we found a place and got some fried rice while he got a little more range. We booked a resorty place with a villa and private pool for $50/each. Had some Bia Siagons while floating around. We have one bike charging at a time tonight. Not sure where we’re going tomorrow.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 6: Quang Ngai to Hoi An (126km)

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Ben was a hero and did a couple bike swaps last night. I swapped mine around 7AM. Grabbed some breaky and a quick pool session before departing. Leaving late is nice but also means you are outside during the hot bit and you get a lot of looks if you aren’t wearing a full hazmat suit. We eventually stopped for some red bulls on ice and gave Ben’s bike a quick charge. At this point we were only 75km from Hoi An so we agreed to power through. Ben found a good coast road so we rode that for most day. Our butts were so sore so we were trying to find more comfortable riding positions and I got too close to a trailer and my right foot peg got sniped off. Ben found it but the last 30km I had no foot peg.

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Had a quick pool session with some tiger lagers. Hoi An is awesome there is an incredible energy with all the tourists here. We all joked that it was the first time we’ve seen white people in days. We stopped for a bahn mi at the place Anthony Bordain enjoyed. Downtown Hoi An is awesome. On the walk home we sat down on tiny chairs for a round of beers and while counting down the traditional “cheers” in Vietnamese some locals asked us if we wanted to go out on the river on their boat with a bunch of beers. The obvious answer was Yes. Jake captained the boat for a while and eventually we made it home. Will be paying for this one in the morning. Final tomorrow. Bikes are charging in the basement of this place.

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Lost in Vietnam Day 7: Hoi An to Danang (88km)

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Bit of a late night last night. I loved Hoi An. Woke up around 8AM today which is an extreme sleep in for us. We walked back into town for some coconut coffees and breakfast pho. After a significant amount of haggling Ben bought some linens. Got a late checkout (2PM) for 100,000 dong ($4) and spent some time in the pool before departing. Zipped up the Hải Vân Pass to meet all the other teams and have a soda and some delicious peanut cake thing. We convoyed up and rode the pass back down and through downtown Danang which was an absolute fucking zoo.

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Saw the first crash of the trip too. At the finish line hotel we took a dip in the rooftop pool and had some Tiger lagers. Then to dinner and drinks on the beach with some fines and levees time. Our time on the electro motos is done and I miss them already. We’re going to Hanoi for a couple days before flying back home.

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With the help of @losttravelco and @nerpatravel we adventured our way across Vietnam on tiny electric motorcycles provided by @dat.bikevn. Real banger of a trip. While my preference is generally not to repeat visits, I would visit Vietnam again. The teas, the coffees, the fruits, the beer, the pho, the rice, the bahn mi, the street dogs, the hammocks, the mountains, the beaches, the traffic, the pools, the tiny plastic stools, the night markets. 10/10

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For more details visit: Lost in Vietnam

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 - Walker Richardson