Fozz & Joe's Vietnam Bike Bender

Most breath taking views through the mountains, pictures don't really do this justice but most roads were perfect and empty as we made our way up to the mountain town.

Took a day off the bikes to visit a national park, whilst the bears look unhappy in their cages they actually have access to 1 hectares of space to roam which is currently being expanded to 14 hecatres due to the amount of bears which are coming in. They are rescued from captivity and poachers where they use "bear bile" in Chinese medicine and pets in vile circus acts. The gibbons are actually endangered and when they are taken back from illegal owners are kept in cages so they mate and once they have are released back into the jungle to try increase the ever declining numbers of them. Even when released they stay close to the rangers as they know it's a source of food.

We stayed overnight in a small town called cat Tiên and had some banging pho. The people in the phone shop were taking pictures of us when we walked through the door so we know we have made the right choice for the journey. Then onto the mountains and Cat Tiên national park. Stunning scenery.

After 7 days and Joe buying a motorbike and realising it's a death trap and swapping it for another from a reputable seller (styles) we finally left ho chi Minh. We are taking the back roads as advised from the lovely gentleman at Vietnamcoracle.com to avoid heavily congested highways and the same routes as the millions of others. We soon became aware how much these roads weren't the standard routes when everyone we pass just stops and stares or pointed at us with disbelief.