Emanuel Hänsenberger, 24, and Fabian Seiler, 25, from Switzerland, who were also inspired to come to the Southeast Asian country by a tourist’s video on Youtube, spent 4 weeks traveling over 1700 km from Hanoi to Saigon by motorbike.
“We didn’t have any specific plan, except from that we didn’t want to spend too much time in touristic places. So no schedule, we just decided spontaneously.” Hänsenberger recalled.
Photo taken in Ninh Binh
"What impressed me the most was the people, like it was very easy to build friendships and have an emotional bond in a short time with a lot of them," said Hänsenberger.
Photo taken in Phong Nha, Quang Binh Province.
“I have always had a fascination for Asian countries and their cultures, and as I didn’t know much about Vietnam, it would be more for me to discover.”
We visited Ninh Binh, Vinh, Phong Nha (Quang Binh), Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, and Da Lat,.. where we stayed at least one night in each place."
“(When) we couldn’t speak English or French to the locals, we used Google translator or drawings,” Hänsenberger recalled the language issues on the way.
They encountered several difficulties on the road. “Fabian had some digestion problems at the beginning, and the bikes had always little problems, which is normal when u drive Honda Wins,” said Hänsenberger.
“We got to know a few mechanics. And we always tried to fix the bikes together and to learn it from them, so we can fix them ourselves next time.”