Rider Testimonials

Hi Digby, I have missed the Urals since I got back to OZ. The Rally was the highlight of the last few years. I enjoyed the ride immensely and will definitely be a repeat rider. As an Australian Vietnam war veteran, I found the Rally a superb way to see the north of Vietnam, especially those areas where the Americans had such significant battles. It put the whole thing into perspective for me in dealing with the memories of the war.

Riding the Urals through these areas and concentrating on the road conditions was cathartic in itself, and I would recommend it for all war veterans as the best way to go back to the funny farm. Riding through the mountain passes and the national park was fantastic and the thunder run with a single Ural riding in parallel with a sidecar rig into Hoi An with flags flying, truly a buzz. I was delighted to meet another veteran on the ride, even though he was an officer.

I found the whole experience exhilarating and the eclectic mix of riders from around the world a pleasure to be involved with.

Experiencing playing soccer with the kids at the Blue Dragon Foundation and giving them basic instructions on how to kick a ball in different ways and seeing the absolute joy in their response to attention was a very special moment and a reminder of what a great charity the Rally supports.

I thought the food was great, the accommodation excellent and the backup crews ,mechanics and all staff willing to go that extra mile to ensure the ride was a success.

As big Arnie said: “I’ll be back.”

It’s been 5 months since I returned from the Roof Ride in Sep 2009, yet the beautiful memories of it is still lingering on my mind.

From the 9-day Roof Ride through the mountains and scenic padi fields, I cannot forget the happy faces on the children each time I took pictures of them, how they smiled with true happiness from their hearts. Their hard lives did not stop them from being happy. It is a good lesson to learn.

The experience of riding up and down the rugged and lonely roads of the mountains, and happen to see 2 little boys with shovels walking or a lone tribal woman with a huge load on her back, just make me speechless. I’ll never get this experience anywhere.

The sights in markets were amazing. One of which was the “chicken operation” I saw at the Quan Hoa market. Amazing what the country folks do to make their chicken tastier.

I may not have lived like a local, but I believed that I have experienced more of the country-side than a typical tourist in a tour bus. I have made trips to other countries, but none has surpassed this one.

Thanks for creating this experience of Vietnam in a most unique way.

Just got back from our trip and wanted to write and tell you that we had the most amazing time.

Glenn was a lovely lovely bloke and a great guide. We got to do so much stuff that we would never ever have done without him – we stopped and got fresh sugar cane juice and sticky rice cooked in bamboo. We visited a chopstick factory and had tea with lots and lots of locals (all totally bemused by Charlie’s dreadlocks – he now knows the phrase for ‘real hair’ (toc that)).

Plus, the scenery was stunning, and Glenn took really good care of us, always stopping to make sure we were okay so we could take photos.

In fact, everything about our trip with Explore Indochina has been great, from organising it, even at short notice, to meeting you and getting our gear to hanging out with Glenn and the others.

Just wanted to add that when we booked it, I wasn’t sure that a puny little 125 would be big enough for both of us and all our stuff. I’m so glad we took your advice and went with the Minsk.

There’s no way that a Ural could have gone to some of the places we went, and the Minsk was perfect for Vietnam traffic.

Thank you so much – maybe we’ll be back one day to ride with the Minsk Club of Hanoi again…

PS. If it’s ok with you, Charlie’s going to wax lyrical to the UK bike-forum he often writes on about your tours!

Now that we are back in Spain, I want to say thanks for how much of an awesome time we all had in Vietnam. The whole trip far exceeded our expectations: beautiful scenery, fantastic food, and we even had good fortune with the weather.

Digby, you did a great job; please accept our thanks.

We’d love to come back to Vietnam and see the south; in fact, all of us are already talking about the next tour and repeating a first-class experience like this.

We miss Vietnam already.

Again, thank you Digby!

Great trip Digby!

We have to do it again soon. I’m trying to figure out my dates after Christmas and will run them by you shortly to see if you’re available.

Have a good one!

Hi Digby, I just wanted to write and say thanks for organising such a memorable motorbiking trip.

For anyone unsure whether they should go, I’d like to offer a bit more insight from a recent customer.

Our trip was five days long; our party consisted of 5 blokes aged twenties to forties (!!) and we elected to use the Minsk motorbikes.

We arrived in Hanoi the night before the trip started, and EI arranged hotel rooms in the Old Quarter, basic accomodation in a lively historic part of the city with great food, cheap beers and plenty of souvenir shops.

The next day, we loaded up our saddle bags, left our suitcases in storage at the hotel and headed off to the Explore Indochina HQ to collect our trusty Minsks.

The next five days consisted of both on and off-road riding, with Digby, the guide, tailoring the route to our next destination based on our requests (lots of off-road) and ability (mmm…).

We spent two nights in hotels in small towns and two nights in ‘homestays’ – basically in a ‘dormitory’ in a local villager’s home, which was really fantastic. They were very welcoming and cooked fabulous Vietnamese dinners and great breakfasts.

Highlights of the trip were the local solid coffee at our rest stops, the fabulous Pho noodle soups, the afternoon river cruise on a longboat with beers in hand, floating in the river through a 100m high cave, the unbreakable Minsk, the comfort of having a mechanic travelling with us in case we did break the Minsk….(you are a legend), the incredible scenery and, of course, the welcoming smiles and waves of all the villagers every time we passed through.

Our trip was all-inclusive – the only time we reached into our pockets was to buy beer in the evenings – and we considered it great value, not the least of which was having Digby plus a mechanic with us. You would not be able to organise and do this by yourself.

We had a great time and are already talking about the next trip. Maybe the Northwestern hill tribes and returning to Hanoi via overnight train….

We took a three-day bike ride from 6 Feb. to 8 Feb. 2004. Jaymi and I were joined by Chance and Gamble. Apparently, we made the first all-female tour to hit the roads.

And quite literally, we did!

It was cold and rained for two of the three days. The tour took us from Hanoi to Cuc  Phuong Park, Mai Chau, then over the awesome Thung Nhuoi and Thung Khe Pass (at least I think that were the names) and then back to Hanoi.

The roads became so slick from the wet clay that everything changed colour……red! And trying to push up a bike that had fallen over was almost next to impossible!

But it was definitely worth the cold, wet, muddied feet, hands, face and clothes! I wouldn’t have changed a thing……except for ordering a bit more sunshine. The food and lodging were wonderful, and Glen, the guide who could speak Vietnamese, was a precious asset. We learned a lot about the culture that benefited us during the remainder of our holiday.

This trip was a natural highlight of the month spent in Vietnam, and I recommend and hope to travel again with Explore Indochina one day.

Thank you for Everything!

It was a wonderful experience!

Just a quick note to say thanks for organising our trip, we all had a fantastic time.

Your guides all did a great job.

It’s a shame we didn’t get to meet you but judging by how much the boys enjoyed the trip I’m pretty sure we will be back within the next year or two to do another one.