Hoi Chi Minh City

Nige said:

Making an impromptu trip to Hoi Chi Minh City in a couple of weeks and
taking my road bike with me. Other than fitting some stronger wheels
and 25mm tyres I'll just use it as is. I'm going to be making day
rides which start/finish in the city. Any suggestions, links, tips?
All feedback welcome thanks. I'm trusting that i can pick up a street
map once I arrive, but I'm having trouble finding any road maps of the
surrounding area. Any ideas or online sources? Thanks again. Nige.

I can't help much on routes but I did spend 3 weeks in HCMC a few years
ago as a pedestrian.

The roads are reasonable quality in and around the city but do take care
of potholes and the edges. There are lots of cyclists and mopedallists.
Plenty of buses and trucks too. There are much less private cars. The
roads can be very busy.

There tends to be an order in the chaos, cyclists on the inside, then the
mopeds, then the bigger vehicles. Drivers of bigger vehicles will use the
horn frequently when they want to pass a slower smaller vehicle. Traffic
lights and traffic cops are obeyed but with a bit of fuzziness on the
ambers. Vehicles will often use the wrong side of the road to make
progress but they always seemed to get back in in time.

Pedestrians cross by walking out into the sea of cycles and mopeds---it's
the only way! As long as you are aware of this and use eye contact a lot
it seems to work. But do take care as peds can often be carrying stuff
like yokes which make them a bit bigger.

Also take care of heavy overloaded mopeds and cycles, I saw one where the
pillion passenger was carrying a sheet of plate glass extending out a
couple of feet either side of the moped.

I only saw one cyclist knocked off in the whole time I was there and he
dusted himself down and cycled on. Everyone stopped to help though.

It will be an interesting experience but it is a fantastic city. There are
plenty of Internet cafes so let us know how things are going.

Colin

Quoted message said:

On 28 Sep 2004 20:31:19 -0700, Nige <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All feedback welcome thanks. I'm trusting that i can pick up a street
map once I arrive, but I'm having trouble finding any road maps of the
surrounding area. Any ideas or online sources? Thanks again. Nige.

Oh, and I didn't see any decent maps when I was there. There is a Lonely
Planet cycling guide to Vietnam, it might be worth skimming the HCMC
chapter to see if it has any advice.

Colin

Ten years ago in Vietnam I was amazed at how bicycles (and others) flow
through each other, especially at right angles and with no stoplights. The
trick is no hesitation. Put some inexperienced rider in there who hesitates
or makes other sudden avoidance move and chaos ensues, spreading like
wilfire.
--
Steve Juniper

"If the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would be
too simple to understand it."
- Peter
Kramer -

Nige said:

Making an impromptu trip to Hoi Chi Minh City in a couple of weeks and
taking my road bike with me. Other than fitting some stronger wheels
and 25mm tyres I'll just use it as is. I'm going to be making day
rides which start/finish in the city. Any suggestions, links, tips?
All feedback welcome thanks. I'm trusting that i can pick up a street
map once I arrive, but I'm having trouble finding any road maps of the
surrounding area. Any ideas or online sources? Thanks again. Nige.

Let me be the first to say:

S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon
S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon

;-)

In article 415af491.0@entanet said:

Nige said:

Making an impromptu trip to Hoi Chi Minh City in a couple of weeks and
taking my road bike with me. Other than fitting some stronger wheels
and 25mm tyres I'll just use it as is. I'm going to be making day
rides which start/finish in the city. Any suggestions, links, tips?
All feedback welcome thanks. I'm trusting that i can pick up a street
map once I arrive, but I'm having trouble finding any road maps of the
surrounding area. Any ideas or online sources? Thanks again. Nige.

Let me be the first to say:

S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon
S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon

;-)

What point are you trying to make Zog?
Ho Chi Minh city incorporates the older cities of Cholon and Saigon.
They've merged completely, rather like Salford & Manchester

ObCycle:
I cycled in HCM in the '90s. The roads were generally in good
condition - certainly better than central London then or now and
the pavements were swept beautifully clean (I still remember my
shock at noticing how disgusting Norwich pavements looked - gum and
dog [censored] - as I cycled home from the airport). Unless you're on a
clear road, just cycle at the same pace as the other cyclists. As
another cyclist says, when the traffic is mostly bicycles it all
works beautifully. No need for traffic lights, Unfortunately the
locals are desperate to spend new wealth on IC engines and cycletourists
I met in Lao and Cambodia last year said that this cyclists' paradise
is a lot less pleasant.

I don't think you'll find a better street map than the thumbnails in the
LP guide. So just follow the flow in the general direction you want to head!
Be aware that outside the city a main road may suddenly turn from tarmac to
speed sapping red dust (where even 32mm road tyres sink deep🙂

--
jan

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll report back with how I get on. It should be fun.

Nige

Jan Wysocki said:

In article 415af491.0@entanet said:

Nige said:

Making an impromptu trip to Hoi Chi Minh City in a couple of weeks and
taking my road bike with me. Other than fitting some stronger wheels
and 25mm tyres I'll just use it as is. I'm going to be making day
rides which start/finish in the city. Any suggestions, links, tips?
All feedback welcome thanks. I'm trusting that i can pick up a street
map once I arrive, but I'm having trouble finding any road maps of the
surrounding area. Any ideas or online sources? Thanks again. Nige.

Let me be the first to say:

S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon
S-S-S-S-S-S-Saigon

;-)

What point are you trying to make Zog?

Now behave yourself Zog !!

Quoted message said:

Ho Chi Minh city incorporates the older cities of Cholon and Saigon.
They've merged completely, rather like Salford & Manchester

Well, the trip was a complete blast. The traffic in Saigon was all I
had heard it could be, and then some. It really was a lot of fun. I've
ridden a fair bit in China, but the traffic in Saigon was more
intense. Rode around the city quite a bit, and the longest ride was to
Can Gio, 120km round trip. The roads got very rough on parts of that
ride. Once you leave the city the traffic gets a lot lighter. The
people are very friendly. All in all a lot of fun, and I'm going to
try and go back again in the next couple of months.