Adventures on the Hivan Pass With Two Sides of Myself

Bucket List Item #5: Ride a bicycle or moped through the country-CHECK!

Hue, Vietnam 

I was feeling more comfortable on a moped after driving around in the Philippines. A part of me still wished I would have bought a motorbike and drove from the south of Vietnam to the north, but the best option was a manual (which I don’t know how to drive), especially through the steep, hilly north. The last time I drove something with a clutch was my brother’s dirt bike and I ended up accidentally doing a wheelie. It didn’t occur to me to LET GO so that left the bike and I in a vertical position and quickly smashing into the ground. This flashback left me a little hesitant to try to learn again on the crazy Vietnamese roads. I did get some good moped rides in though and I was proud of just tackling that.

I met Johanna from Germany and Lisa from Austria during my time in Hoi An. They were nervously planning to rent scooters and drive the Hivan Pass-130km section of one of Vietnam’s main highways from Hoi An to Hue. I mentioned that I was thinking of doing the same and they gladly invited me along! The next day, we tested out the bikes and went on our way; not extremely confident about where our first turn was. The ride was estimated to take three and half hours, and of course that’s always never accurate. We finished roughly under six and a half hours.

I LOVED being back on a bike. The freedom is addicting and being able to see the country out in the open rather than inside of a bus is the best. Plus, it’s not that big of a deal since so many people do it, but I felt proud so it was a good confidence booster. We nicknamed ourselves JAL (the first letter of each of our names) and pretended we were a badass biker chick gang.

We stopped for some beautiful photo opps, lunch and an easy bike repair when Lisa’s bike wouldn’t start.

Arriving to Hue, we were ready to get out of the intense heat and wash the layer of dirt off our bodies. The next couple days we explored the impressive Imperial City and we went out one night and played Jenga, laughed, ate dessert and shared more life stories.

Another day, I went to wonder around an old abandoned waterpark just outside the city (I love abandoned places!) It was pretty creepy and I was alone, which made it even better. I felt like a kid climbing up and down the old waterslides; wondering if they were stable enough to sustain my adventurous side.

I was sad to see Johanna and Lisa leave because we had gotten close really quickly and they were so much fun to hang out with. It was interesting because they were each so different from each other but they worked perfectly together. I actually felt like I was looking at two sides of myself from a distance because they both reminded me of myself in different ways.

Johanna was not a morning person, smoked lots of cigarettes, drank coffee all day, was really really funny (I understood her humor although she said many people didn’t), was a bit scared of marriage and starting a family one day and liked to just go-with-the-flow. She was so much fun to be around and so nice!

And Lisa reminded me of the other side of myself. She loved to eat healthy, did lots of yoga, was very confident in what she wanted in life, excited to have a family one day, had a good sense of humor, easygoing and so sweet. She even has a healthy food blog that I’m obsessed with! I learned a lot about myself through both of them and their unique personalities. I was so thrilled they invited me on an awesome adventure!

How would you feel about driving a moped in another country?