We’ve read that the cycling between Hoi An and Quy Nhon along Highway 1 is “really boring”. My thought as I read that was: “Are you kidding me?”
Vietnam is a country of 80 million people. Highway 1 is lined with towns, tiny villages, big cities, millions of people, livestock, ride paddies and beautiful coastline. Everywhere you look, there is something new to see, something that will make you smile, laugh, wonder or make you angry. Whether it’s the emerald green fields dotted with conical hats or the motor scooter piled mile high with live chickens, you’re going to have some kind of reaction. You’re going to wonder: “How did they get that many people on a motorbike?” or “I wonder if that poor little piggy knows it’s going to the market?” You will marvel at how things are fixed, reused and hacked together. (I’m not being sarcastic there, it is incredible to see how resourceful someone can be when going to the mega store and replacing a broken item with something better and shinier is not an option.) Here are a couple images to prove my point.
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See what I mean? It is a feast for the eyes anyway you slice it. You will get a million “Hellos” along the way; you will have people come up to you on a motor scooter to start up a conversation and ask you where you are from (nice). You will also have people come up to you on a motor scooter and stare, stare for a long time, without saying a word (okay, less nice). And finally, if all that weren’t enough to keep you occupied, you still have the million or so motor scooters and bicycles coming at you from every direction to keep the ride action-packed and adrenalin-filled.
I wouldn’t call cycling Vietnam’s Highway 1 “a pleasant and peaceful ride”. Would I recommend it? Hmmm, no I probably wouldn’t due to the heavy traffic and continuous drone of horns. But it’s anything, anything but boring.
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