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Experienced the heat issue when we did Vietnam South to North on a bike some months ago. Phone got so hot you couldn't touch it. Had to wing it in the end and s

Experienced the heat issue when we did Vietnam South to North on a bike some months ago. Phone got so hot you couldn't touch it. Had to wing it in the end and stop every now and then to see how lost we were.

toomanybeersies 8y ago
I thought that Vietnam, outside of the larger cities, was fairly easy to navigate. Conveniently for me it was raining the whole time, so overheating wasn't an issue. Rather, I had the opposite where I almost froze riding through the rain in Đà Lạt wearing only tshirt and shorts.
- davewasthere 8y ago
  It is for the most part. I only had a little candy-bar SonyEricsson at the time which had really limited interweb capabilities. Other guys had iPhones, but for the most part, winging it was great and got you where you needed to go.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I found Vietnamese people were usually happy to help you out if you needed to find something. When I got a flat tyre, I just stopped near a local, pointed to my flat tyre, and they gestured directions to get to a mechanic (not that they're hard to find in Vietnam). I'd imagine it would be the same if you only had a paper map with your destination. Just show the map to a local and in no time they'd tell you where you are and the best way to get there. Outside of the touristic areas, Vietnamese people are generally really nice and helpful people, who don't try and rip you off. I needed to get the front shocks replaced on my bike. The mechanic next to the hostel wanted something like 800,000 dong to replace them, so I declined. Later, my shocks blew out in Da Nang and I actually had to get them replaced. The mechanic, who couldn't speak word of English, did them for me for 400,000 dong without even haggling. I'm fairly sure that's the local price, because I can't imagine it's possible to get two shocks, plus an hour of labour for under US$20, back home the same job would cost me probably $200 at least.
- constantlm 8y ago
  Haha yes I was quite happy to go down the mountain after Đà Lạt. I didn't expect it to be that cold. But yes, once out in the rural areas it becomes a lot easier to get around.

toomanybeersies 8y ago

I thought that Vietnam, outside of the larger cities, was fairly easy to navigate. Conveniently for me it was raining the whole time, so overheating wasn't an issue. Rather, I had the opposite where I almost froze riding through the rain in Đà Lạt wearing only tshirt and shorts.

davewasthere 8y ago
It is for the most part. I only had a little candy-bar SonyEricsson at the time which had really limited interweb capabilities. Other guys had iPhones, but for the most part, winging it was great and got you where you needed to go.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  I found Vietnamese people were usually happy to help you out if you needed to find something. When I got a flat tyre, I just stopped near a local, pointed to my flat tyre, and they gestured directions to get to a mechanic (not that they're hard to find in Vietnam). I'd imagine it would be the same if you only had a paper map with your destination. Just show the map to a local and in no time they'd tell you where you are and the best way to get there. Outside of the touristic areas, Vietnamese people are generally really nice and helpful people, who don't try and rip you off. I needed to get the front shocks replaced on my bike. The mechanic next to the hostel wanted something like 800,000 dong to replace them, so I declined. Later, my shocks blew out in Da Nang and I actually had to get them replaced. The mechanic, who couldn't speak word of English, did them for me for 400,000 dong without even haggling. I'm fairly sure that's the local price, because I can't imagine it's possible to get two shocks, plus an hour of labour for under US$20, back home the same job would cost me probably $200 at least.
constantlm 8y ago
Haha yes I was quite happy to go down the mountain after Đà Lạt. I didn't expect it to be that cold. But yes, once out in the rural areas it becomes a lot easier to get around.