The sheer luck of finding myself among the first independent travellers in Vietnam for 17 years, just as this extraordinary city exploded into life to celebrate a new year
Good story - but actually the country opened to independent travelers a bit earlier. I flew Bangkok-Saigon with a friend in April 1990. We had mountain bikes and rode a significant portion of the 1000 miles of Highway 1 from Saigon to Hanoi, taking buses in between the riding segments. On one occasion the cops didn’t want us riding out of a small town where we had spent the night and made us get on a bus. Our only guides were a map of the country and some handwritten notes we had copied in Bangkok from some travelers who had just returned from Bangkok and who we met in Khao San Road. Good times!
Sounds like an amazing moment in history to visit!
Good story - but actually the country opened to independent travelers a bit earlier. I flew Bangkok-Saigon with a friend in April 1990. We had mountain bikes and rode a significant portion of the 1000 miles of Highway 1 from Saigon to Hanoi, taking buses in between the riding segments. On one occasion the cops didn’t want us riding out of a small town where we had spent the night and made us get on a bus. Our only guides were a map of the country and some handwritten notes we had copied in Bangkok from some travelers who had just returned from Bangkok and who we met in Khao San Road. Good times!
Wow, what an adventure! It sounds like you sneaked in under the wire before the official announcement.