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Outside Magazine, March 2005

Dispatches: Wild Roads
Vietnam's Magical Motorcycle Tour

By Kimberly Lisagor

motorcycle ho chi minh trail
(Photo by Myth and Mountains)
HARDY IF NOT HEFTY, the 125cc, two-stroke, Soviet-era Minsk motorcycle is the vehicle of choice on the intermittently paved roads between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Put one to the test on this 18-day Easy Rider–meets–The Motorcycle Diaries tour, which parallels the route of the historic 1,500-mile Ho Chi Minh Trail, the covert supply line used by communist forces that ran along the mountainous border of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. A North Vietnamese war veteran, Cuong, will be your guide, offering his unique perspective on historic landmarks like the birthplace of the trail's namesake revolutionary; the hand-dug underground Cu Chi Tunnels, safe havens for Viet Cong fighters and villagers; the embattled Marine bastion of Khe Sahn; and Buon Me Thuot, site of a major communist victory in 1975. The trip, which is offered March 21–April 7, costs $2,495–$2,895. For more info, contact Myths & Mountains (800-670-6984, www.mythsandmountains.com).




Kimberly got her first dose of outdoor adrenaline at 14, kayaking the Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River. Since then, she has mountain biked, hiked, camped and climbed coast to coast, with occasional hops overseas.
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