A Vietnam Adventure – “From child hood dream to the ramblings of an old solo biker"

Ever since I was a little boy I had a fascination with Vietnamese war movies. I’m not sure if it was the war itself that captivated me or the movie superheroes of the time that grabbed my interest, such as Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzanager. But I do remember being obsessed. I’d walk 90 minutes into town to just to visit the video shop (yes….it was VHS tapes in those days), then spend ages browsing shelf upon shelf of Vietnam War movies deciding which to watch next. There were so many to choose from and every week, there seemed to be new ones released. The walk there and back took longer than it did to watch the movie, but it was always worth it.

In those days, before the digital effects used to make many of today’s action movies, war movies were the main genre of action movie and so the shelves in the were full of them. Occasionally the shop would have a special offer…..3 for the price of 1….and that made the journey even more worth while. It also meant that I had to spend less of the $5.00 I earned every week from doing the early morning paper-round, which was an added bonus and left more for buying the snacks I’d consume while watching the film.

My love for these movies even extended to convincing my mum, on occasion, that I was too sick to go to school. Then, once she’d gone to work, I’d make a miraculous recovery, jump out of bed and run to the video shop and back (reducing what was normally a 3-hour trip to no more than 2). Then I’d spend the rest of day watching movies and stuffing myself with the snacks I’d buy on the way back from the shop….chocolate fingers, chocolate milkshake and popcorn being some of my usual favourites! Of course, all evidence of my mischievous activities had to be hidden before mum got back from work – which is what the space between the bed frame and the mattress if for (it always amazed me how much could be hidden there) – and then I’d have to resume the “I’m sick in bed” performance as mum walked in through the front door, none the wiser about what ‘d really been doing all day!

Anyway, it was these movies that first captured my interest in Vietnam and between the ages of 10 and 14, that’s pretty much all I’d watch. Maybe I was connecting with the super-hero inside me, or maybe it was a way of escaping the real world (which is what good movies can help us to do), or maybe I connected with the perception that was being presented in those movies of good over bad. Whatever the reason, I loved them and they ignited my interest in Vietnam.

Then, fast forward to 2008 when Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travelled the length of Vietnam on motorbikes for their Christmas Special (watched and loved by millions). Not only did this reignite my interest in Vietnam but having only recently passed my motorbike test, sparked an interest in wanting to do long distance motorbike trips.

And so, when I was thinking about what to do with this years spring break, there really was only one option…..VIERTNAM – the trip that I’d been wanting to do since I was a young boy. A trip that I’d planned to do in 2020 but due to COVID had to cancel. So, almost 40 years after those early days of watching war movies and, 17 years after Top Gear’s ‘3-Amigos’ did it, it’s now my turn.

I just hope it lives up to all my dreams and expectations. I’m sure it will!