Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam – Easy Rider Motorbike Tour

On September 29, 2025September 29, 2025 By Rick McIn food, travel1 Comment

Hà Giang Province in far north Vietnam near the Chinese border is one of the poorest regions.

Gorgeous mountainous karst landscape.

Since the designation of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark in 2010, the tourism industry has been growing. Astonishingly popular in 2025 is a loop of some of the scenic roads by jeep or motorbike.

I signed on for a 3 day, 3 night option for about USD $200.

Rice does not grow well here — corn is the most important crop.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We traveled by sleeper bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang city. Then slept a few more hours in a hostel.

Each tourist has a personal guide / driver.

I called my guide BOSS as he was the leader of the pack.

It’s possible to do the loop on your own, renting a bike. But I understand you’ll be stopped by the police often — and asked to pay a fine / bribe.

The other 2 nights were in a good hotel. And a charming traditional homestay.

Food was excellent. We all gained weight over 3 days. 😀

Everyone in my group left super happy with the experience. No accidents — if you don’t count me running off the bike when my driver hit a hidden pothole at very low speed.

We did about 300km — all good. Dozens of scenic stops.

Drivers know all the best photo stop angles.

Dogs are sometimes dinner in this part of the world. But not this pretty boy. 😀

A great adventure.

My Motorbike Tour – Northern Vietnam

On September 27, 2025September 27, 2025 By Rick McIn health & fitness, travelLeave a comment

Right now I’m on a 3-day motorbike tour called the Hà Giang Loop close to the Chinese border.

It’s become super popular with tourists the past 15 years.

Here’s how A.I. envisions my adventure.

Here’s my actual bike. 1500cc – THUNDER down UNDER.

… actually, I don’t ride the crotch rocket myself.

Instead, I sit on back. A grinning lump. I have an expert driver / guide here seen reloading on coconut coffee.

He’s the leader, as well, of our group of 9. No doubt I got the boss because I looked the biggest trouble maker in the group. 😀

It’s surprisingly safe. I did run off the bike once when we hit a pothole at low speed.

AND I do have evacuation insurance, just in case. 😀

My Singapore Photos

On September 23, 2025September 22, 2025 By Rick McIn photos, travel1 Comment

I’m planning to return to Singapore in October, connecting with friends.

NIGHT is the very best time to be out and about in this hot and humid city close to the equator.

Most low budget travellers stay in Little India. Shop at the Mustafa mall.

Indian food was a welcome change after a month of mostly rice and noodles.

Here’s a gallery of some of my favourite pics from September. Click to move through the 18 photos.

Ultramodern Singapore

On September 22, 2025September 24, 2025 By Rick McIn economics, food, government, human rights, travelLeave a comment

Clean, efficient, safe. An ideal tourist destination for me after chaotic Indonesia.

Almost everyone speaks English. They are very welcoming of visitors.

Yes, some things are very expensive. But you can have a great time spending very little money.

For example, Shimano Cycling World will rent you a high end road bike for $150. Or you can take one of their mountain bikes for free. Nice.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Drone footage I shot of myself was done in one of the parks dedicated to drone pilots. Singapore thinks of everything. 😀

Changi Airport (always ranked #1 in the world) provides free city tours if you have a layover of enough hours at the right time of day.

Singapore’s diversity of cuisine is touted as a reason to visit the country, due to its combination of convenience, variety, quality, and price.

I find it a very green city.

Singapore is an economic success story. This tiny island nation has the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world.

Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent.

Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world.

This is the kind of nation fiscal conservatives should study.

Personally, it’s not democratic enough for me.

The laws too strict. Singapore still has the death penalty.

Male homosexual relations were not decriminalized until 2022.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gourmet Dining – Seafood Tower in Singapore

On September 20, 2025September 26, 2025 By Rick McIn food, friends, gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

Dennis hosted dinner for myself, Cliff Parks, and friends at the Greenwood Fish Market in Sentosa.

He ordered a Seafood Tower for the table.

. … I’d never seen anything like it.

Fantastic.

The highlight for Cliff was his 1st raw oyster. A BIG one.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mustafa Centre, Singapore

On September 20, 2025September 18, 2025 By Rick McIn travel2 Comments

One of the amazing tourist destinations in Singapore is the Mustafa Centre.

Unlike the many modern shopping malls, Mustafa caters mainly to the budget market.

75,000 square feet with a 130-room hotel.

It’s crammed with almost any product you can imagine. Over 300,000 products.

Open 24 hours. Packed at all hours of the day and night. An experience.

11 stories. Near impossible to find the nearest exit as they don’t want you to leave.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

BEST Beach in Canada ➙ Rathtrevor

On September 18, 2025September 17, 2025 By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

I was outraged to see my favourite beach — Rathtrevor on Vancouver Island, — ranked only #3 in the FAKE NEWS posted by Spin Casino / TripAdvisor. 😀

Loser Beach, Tofino
Sand-in-your-Schlitz Beach, Picton
Rathtrevor, Vancouver island
Long Loser Beach, Tofino
Worst Beach Cove, Tofino

Check my video. It’s OBVIOUS that Rathtrevor is #1.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Touring Indonesia is not for ME

On September 17, 2025September 16, 2025 By Rick McIn anti-smoking, gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

I just travelled Indonesia for a month. Most of the popular attractions.

It’s not a good fit for this old backpacker.

Aside from major city train / bus service, tourists end up taking a lot of personal vehicles. Bad for the environment. Terrible for traffic jams.

Ride sharing apps like Grab and GoJek are essential as there are no alternatives in much of the nation.

Indonesia is ideal for young invincible backpackers who love to ride scooters through dangerous traffic. While chain smoking. Adrenaline junkies.

Instead of touring, I’d recommend picking one spot you like. Rent a place for a month. Concentrate on a few things: scuba, snorkelling, health & fitness, yoga, surfing, writing, reading, partying, …. Whatever you’ve always want more time for.

Don’t travel very far.

I’d like a month in the Gili Islands, for example.

The culture tourists face is (mostly) men, (mostly) chain smoking.

Every young guy in Indonesia dreams of getting a scooter. And then enough money for fuel and cigarettes.

This MIGHT be an A.I. generated image. 😀

While it’s easy and quick to move between Bali, Lombok and the Gilis, island-hopping elsewhere often involves a flight, bad bus, or lengthy boat journey.

To be fair, there ARE a number of island chains where you can jump between islands on a short speedboat or long-tail-boat ride. The Banda Islands and Kei Islands in southern Maluku are compact and a breeze to travel among, while it’s also easy to move around the Karimunjawa Islands off Java, the Togean Islands off Sulawesi, the Banyak Islands off Sumatra and Raja Ampat off Papua.

That said — I’ll be returning to Jakarta soon for the World Gymnastics Championships.

Kopi Dulu: 15,000km through Indonesia

On September 16, 2025September 14, 2025 By Rick McIn books, travelLeave a comment

Kopi Dulu (2022) is an amazing account by Mark Eveleigh over many trips, many years.

He’s an adventure travel badass.

15,000 kilometers – by rail, road, on foot and under sail – through 50 Indonesian islands.

From tracking tigers (and the mythical ‘short man’) in the Sumatra jungle to the mystical Dayak tribe that lives near the geographical center of Borneo, this book touches on some of Indonesia’s most intriguing secrets.

The author meets Tana Toraja’s ‘living dead’, the Bugis people (once known as the Bogeymen) who build and sail the spectacular Sulawesi schooners and the villagers who are literally besieged by dragons in the Komodo archipelago.

He surfs the legendary reefs of G-Land, Nias and Occy’s Left (and pioneers a previously un-surfed wave in the remote Alor Archipelago).

He road-trips across Sulawesi and Flores and sails in the wake of Alfred Russel Wallace around Spice Islands that have remained largely unchanged for centuries.

“. . . a soldier of fortune or Legionnaire of the travel writing business!”—Korean Airlines magazine

Amazon

Prambanan Temples, Indonesia

On September 15, 2025September 13, 2025 By Rick McIn Art and beauty, travelLeave a comment

Overshadowed by the more famous, nearby Buddhist temple, Borobudur, as a tourist, I enjoyed the Hindu Prambanan temple complex just as much.

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia and the second-largest in Southeast Asia after Angkor Wat.

With the main prasada tower soaring up to 47 metres high, a vast walled temple complex consists of 240 structures is today mostly in ruins. Only a few of those have been restored.