In this world of extraordinary stories, you might have heard of many inspiring travel stories from people visiting exciting places, staying in star hotels, spending time by the beach, hiking mountains, and enjoying time with people of different cultures, languages, and backgrounds. Isn’t it look great in those glazing pictures and beautiful backgrounds?
You might also have a phone full of photographs, and eventful Instagram memories of your vacation in different cities and countries. But have you ever thought to travel to a country miles apart; on a bicycle with your favorite person on earth?
Thinking of traveling France to Vietnam on a plane itself make us feel tired on a comfortable airplane but Thibault & Khanh decided to enjoy the rough road journey between these two countries on their bike without any other support. From a pleasant home in Europe to the harsh weather of Asia, insurmountable terrains of the Himalayas, and many cultural and linguistic challenges did not stop the duo from this difficult yet journey.
We had a very insightful conversation with Thibault & Khanh of this eventful journey, best of the moments & memories, and lessons for all of us who are planning long-distance bikepacking. We also spoke about their latest book offering for us to learn from their experiences ‘From my home to yours’. (We highly recommend reading this book available on Amazon & Flipkart in India).
Let’s hear what Thibault and Khahn have to say about their journey.
Q: You have completed an amazing journey on a bicycle from France to Vietnam, how did this idea of an extensive journey come to your mind? why Vietnam? Did you ride this long before? How many months did you plan for this trip?
Thibault: Thank you! We have a strong bicycle culture in my family. As a little kid, my Dad put me very early on a bicycle. During summer holidays in the French countryside, I used to go around a lot by bicycle to meet friends or to buy some candies with my pocket money! Bicycle quickly came synonymous with freedom for me. And even more when I cycled 4,000km in 2013 with my younger brother from France to Slovenia and then Italy. I knew that one day I would do something bigger!
Khanh Nguyen: On my side, I had no experience at all about cycling and adventure. My family in Vietnam is very traditional and it was not even possible, in their mind, for a woman to go by bicycle for more than 5km!
We met together with Thibault in Ho Chi Minh City in 2015 thanks to a common friend. Thibault had moved to Ho Chi Minh City for his work. After a few years, he finally proposed to me and very quickly after he asked me if I was willing to go with him from France to Vietnam by bicycle… I answered “Yes” immediately without really knowing all the consequences of such an answer.
Thibault: The idea was to cycle from my home in Vendée (West of France) to Khanh Nguyen’s in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for our honeymoon. It was also the opportunity for us to raise some money for disadvantaged kids in HCMC to go to school. We trained roughly for one year to train Khanh Nguyen and spent a lot of time online to find suitable bicycles and equipment. It was “easier” to do France- Vietnam than Vietnam -France: Europe was easier to start with to cycle and it was also more convenient and cheaper to gather all the right equipment in France.
Q: Could you please tell us reader briefly, what was your routine for this long biking journey? How many kms and hours did you daily ride, what was your meal like, about hydration and sleep routine?
Khanh Nguyen: We use to say that there is no “typical” day: the number of kilometers cycled highly depends on the weather, the people you meet, the road conditions, etc. But let’s say that on an average day we would cycle 70-80km.
Our maximum of kilometers cycled was in Myanmar: 140km with a nice tailwind!
If we had wild camped, we usually wake up and pack our gears at sunrise, then mostly cycled in the morning. The afternoon was generally more relaxed and the main goal was most of the time to find a place to sleep. It can take a lot of energy!
Thibault: For meals, it depends on the local food you can find. But pasta/rice with veggies and fruits is a good basis! I enjoyed the fact to eat with no limits as you burn thousands of calories every day. Every meal, especially cooked by welcoming hosts, was so much more enjoyable and rewarding!
For hydration: it depends as well on the country or region we crossed. We had a little water filter (brand Sawyer) which helped us in some remote areas. As well, crossing some Iranian deserts was sometimes very challenging with a hard sun and high temperature. Hopefully, on rare occasions, a car or a truck could always help us to fill our bottles. Regarding sleep, it depends again on the conditions and the environment where we could sleep: wild camping under a storm in Bulgaria is not providing as much rest as a night in a nice and quiet hotel.
Khanh Nguyen: I would add that it is ok to push your body on several days but you have to keep in mind to take sometimes some long breaks to avoid some injuries. You have to listen to your body, sometimes it will tell you to take some rest and you have to follow him!
Q: In your journey, you have traveled so many countries, cities, and pavements, what are the best memorable moments with people?
Thibault: So difficult to choose!
We had dozens and dozens of beautiful moments with local people. Traveling by bicycle for us is the best way to authentically meet people. We don’t know why but it triggers immediate trust and attracts good-intentioned people to us.
We remember especially when I met some Qashqai people in Iran. They are a local minority in the Fars province. One day, one man saw us on the road and after a few sentences, he asked us to come to have lunch at his home. We immediately accepted. His name was Reza. We were welcomed as friends by his family and especially his mother, Zahra. She was impressed by Khanh Nguyen: a Vietnamese woman cycling from France to Iran. She even proposed to Khanh Nguyen to try on a traditional Qashqai wedding dress (please see the attached pictures). These kinds of moments are priceless and so meaningful.
Khanh Nguyen: Yes, we met 99% of the time great people. I think that cycling makes you very positive thinking and then attracts people like you! We had also nice meetings with locals in India, especially in North-East India!
Q: Did you find it difficult to ride in Asian countries particularly in weather, food, safety, and languages?
Khanh Nguyen: Myanmar was tough for us. It is forbidden for tourists to wild camp or to sleep at some local’s home. You can only stay at some registered hotels for foreigners. But the problem, sometimes, is that two hotels for foreigners can be separated by more than 200 kilometers! You then have to play hide and seek with the police: either sleep in a Pagoda hoping the police won’t come during the night or discretely wild camp in the bushes and leave before dawn. It was very challenging and tiring! We left Myanmar to enter Thailand completely exhausted!
Q: What did you find special about India?
Thibault:
We saw two different India: India from Delhi to Nepal and North-East India from Siliguri to Imphal. It was a big surprise for us to see so much diversity in terms of religions, language, religions. I can say that people have been always nice and welcoming with us – sometimes asking too many for selfies but that is part of the experience!
I especially remember a day in Uttar Pradesh when we woke up in a Christian church, chit chat with some Muslim people in a village, had tea with some Sikh people, and ended the day next to a Hindu temple.
Khanh Nguyen: And we cannot forget about Indian food! One of the best of our trip: all the curries, spices, etc. It was one of the big highlights of our day: the food we would have the chance to eat! Indian food gave us a lot of motivation to keep going on!
Q: As you are an author as well, could you please tell us about your book ‘From my home to yours’ and where can we buy it?
Thibault: I spent one year gathering all my memories and pictures and writing this book! The idea is to take you with us on the road and make you understand and feel what we have experienced. I share in detail all our stories during this year on the road always with many pictures. Our secret goal is to make the reader follow their dreams one day!
The book is available in India at the following places : • Amazon India (for paperback and Ebook versions) - Click Here • As well on Flipkart (for paperback version) - Click here
Q- Three tips you would like to give people planning Bikepacking or long-distance adventure tours in India?
1- India is wide and so diverse so choose carefully the provinces you want to cross to have the time to enjoy it!
2- We highly recommend cycling the 7 Sisters states (NE India) especially the region around Shillong and the way to Imphal (quite mountainous but with beautiful landscapes and welcoming local people)
3- After lunch eat a nice and big piece of ginger. It will prevent you from most digestion problems or even food poisoning! And try to use a water filter as much as people when you don’t have access to bottled water.
Thank you Thibault & Kahn Nguyen for bringing this amazing journey to us.
Hope you enjoyed the story too. If you have any queries related to the journey, book or anything else, we recommend you to write to us at hello@ridewatt.com or connect with Thibault & Khahn on their Instagram handle
Great content! Keep up the good work!