Gökhan

In April 2007 I came to Saigon for the first time. I had came in order to speak with our German Vietnamese inbound partner and to receive an overview of current Vietnam economics and the tourism industry. Immediately on the first day while sitting in a Gloria Jeans cafe; in the city center, I watched as a thousand scooters whizzed by, and I began to notice the rare Vespa or Lambretta which was part of the crowd. "I need one of those", I said to myself. And so the adventure began.

I tried to buy directly a restored Vespa and quickly discovered they were too expensive. In June 2007, I began my search for a Vespa handler who restored the scooters and I was introduced to Loc. I immediately purchased my first 3 Vespas.

In August 2007, Loc and I went and searched the corners and backyards of Saigon for more old machines and we came out with some complete old Vespas and Lambrettas, and also a truck full of scrap iron (like my wife would say) or spare parts. The garage was now full and Loc had a lot of work to do!

In October 2007 I returned again with my wife who was now late in her pregnancy. The first finished Vespa were waiting in the entrance hall of my house and there were already local Vietnamese asking if they could purchase the scooters from me!

My wife and Beth developed 2 routes through south Vietnam which we would first ride in early 2008. Our first group trip was in February and we traveled the route of our Tour 1 from Saigon to Dalat and Nha Trang. We were fortunate to bring together a very international group for our first ride. The group included 4 Vietnamese, 2 Americans, 2 Slovenians, a Turk, a Swiss, and 2 Germans! We had lots of fun, saw the true diverse beauty of Vietnam, and experienced the local scooter lifestyle!

Nina

My husband and I had already traveled a few times in Asia, however I was completely overwhelmed upon arrival in Saigon! The enourmous number of scooters took me by complete surprise. From time to time we would notice one of the older model Vespas or Lambrettas would flash through the crowd of bikes and I could not help but be struck by their beauty. On our first trip though, I never rode a scooter while we were there. I was so consumed with my welfare just walking down the sidewalk that I could not fathom getting on a scooter and playing in traffic. Not until my second trip (7 months pregnant) did I get to experience this first hand. We got on the Vespa and with one quick left turn we were in the flow of traffic. I quickly realized that being part of it was much less frightening than watching it. It felt so completely normal and comfortable. I soon realized that this really was the best way to experience Siaigon. Getting around this way brings you a bit closer to their culture and gives you a bit more understanding of their lives. Plus, the Vespas are great fun to ride!

Bethanie

In January of 2007 I left the US to experience new adventures and to see the world. After spending a year in Australia, I was looking for a bit more of a culture shock to I crossed over to SE Asia. After traveling in Thailand, I made a move to Saigon. During the ride from the airport to the hotel I realized I already loved Vietnam. Something about all the scooters and everyone being on the same level with each other; you could literally reach out and touch people as you traveled around town!

While traveling around a friend told me about this crazy idea of using vintage Vespas as your means of transport to see this beautiful country! In February 2008 I was introduced to Goekhan through a mutual friend when they were on one of their first trip. As soon as I saw the group I knew I had to join along for the journey from Nha Trang to Dalat. Vespas in nearly every color and a group of riders from around the world. Sign me up!

The most amazing part for me was all the locals we got to meet along the way, because you are so flexible with where you go and who you stop and meet. You are not tied to the constraints of a tour group or public transport. Every small village we would go through we were welcomed with open arms and met with choruses of "Hello!!". I learned much about Vietnam I had never imagined and made a new group of international friends along the way.