Hello Steemians!

You can find PART 1 of this story HERE
You can find PART 2 of this story HERE
You can find PART 3 of this story HERE

Today will be the final post in this series of the ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on a Vietnamese motorcycle, if you haven't read the other entries in the series check them out in the links above. This post will start from the day we left Nha Trang, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

The little motorbike that could! This little bike gave us very little trouble considering its age and I grew to love it

The final leg of the trip, by the end I was a seasoned pro at traversing Vietnam's traffic.

A little taste of the traffic in the cities.

Nha Trang to Dalat

I was originally going to stick to the coast the whole way down but I changed my mind in ​Nha Trang and decided to head inland to the mountains which led me to ​Dalat. The drive was about 6 hours and the road was great, although I got rained on a few times which slowed everything down. ​Dalat is quite a large city that is wrapped around a lake in the middle, it is known for farming various fruits and coffee. I stayed at Trang Thanh 2 hotel which was actually really nice for a cheap price, it had a big balcony overlooking a park, I highly recommend this hotel. I spent two days here checking out the pick your own strawberry farms and the extremely expensive ​Organic Weasel Coffee Farm. ​Dalat is also known for having some foods that are unique to the region and also a very large night market on the weekend. I wish I had more time here because I could have easily spent a week exploring the area.

Selfie on the way into Dalat

Dalat night market.

Some of the offerings!

I love night markets.

You can rent paddle boats in the lake in the center of town.

Weasels!

Hands down the best coffee I had while travelling Vietnam.

Nem Nuong is a staple of Dalat, you make your own spring rolls and it is amazing!

Dalat to Mui Ne

As much as I didn't want to leave ​Dalat it was time to move one, so I headed back to the coast to a town called ​Mũi Né . It is a small beach town surrounded by desert, and it is another hot spot for Russian tourists. The drive was about 5 hours and was filled with stunning views and nice windy roads that all went downhill, which makes for a great drive. There are tons of really nice hotels in ​Mũi Né for really cheap. I stayed at the Mui Ne Hills Budget Resort which was really nice for super cheap and it had three pools, in fact this was definitely one of the nicest places I stayed in ​Viet Nam. I stayed for an extra day here to check out the surrounding desert and sand dunes, it was a nice enough town but I was itching to keep going as I was getting close to ​Ho Chi Minh City.

The road into Mui Ne, it was quite a change from the forested mountains.

That's a lot of fishermen!

One of the sights in Mui Ne.

The last of the mountains on the way into Mui Ne.

Mui Ne to Vung Tau

Although I was itching to get to ​Ho Chi Minh City I didn't want to push it and end up having another thirteen hour day so I decided to stop in ​Vũng Tàu. It was about three hours from ​Mũi Né and was a nice quiet ride along the coast. ​Vũng Tàu is a weekend getaway spot for the people of ​Ho Chi Minh City to escape the rush of the city, so when I arrived on a Tuesday, it was very quiet. Again, there are tons of hotels here and quite a few things to do which makes it an easy place to stop. I stayed at Nam Phuong Hotel which was really cheap and not very memorable to be honest. The town has two mountains, one big and one small, the big one has cable cars and an amusement park at the top but is quite expensive, while the small one has an old french lighthouse at the top and about two thirds up is Dang Coffee House which has a beautiful view. I spent the afternoon in the cafe looking out over ​Vũng Tàu thinking about how my journey would end tomorrow and feeling lucky to have survived a few of the days driving.

A selfie overlooking the city

It is a beautiful city

The End of the Road - Vung Tau to Ho Chi Minh City

I expected this day to be quite short and uneventful as Google maps said it would take about ninety minutes to get to the center of Saigon, this estimate was way off. One of the things I learned in ​Vietnam is that Google maps doesn't take into account what type of vehicle you are driving, so the ninety minute drive was on a highway that motorcycles are banned from driving on which left me looking for an alternative route. So after five hours of going around the city I made it to the center and to the hostel I was staying at both covered in filth and exhausted from the traffic. I had a few days to sell the bike and take in the sights of ​Ho Chi Minh City before my visa expired so I set to it. I posted the bike on craigslist and a local guy came to buy it the next day for the same price I bought it for which was a huge bonus. I spent the next few days soaking up the last of my time in ​Vietnam and reflecting on the previous three weeks of excitement, freedom and pure joy that buying and driving a motorcycle 2100km had brought me.

Night time in Saigon

Vietnam has fantastic markets in every city

Finally made it! A great day and a sad day all in one!

Well that's it! It took us a total of 22 days to make the long drive south, including stops in a few cities, and it was one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had anywhere. I hope this gives people a little inspiration for their travels and as always, thanks for reading!