We spent a half-day with my assistant doing e-bikes, a service offered by VietNam e-Bike.
This company has been recently created by Pierre Chatelain, a French expatriate for a few months in Vietnam.
Departure in early afternoon restaurant/café, Un jour à Paris, in district 9.
From the very beginning, we plunged into nature in Ho Chi Minh City! In this green setting is then proposed the tour that we did on the theme : discovery of the hidden temples of Thu Duc.
After a few minutes of acclimatization to the bikes, we left for the first Buu Long Buddhist Pagoda. This stop was magnificent.
The guide gave us information about this pagoda such as the year of construction: 1942.
When the tour is done during the morning, after about thirty minutes of cycling, guests can take advantage of this stop for lunch at the restaurant next to the pagoda Tra That which offers typical Vietnamese dishes. The place is beautiful and very flowery!
We took the road for about ten minutes to see the second pagoda: Stupa Cotama Xa Loi. They are very different from each other, which is very interesting to discover during visits.
The itinerary between the different pagodas sometimes takes roads frequented by different vehicles. Warning! We must remain you to be careful. We have also taken paths to reach very nice places by the river.
We continued our visit of the pagodas directly the temple Chau Doc. To reach this one we had to borrow a picturesque boat! This adds character to this walk "discovering the hidden temples".
So we left our bikes at the port of embarkation and continued the visit on foot. This temple is also very different from the other two proposed to us. It is indeed very colorful and there are street stands all around! It is a funny combination!
Finally, we took the boat for five minutes. It took us back to the boarding area where we left our bikes.
Here we are again! On the way to see the last pagoda of the day: Hoi Son one! The latter still adopts a style different from those we had seen previously.
We stayed about 15 minutes or 30 minutes in each pagoda, just to go around.
As for the bike, the guide told us that we had travelled about 15 kilometres. Don’t be afraid! With these bikes, you can’t feel the miles. They have, in fact, three levels of assistance that can be modulated according to your desires and the complexity of the terrain.
The walk ends with a lunch at the meeting point at the restaurant Un jour à Paris.
Lunch on the French theme will delight everyone’s taste buds. In addition, a dip in LakeView Villas' swimming pool is offered in the package.
The journey is very simple! The roads are relatively flat and the pace of travel is calm.
This route will suit as many of us as possible. The only thing is to be more than 1.45m (4'7) However, Pierre will install child seats on the bikes who can accommodate children up to 3 years. This activity is therefore very pleasant to do between adults and allows to escape from the hectic life of SaiGon even one afternoon.
Tip! Pack some spare clothes in case there is rain!
Many thanks to Pierre Chatelain, director and guide, to made us discovering sumptuous landscapes and this initiation to electric bike.