PHONG NHA, VIETNAM – One of my all-time favorite movie chase scenes comes from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his father (played by Sean Connery) have just escaped from their Nazi captors.
Indie steals a motorcycle, and with his “very proper” British father seated in the attached sidecar they race away along rugged dirt roads with a gang of motorcycle-mounted German soldiers in hot pursuit.
Indie saves the day, of course
As you might expect, Indiana and Professor Jones manage to wipe out all of their attackers and make a safe getaway (at least for the moment).
There’s something about that vintage sidecar motorbike that thrills me every time I re-watch the movie.
Fast forward to our recent stay at the Phong Nha Farmstay in north-central Vietnam.
Parked near the entry to the Farmstay lodging, we walked past a vintage Russian motorcycle, complete with… you guessed it… a sidecar.
“Way cool,” I thought as we walked by. “Wouldn’t that be fun!”
As it turned out, one of the perks of our stay at the boutique hotel was the opportunity to book a sidecar ride around the village – for FREE!
We both wanted to ride in the motorcycle sidecar
They told us the motorbike could accommodate two passengers – one in the sidecar, and the other on the seat behind the driver. The problem was, Melanie and I both wanted to sit in the sidecar.
Lucky us… the Farmstay owns two of these classic three-wheelers. They pressed a couple of their staff members into chauffeur service, and we each got to sit in a sidecar as we zoomed through the village.
The exhilarating 20-minute ride found us bumping along rough dirt roads and short stretches of “improved” concrete pavement that was only slightly less bone-shaking.
We experienced a pavement-level view of the countryside as we raced past rustic fencerows, lush jungle compounds, freshly cultivated farm fields, duck ponds, banana groves and more.
We’re the stars in our own harrowing chase scene
Our motorcycle pilots deftly maneuvered their machines along the narrow lanes, dodging other motorbikes and pedestrians, careening around sharp corners and swerving to avoid cows, chickens and other obstacles on the roadway.
Village residents paused from their work to watch as we streaked by. Their curious children waved to us, with smiles almost as broad as the “Cheshire Cat” grins on our own faces.
Safely back at the Farmstay and still vibrating from our ride, we extracted ourselves from the sidecars and set off on a quest for refreshments.
These two giddy, overage “youngsters” had just logged another bumpy, bouncy, noisy, totally unexpected “soft adventure” experience.
Eat your heart out, Indiana Jones!
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Come join us on our ride…
Watch the video below (watch “full screen” for the best effect)
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Read about our visit to the caves at Phong Nha and how they grow black pepper at the Farmstay village.