gross [inter]national happiness

There is no better way to explore rural Vietnam than to do as the vast majority of the locals do and get on the back of a motorbike. Preferably a noisy Soviet-era Minsk motorbike (even if the locals, who prefer more modern bikes, do look at you a little bemused). So we booked ourselves onto a 'DMZ Adventure Loop' tour of the central highlands and coastline of Vietnam, in and around the former de-militarised zone (DMZ) from the time of the American War. And so began a 4 day adventure of a lifetime! Something this 4 minute helmet-cam video tries its best to capture... Our journey on the first day took us out into the countryside , through fields and remote villages, past ancient Cham ruins and into jungle hill tribe territory, where we stopped for lunch with the chief of the Ka Tu tribe (who tried his very best to ply us with his homemade rice wine, with some success). In the afternoon we hit the historic Ho Chi Minh Highway, a glorious road that hair-pins its way thro