The guy did a motorbike tour, ate, played, and explored Hue to the fullest.

Nguyen Hong Quan (commonly known as To, 27 years old) was born and works in Hue. His main job is running motorbike tours in Hue. “I devote all my passion, youth and love to the Hue motorbike tour job. I hope to spread it to young people who love to travel, explore beautiful photo spots, eat local food and share stories of everyday life,” Hong Quan confided.

As a special love of a Hue native, Hong Quan wishes to spread and promote tourism by motorbike tours to all visitors near and far and international friends when they set foot in the ancient capital.

Unpleasant memories and the opportunity to become a motorbike tour operator

Unlike many others, Hong Quan was not as lucky as others due to health reasons so he dropped out of school after finishing 11th grade. In 2013, Hong Quan was hospitalized 11 times in over a year due to a rare disease that doctors diagnosed as a severe allergy to most antibiotics, multiple antigen allergy and grade 2 anaphylaxis due to drugs.

The job of doing motorbike tours for Hong Quan changed everything in his life in a miraculous way. He had cherished and loved this job since 2015. But it was not until 2017 that he started to implement and develop his brainchild with all his heart and soul.

When he started doing motorbike tours, Hong Quan had the help, guidance and instruction of his father and uncle. Because his father and uncle had experience taking foreign tourists on tours to Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An by motorbike, they did not encounter many difficulties. Besides, he was taught how to communicate with foreign tourists and the tourism business environment by his grandparents. From that experience and foundation, he has developed his current job even more.

With all his passion and enthusiasm for the motorbike tour business, Hong Quan always feels positive, optimistic and confident about life. From then on, he has the motivation to try to go to work every day, serving every customer with all his sincerity.

What is special about the Hue motorbike tour?

Talking to Travellive, Hong Quan shared: “My motorbike tour will be the driver and companion on the tourists' trip to Hue. I will take the tourists on the tour by motorbike, take pictures, take care of delicious, clean food at reasonable prices, or rent traditional costumes, ao dai at good prices, buy Hue specialties at original prices... Therefore, everyone will have a local in Hue to take them to and from their destination without having to worry about anything. Eat and drink in every corner of Hue's local culture, admire the streets; immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the ancient capital, walk around beautiful streets to take pictures; experience long-distance travel by motorbike and share everyday stories in life with new friends."

Tourists coming to Hue city to travel with Hong Quan's 2-3 day motorbike tour will experience a specific tour schedule such as:

First day:

In the morning, we will visit An Dinh Palace and Hue Citadel. In the afternoon, we will take photos of Phu Cam Church, Hue National School, Thien Lam Pagoda, Tu Hieu Pagoda, Huong Village, Tu Duc Tomb and Vong Canh Hill.

Day 2:

In the morning, we will visit An Hien garden house, Thien Mu pagoda, Huyen Khong pagoda, Thien An monastery and Khai Dinh tomb. In the afternoon, we will visit Ru Cha mangrove forest, Tam Giang lagoon and swim at Thuan An beach.

Day 3:

In the morning, we will take photos of Dong Ba market, Lim wooden bridge, Truong Tien bridge, Hue train station and Bao Vinh ancient town. In the afternoon, we will go to Lap An lagoon, swim in Lang Co beach and watch the sunset on the top of Hai Van pass.

A rather special thing when joining this tour is that Hong Quan will lead all guests to experience eating typical dishes of the ancient capital that the locals often visit. In the morning, there will be Hue beef noodle soup, mussel rice and crab noodle soup. At noon, there are usually banh beo, banh nam, banh loc, banh ram it, banh khoai, nem lui, rice paper rolls with roasted pork dipped in fish sauce. In the evening, enjoy crab noodle soup, Truong Tien bread, Hue sweet soup and salted coffee...

“The tour schedule can be changed to suit the needs, desires and health of each tourist. If you want to follow my tour schedule or the needs of the guests, it is okay because I always listen, support and am ready to do my best,” Hong Quan said.

The motorbike tour does not include: tour guide, entrance tickets and meals for customers. The motorbike tour costs 800,000 VND/1 person/1 day. The experience time from morning to night is not counted, there is no limit on the customer's visiting time and no tour sharing (at noon, customers return to the hotel or homestay to rest and then continue the tour in the afternoon). In the evening, Hong Quan will take customers on a food tour and around Hue city without charging any other fees.

When customers book a 2-3 day motorbike tour, he will support free two-way pick-up and drop-off (departure and return) at the airport, train station and bus station by motorbike. That is considered as a sincere thank you that each customer trusts, loves and chooses a motorbike tour to support Hong Quan.

Hong Quan said that the limitation of motorbike tours is that the tourist attractions require tickets, the driver only takes the guests to the destination and waits outside, unlike a professional tour guide. But at places that do not require tickets, he goes along and helps take photos if the guests want. The motorbike tour can only carry one guest, so it is very suitable for young people who like to travel alone, go on personal tours, or explore by motorbike here and there.

Besides, to do this job, the requirements are: good health, hospitality, passion, good driving skills, hard-working, patient, listening to customers, always cheerful and receptive to new things. Driving a motorbike all day on the street is really hard because in Hue the weather is very hot when it is sunny and very cold when it is rainy, but that still does not make Hong Quan discouraged or discouraged to give up the job he is pursuing.

Throughout his nearly 7-year journey of doing motorbike tours, there are countless stories that left an impression on Hong Quan. But the beautiful memory that he always remembers is the female customer from Hai Phong who also works in the service industry and booked a 2-day motorbike tour in Hue.

“She is 4 years older than Quan and works in the service industry, so she has a lot of life experience. She has sincerely given advice, respected and encouraged a new entrepreneur like Quan, whether he succeeds or fails. Therefore, I just hope that my family will be peaceful and happy, and that I can live healthy and enjoy life every day to continue my work,” Hong Quan recounted.

The appropriate and ideal time to join a Hue motorbike tour in a complete, meaningful and wonderful way is usually from February to August. Hong Quan also noted that tourists who want to book a Hue motorbike tour to experience need to carefully research the tour seller's personal information clearly, reasonable price, detailed schedule, support for picking up guests or whether there is a trip in the evening. What the tour will include and what it will not include, see feedback on the personal Facebook page or reputable travel groups, take photos of messages and tour deposits... to avoid being taken advantage of and scammed by bad guys.

In addition, he also suggests to tourists unique experiences that will never be forgotten when traveling in Hue: renting ancient costumes to take pictures of Huong village will be very eye-catching, drinking salted coffee at Mat Biec shop, eating tofu pudding at Thien Mu pagoda, buying Thien Huong sesame candy, Hue royal tea and Co Ri sour shrimp as gifts, eating Me Keo beef noodle soup, evening food tour with a variety of dishes at cheap prices, watching the sunrise at Tam Giang lagoon, watching the sunset on the top of Hai Van pass...

In the near future, Hong Quan plans to focus 100% on developing motorbike tours to promote Hue tourism to more tourists. Through that, he hopes to meet, accompany and share with all guests on the trip.

“Motorbike tours are my brainchild and biggest passion for living a good, optimistic and loving life. I believe that if I work with all my heart, friendliness, hospitality and dedication, customers will love me. The tourism environment is also the foundation that helps me develop my strengths and improve my weaknesses,” Hong Quan confided.

Phuong Thao is the Editor of Travellive Magazine. She is passionate about traveling and loves to capture moments with her camera in every land she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are her favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao