VietNamNet Bridge – A German couple - Alexander Babriel and Jana Halloun, who are on a bicycle tour around the world and have ridden bicycles through 13 countries during the past year, recently arrived in Hanoi.

Alexander is a college graduate in sociology who worked for a non-governmental organisation in Munser City, Germany. Two years ago, he got the idea of making a global tour by bicycle with his wife – a primary school teacher.

It took the couple a year to plan and save money for the trip. They bought two trekking bikes and packed around 30-40kg of essential things, including sleeping bags, tents, food, clothes, bike tool kits and contact equipment.

Alex said that they spent around EUR16 eating, sleeping and drinking water every day.

They ride around 50km per day and spend varying amounts of time in different countries. They stayed in Turkey for four months working and earning money for their trip.

They have cycled a total of 8,200km through Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, and China and traveled by train or took a lift for more than 30,000km.

Alex said they will stay in Vietnam for a month and then ride on to Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

They traveled to famous Vietnamese tourist attractions in Hanoi such as Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, Hanoi Old Quarter, and Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam- the first university in Vietnam.

He said he enjoys riding in the northern mountainous provinces in Vietnam and savouring the street food in Hanoi.

Alex said unlike European people, Vietnamese people often like to save money rather than travel. Vietnamese youth should spend more on travel and study rather than shopping to gain experience, he suggested.

The couple plan to travel through Asia and stay in New Zealand for a while to earn money for their next trip, maybe to America and Africa.

Source: VOV