Kickstarts & Kung-Fu
Mick Shore is a founder member of Armthorpe Animals S.C.. He’s also a full-time martial arts instructor and trained in America with Larry Hartsell, one of Bruce Lee’s students and a twice decorated Vietnam veteran. During their training sessions Larry used to tell Mick about his experiences in Vietnam, and this peaked Mick’s interest in taking a trip to the country. Mick had been to Southeast Asia in 2018 for a Thai Boxing event, so this yeary a trip to Vietnam fell nicely into place forf a family holiday. “During the trip, apart fromf just sightseeing I wanted to incorporate martial arts, culture, training and Vietnamese food, which I love,” he explained. Landing in Hanoi, Mick couldn’t help but notice the scooters buzzing around the city. “The place was like London on steroids!”
Moving on, they took an overnight cruise to Halong Bay. “It was one of the most beautiful sights on earth. We were on board the boat which was a Junk, and I was up at 6am doing Tai Chi with an instructor; watching the sun come up was breathtaking.” They then took a flight to Da Nang, which was one of the main U.S. military bases in the war and was where Larry would have been stationed.
Continuing on to Hoi An by taxi, which is known for being lit by lanterns at night, Mick told us: “It was here that I was meant to meet with a martial arts instructor, but it never happened. So whilst relaxing on the beach I asked if
there were any scooter clubs in the area, and remembered that a couple of my friends mentioned a tour they’d done in Saigon.” Being savvy and making a few calls, Mick eventually got in touch with Vespa Adventures and as luck would have it they were available to collect him the next day!
“I got picked up the next morning by a guide on a classic Vespa. There were three scooters on the trip and the riding style was mental! We first went to a fish market just outside Hoi An, which was completely off the beaten track. We then rode through the countryside, past rice fields and oxen grazing; the scenery was unbelievable!”
Having reached their destination, the guides took them to see an elderly couple weaving traditional carpets. “We were invited inside and we were asked if we wanted a go! The fella only had one leg. He lost the other by standing on a mine in one of the rice fields. The people were so friendly, even through the hardship they’d endured.”
The guides took them further through the countryside on their scooters to meet farmers. “We stopped off for lunch with some locals and tried one of the national noodle soup dishes, Pho, before we moved on to see a local rice wine maker. In some of the bottles there were snakes and centipedes! I declined a taste, but I did have a little of the pure spirit. It was a fabulous scooter trip, all in all.”