Rally Indochina 2011 was a fantastic success, well beyond our expectations, with 14 riders from around the globe joining us for a ride down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. A total of US$43,200 was raised for the Blue Dragon Foundation. The Intrepid Foundation in Australia handled the bulk of the donations and was generous enough to contribute US$17,600 towards the final figure.

The weather for the ride was perfect and good fortune followed the Rally throughout. The starting point of the Rally was the Ho Chi Minh Trail museum. As luck would have it, about 500 Vietnamese school kids were visiting the museum at the same time. They loved the bikes and it was a fantastic photo op. Some of the Rally participants were interviewed by local reporters and it was fun to see ourselves on page three of Vietnam News a few days into the Rally. The event was also picked up by many newspapers in Australia including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times.

At the beginning of the ride we all had breakfast at the Blue Dragon Foundation centre in Hanoi and met kids who had been able to change their lives around following support from the Foundation. Later on, we visited the front line, so to speak, in a fishing village near Hue, where Blue Dragon along with the Vietnam Red Cross, has set up a centre to fight against traffickers that lure children to work in factories in the south of the country. This was particularly moving as the monies raised by the Rally were going directly to this centre.

I really would like to thank you and the entire team for the incredible trip you put together for all of us - it was a fabulous ride with a great bunch of people. There were too many highlights to single one part out as the best, although the day we did the run along Route 20 was probably the best days riding for us. I feel Michael from Blue Dragon will be getting some ongoing support from some of the participants, so it is probably fitting to spread the goodwill to another project, and demining is another excellent way of getting good results for the money. Andy and Anne Clark

Many thanks to you all for having organized and led this ride and for having turned it into such a success -- great ride, great cause -- and also, great people, beautiful scenery, fantastic food, an overall great time -- we even had good fortune with the weather. Of course, it wasn't just luck (except maybe for the weather) -- I didn't escape my notice that you guys brought to bear your expertise and experience with planning, itinerary, logistics, organization, route-picking, menus, spare parts etc. etc. all of which operated smoothly and quietly behind the scenes (from my perspective) every day to deliver a first class experience in every way. Bob Mason

Just thought I'd drop you a quick line to say how much I loved the Rally. I will definitely be up for next year. Allan Lewis

Sydney Monning Herald ---- Mil Clayton's Blog --- Vietnam News