Your riding day in Vietnam at this time of year is relatively short. If you don't want to ride in the dark, 6pm is about the limit.

As agreed, I rocked up at Style Motorcycles just after eight, to collect my bike, and to make sure I got an early start. Not a soul in sight! Eventually someone turned up 40 minutes later, and the handover could begin. Paperwork, payment, instructions and a couple of minor repairs and adjustments took about an hour, and around 10.00 I was ready for my HCMC motorcycle baptism. 
I have survived Cairo in Egypt on a motorcycle, but the flow of traffic here is different - organized chaos would describe it most accurately. There are really no rules, but somehow things seem to work anyhow. For one thing, speed is generally slow and bikes have their own dedicated lanes, apart from other vehicles. This applies only in cities like HCMC and Hanoi. In traffic with cars and bikes together, the largest vehicle has the right of way! 
It took me about 2 hours of concentrated effort to get out of HCMC, on the way north towards my first stop Bao Loc. it's hard to imagine how vast this city with 9 million people really is. It took almost 30 km driving before traffic started to ease up.
This part of Vietnam is very industrialized and not particularly pretty, with lots of plastic bags and rubbish strewn around. Northern Vietnam is considered a lot more picturesque than the south, particularly the areas north of Hanoi towards the Chinese border.

The vast majority of Vietnamese bikers - and foreign backpackers - ride in T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops or sandals, and a cheap open face helmet. Even if it is uncomfortable in 30+ degrees and high humidity, I subscribe to the ATGATT principle - All The Gear All The Time. It can get pretty hot in a black Goretex suit, but the benefits are obvious in case of a fall. Furthermore, you are unlikely to get sunburnt! 
220 km and 7 hours later I pulled into my guest house in Bao Loc, thrilled with a successful first day of riding in Vietnam. Not the most spectacular day in terms of scenery - that would have to come the following day on my trip towards Da Lat.