After months of planning Ants Bolingbroke-Kent made it to the Start Line in Hanoi, ready for her journey along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. She'll be wearing a Weise jacket and riding the Pink Panther Creatored by Explore Indochina,  Before leavibng the garage Ants asked Phu, one of the mechanics who’d built her, whether he thought the Ho Chi Minh Trail was possible on a Honda C90, ‘Yeah, easy’ he replied, ‘as long as you don’t forget to put oil in’. The bike started life as a 1989 green Honda C50 and is now the hot-pink C90. ‘It’s had new everything – new pistons, valves, spokes, chain, exhaust, suspension – everything. Look, its the best bloody Honda C90 on the planet’.

The big issue facing Ants is how to cross the border into Laos. Although there are numerous border crossings between the two countries, and backpackers frequently hop across, rules about foreigners driving bikes across the border are notoriously tricksy. The the best chance of getting across the border is at Na Meo, only a few hundred km from Hanoi. However, it wasn’t on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The two main Trail-related crossings are much further south, at Cha Lo (Mu Gia pass) and Nam Phao (see below map – Cha Lo is the bottom one). The risk is that the border guards will turn her back.

Follow Ants' progress at http://www.theitinerant.co.uk/