A group helping each other return to their hometowns by motorbike stops at a petrol station to rest during their long journey. Photo thanhnien.vn

ĐẮK LẮK For nearly 13 years, as Tết approaches, a group of Đắk Lắk natives has been busy assisting fellow travellers riding motorbikes home along the route from Hồ Chí Minh City to Đắk Lắk.

At midnight on January 20, at the Bình Dương welcome gate on National Highway 13, where Bình Dương Province meets Hồ Chí Minh City, a team of volunteers gathered to wait for people heading home.

At the meeting point, six to eight volunteers were present—most of them Đắk Lắk natives currently living and working in Hồ Chí Minh City, Đồng Nai, and Bình Dương.

Leading the support group for the journey home on this 21st day of the lunar month was Trần Văn Minh, a twenty year old from Đắk Lắk, who currently works as a factory worker in Bình Dương. Minh's role in the journey was to accompany the travellers, provide assistance, and ensure their safety on the long ride home. In the early hours of that morning, Minh's team set off with 15 motorbike riders, including students and workers from Hồ Chí Minh City. The journey spanned approximately 400 km along National Highway 14, from the Hồ Chí Minh City-Bình Dương border all the way to downtown Buôn Ma Thuột, Đắk Lắk.

By 2am, most of the registered riders had arrived and the motorbike convoy home for Tết officially departed.

Thirty one year old Võ Trọng Lam, the main coordinator of the 'Riding Motorbikes to Đắk Lắk' group, explained that this was their second day assisting motorbike travelers home for Tết. The day before, on January 19 (the 20th of the lunar month), the group had successfully guided 30 motorcyclists home.

Lam said that every year as Tết approaches, their volunteer group, all originally from Đắk Lắk, organises plans to help people return home for the holiday. Many of the members already ride motorbikes home themselves, so they came up with the idea of assisting others.

Most of the people they support are women, those with less riding experience, or individuals travelling alone. Some travellers who cannot afford transportation costs are even given free rides home. The hometown support group not only ensures a safer journey but also provides companionship, preventing loneliness for those heading home for Tết.

Starting in early December, Lam posts announcements on the group’s Facebook page, inviting those who need travel companions to register. Once registered, the group organises departure dates and assigns volunteer guides. Within two weeks of the announcement, the number of registrations grows rapidly. To manage the numbers, Lam eventually has to close registration and prioritise those who signed up early.

"Our members accompany travellers for eight days, from the 20th to the 28th of the lunar month. Whenever enough people register for a given day, we schedule a departure time and set off," Lam explained.

To ensure safety throughout the journey, Lam enforces strict traffic rules. Riders must obey traffic laws, slow down in residential areas, avoid riding in clusters and take breaks at designated intervals before continuing. The journey lasts about ten hours and is divided into multiple segments, with a rest stop every 100 km. The duration of each break depends on the travellers’ health and the road conditions. Along the way, volunteer riders lead the convoy at the front and act as a 'safety net' at the rear, keeping an eye on all members of the group. Additionally, since this is purely a volunteer effort, any mechanical issues or other incidents on the road are immediately attended to by fellow riders.

The 400 km safe journey home of the motorbike group. Photo thanhnien.vn

The Tết feeling

Lam noted that during the early days of the group's operation, there were fewer motorbike travellers. However, from the 25th to the 28th of the lunar month, the group reaches its peak, escorting the highest number of riders. By then, over 200 motorbikes register daily, with total registrations exceeding 500 people.

"By noon on the 21st day of the lunar month, our convoy had already reached its final destination in Buôn Ma Thuột, successfully completing our second day of support. Every time I receive a message from a fellow traveller saying they've arrived home safely, I feel immense joy. Just like in previous years, people on the road often say that seeing our convoy means Tết is just around the corner," Lam said.

Minh, the young volunteer leader, was once a beneficiary of this support network years ago. The group helped him ride home safely for the Lunar New Year and now he has returned to assist others making the same journey. This time, he will escort travellers home before returning to Bình Dương for work. Then, when his official holiday break starts, he will once again ride home—this time helping even more people along the way.

"When I help others and accompany them safely home, it fills me with happiness. The journey itself feels like celebrating Tết together. Every rest stop, every stretch of road along the highway, there's something that strengthens the bonds between us, uniting hometown friends during the holiday season," Minh said.

Upon arriving home in Ea H'Leo District, Đắk Lắk, at 3.30pm, Dương Thị Thùy Trang, a student at Hồng Đức College of Medicine and Pharmacy, immediately messaged the group to confirm her safe arrival and express her gratitude. A few days earlier, she had planned to take a bus home, but after learning about the motorbike convoy, she decided to register with a friend.

"This is my first time riding a motorbike home for Tết. Although it was tiring, I found the journey incredibly enjoyable. Everyone was friendly, cheerful and supportive, which helped ease my worries along the way. It felt like an adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime road trip back home," Trang said, adding that she plans to join the group again next year.

She emphasised that riding home for Tết gave her a unique perspective, allowing her to fully appreciate the beauty of her homeland in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year. VNS