Honeymoon Trip from Europe to Asia on bicycle
Marriage is a journey of two people promising to spend their whole lives together. But here we have Khanh Nguyen and Thibault Clemenceau, who took this journey to a whole new level.
The couple decided to cycle from Europe to Asia, 16,000km to raise funds for disabled children, supporting the NGO "Poussieres de Vie", which helps young kids from poor families to get education and skills, and have jobs when they are old and capable enough.
The "Nón lá" project
Interesting name, isn't it? They took it straight from the Vietnamese culture, where the farmers can be seen traditionally wearing conical hats, called nón lá! The couple says that "It symbolizes for us the end of our incredible journey: Vietnam. It also carries with it the values of Vietnamese farmers which will be our guides during our trip: courage, endurance and solidarity with others." The project has become a highly inspirational campaign and is being recognized across the world, as the news is spreading rapidly.
Raising funds for “Poussieres de Vie"
The term "Poussieres de Vie" literally translates to “dust of life” in English. The NGO promote stability of change in the lives of disabled children of Vietnam. They say that their project is a great opportunity for them to organize a campaign for which they plan to raise 1 USD for each kilometer they cycle. The 100% of their raised funds will go directly to "Poussieres de Vie"!
From France to Vietnam with love!
The journey took a go from Thibault’s hometown Vendee, Western France on 16th of April, 2019 from where they have been cycling for more than three months to reach the destination: Ho Chi Minh City.
"This trip is not simply a walk; we hope that every kilometer of journey will raise one USD to help the disadvantaged children in Ho Chi Minh City," said 25 years old Khanh Nguyen. To add more to their adventure, the couple took the roads of the mountains by bicycle with utter joy of enjoying the scenic views on the go!
According to Thibault, mountain roads mat be more tiresome, but safer as the fast moving cars are almost nowhere to be found. The highest mountain they conquered by bicycle was 1,419m. The average the couple rides 50 km/ day, but if the day is supportive, it can reach 90-100 km. Crazy, right!
Not just this, the couple went through eight countries and more than 4,000 km on their bikes. The visa is done in the form of a “rolling book”, which is basically going where you please to avoid time pressure, applying the visa as they go. If they face the dangers on terrain, they take the train. They are planning to finish their journey by next March.
Usually, they stay the night at locations known among the international cycling communities. However, sometimes they have to pitch their tent outdoors at the freezing cold temperatures of minus 3-4 degree Celsius.
Where it all began
Thibault, 29 years old, was born in France. Being a super big bicycle fan, he has already done a 4,000km trip along with his younger brother in Europe. He met Nguyen in Saigon (Vietnam) where he was settled for work being a Business Development Manager in a French company.
Nguyen (born in Vietnam) had no experience in cycling before meeting Thibault, but here they are now! After meeting in 2015, the couple got married in 2018, in Vietnam as well as in France! The cross cultural love story doesn’t only make us go “aww”, but inspire us to bring a change as well. The couple calls this whole journey their ‘Honeymoon Trip’, where they will try best to travel wearing, or at least carrying the “nón lá” hat for as much as they can to symbolize their campaign.
The couple has become pretty popular since then, by gaining many followers and supporters across the globe. You would definitely want to see someone working for a change, by doing it their own way.
Well we highly appreciate their honeymoon bringing a change not only in their love, but several others’ as well!
The Mileage Math of a Cross-Continental Ride
Khanh and Thibault's commitment to one dollar per kilometre is the kind of pledge that turns a personal journey into a public mission. The arithmetic over sixteen thousand kilometres is the kind that funds real programs at a charity rather than symbolic donations. The visibility that comes with a multi-month ride amplifies the dollars considerably, with sponsors and followers contributing both through direct giving and by spreading the story.
The pace itself, an average around fifty kilometres a day with occasional ninety-to-one-hundred-kilometre stretches, is sustainable but unforgiving. Touring cyclists who have done long rides will recognize the discipline involved. The body adapts only if you let it rest properly. The bike's drivetrain wears at a rate that demands regular maintenance. The route requires constant reading of weather, terrain, and human geography.
What the Nón Lá Carries
The choice of the Vietnamese conical hat as the symbol of the project carries layers of meaning. The hat is the everyday gear of farmers across rural Vietnam, a practical sun shade that has been refined over generations. By stitching the campaign to a piece of working agricultural culture, the couple connects their ride to the lives they intend to help, and they put a quiet flag of identity on every photograph. The hat reads as humble, durable, and explicitly Vietnamese, which keeps the narrative anchored to the destination even when they're pedaling through the European Alps.
The values Thibault and Khanh associate with the nón lá, courage, endurance, and solidarity, are the right values for a charity ride. Each is tested daily on the road, and each is what the children they are riding for will eventually need to build their own lives.
The Charity Behind the Ride
Poussieres de Vie, which translates to "dust of life," is a long-running NGO with deep roots in Ho Chi Minh City. The organization works with disabled children from low-income families, offering education, vocational training, and the kind of follow-through that turns short-term aid into adult employment. The ride's structure, with one hundred percent of the funds going directly to the charity, removes the friction of administrative overhead and turns each kilometre into a measurable contribution.
The fact that both founders have personal ties to the work, with Khanh being Vietnamese and Thibault having lived and worked in Saigon, gives the project a credibility that purely external campaigns sometimes struggle to earn.
Life on the Road
The romance of a long bike tour fades quickly once the rain starts. Khanh and Thibault have slept in international cyclist guesthouses, in their tent in temperatures well below freezing, and in barns and church courtyards offered by strangers along the route. The slow rhythm of finding food, fixing flats, and reading the day's weather is the actual texture of the trip. The photographs at sunset are the reward for the unglamorous work that fills the rest of the day.
The decision to take a train when the terrain becomes dangerous, particularly on mountain stretches with heavy truck traffic, is the kind of pragmatic judgment that keeps long-distance cyclists alive. It is the right call.
Where the Story Goes Next
The ride is structured to arrive in Vietnam by the following spring, with a finish line in Ho Chi Minh City that ties the journey back to the charity it has been funding all along. Followers can track progress through the project's social channels and donate directly through the linked campaign pages. Each new follower amplifies the reach of the story, which in turn raises the visibility of the children's programs.
What to Take Away
If their story has nudged anything loose in you, the easiest first response is to find a small local cause and a small local ride. You do not need to cross eight countries to make a useful contribution. The combination of physical effort and public commitment turns out to be one of the more effective ways to generate giving, and you can replicate the structure at any scale that matches your life. Run a marathon for a charity. Cycle across your home state. Walk a coast-to-coast trail for a cause you care about. The framework Khanh and Thibault have demonstrated scales surprisingly well.
What stays after the wheels stop turning is the simple proposition at the heart of their honeymoon. Two people decided that the best way to begin a life together was to give the energy of that beginning to children who could use it. The next time someone asks you what a meaningful trip might look like, theirs is one possible answer.
