In Western cultures the Truong Son Mountains are known as the Annamites, but throughout this book I refer to them by their Vietnamese name, the Truong Son, meaning “Long Mountain.” The Vietnamese called the Ho Chi Minh Trail the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route, hence to refer to them as Truong Son is more apt in this context. In 1975, the southern city of Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the North Vietnamese victors. Today, in spite of this change, the city is still largely known as Saigon, except by some northerners and for official purposes. I refer to it by its pre-1975 name, Saigon. Although the war that took place in Southeast Asia in the sixties and seventies is generally called the Vietnam War, the broad term that refers to the war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia is the Second Indochina War. This book is a journey through these three countries, hence I refer to the conflict as the Second Indochina War, as opposed to the Vietnam War. Often I just call it “the War.” American intelligence and Vietnamese military cartographers used a different numbering system for the Trail on maps of the time. For example, the main north-south road through Laos was called 911 by the US and 128 by the North Vietnamese. Since I have been working from old North Vietnamese maps, I use their numbering system, as opposed to the US one. There is some disagreement as to whether the Honda Cub is a motorcycle or a moped. It has an automatic clutch and is rather smaller than your average motorcycle, but, on the other hand, has three gears, no running board, and bigger wheels than most mopeds. Most Cub fans will insist their steed is a motorcycle, and within this book I refer to it variously as a motorcycle, moped, bike, Cub, and C90. Ants has pulled off not only a demanding and original adventure but a great read too. 'A Short Ride in the Jungle' informs and entertains in just the right measures, taking the reader on an action packed journey through Southeast Asia's trails and jungles, as well its equally torrid history.' -- Lois Pryce, Motorcycle Adventurer and Author Compassionately but without sentimentality, Ants describes lands victimised in the recent past by militarism at its worst and now assaulted by consumerism at its most ruthless. She also provides many entertaining vignettes of eccentrics met en route, disasters narrowly avoided and happy encounters with kind people in remote regions of wondrous beauty. I enjoyed every minute. -- Dervla Murphy Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent's new book is a gripping travelogue which is at once both intimate and worldly-wise. Honest in her bravery (and brave in her honesty), she recounts a thrilling journey, not just through the splendour of South-East Asian landscapes, but also through the horror of South-East Asian history - all atop the seat of the world's most iconic motorbike. -- Charlie Carroll, Author of No Fixed Abode An epic book about an epic trail. Bolingbroke-Kent captures the sights, sounds and colour of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail in all its surviving glory. And she captures it the only realistic way - on the back on an ageing motorbike. -- Kit Gillet, Freelance Journalist and Videographer A beautifully written tale teeming with descriptive gems and wickedly funny anecdotes, all delivered in an earthy, self-effacing style that has the words spilling off the page. Utterly absorbing and impossible to put down. A traveller's delight and classic-to-be! -- Jason Lewis, Author and first person to circumnavigate the planet by human power alone Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent―better known as Ants―is an English writer whose favourite occupation is embarking on very long journeys in unsuitable vehicles; a habit which started in 2006 when she drove a bright pink tuk tuk from Bangkok, Thailand to Brighton, England with her friend Jo. Through the trip the duo raised $75,000 for charity, set the world record for the longest ever journey by auto-rickshaw, wrote a best-selling travel book, Tuk Tuk to the Road , and won Cosmopolitan magazine's Fun Fearless Female Award. Since then, she has ridden a Honda C90 3,000 miles around the Black Sea, organised the Mongol Derby, the longest horse race in the world, and survived an attempt to reach the Arctic Circle on an old Russian Ural with sidecar. She writes regularly for publications such as Overland Journal (USA), Adventure Journal (USA), Ride (UK), Wanderlust (UK), The Guardian (UK) and Overland (UK). She's also appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including the very popular UK chat show Richard & Judy and BBC Radio 4's Excess Baggage . She has contributed chapters to anthologies including Flightless (Lonely Planet) and A Girl's Guide to Travelling Alone , and through her blog, www.theitinerant.co.uk, was voted one of the “Top 100 travellers to follow on social media in 2014.” (Twitter: @AntsBK, Facebook: www.facebook.com/AntoniaBolingbroke-Kent). She's also a regular public speaker a