🏍 Wanted to Buy My First Motorcycle

In the first article of this series, I explained why I decided to explore sports life in Da Nang not only through lists of gyms and editorial selections, but together with someone who actually moved here.

Now it is time to get to know him better.

Igor Lapshov did not come to Vietnam because of a job, a ready-made contract or even a carefully planned move abroad. At some point, the money that could have become his first motorcycle turned into a financial cushion for a completely different idea.

👉 [Why FROGI is exploring sport in Vietnam together with Igor]

The money was meant for a motorcycle. But I wanted something completely different

I had the opportunity to simply go and buy my first motorcycle in cash. But in the end, that money became my financial cushion for moving to Vietnam.

By that point, I had wanted to change where I lived for quite a while. I wanted to see the world, travel and try living somewhere with more sunshine, where everyday life itself felt different.

Then I met the woman I love and realised that right now, I did not want to buy a motorcycle. I wanted to build a life and finally do what I had been thinking about for a long time.

That is how an idea that had been sitting somewhere in the back of my mind turned into an actual move.

Why Vietnam?

Before moving, I researched the country quite a lot, so I did not arrive with any completely unrealistic expectations.

In the end, Vietnam turned out to be a good balance of several things for me. There is the sea and beaches, nature, city infrastructure, everything you need for ordinary everyday life, and at the same time fairly affordable accommodation.

I also really liked the people. I met many friendly and helpful Vietnamese people here, as well as quite a large community of people who are interested not only in relaxing and having fun, but also in training, developing themselves and working on their own projects.

That combination was probably one of the reasons I stayed.

What happened to sport after the move?

Sport was already part of my life before Vietnam, so before moving I looked into what the fitness scene in Da Nang was like.

I understood that the main new factor would be the heat. Outdoor training, calisthenics and running in this climate would obviously feel different from the places where I had trained before.

My expectations around gyms were mostly positive, and they turned out to be accurate. There really are many fitness clubs in Da Nang, so simply being able to train regularly was never a problem for me.

But after moving, I started noticing details that are difficult to understand fully from photos and reviews. Some gyms do not have the equipment you need, some feel too cramped, and in summer you suddenly start looking at air conditioning very differently.

We will explore this separately in the next article.

👉 [How to choose a gym in Da Nang and what to check before buying a membership]

What turned out to be easier than I expected

I did not have major difficulties with food either.

Yes, some familiar products cost differently here. For example, fermented dairy products and cottage cheese can be more expensive than someone from Russia might be used to.

But other foods are very accessible instead: fish, seafood, chicken, fruit and vegetables. So for me, the question was not how to recreate my old diet exactly, but how to adapt it to the products that are easy to find here.

The same happened with recovery. There are plenty of massage places, spas and wellness spaces around the city, and some places also have saunas and cold plunges.

We will talk about food and recovery separately too, because each of these topics deserves a proper answer rather than just a few paragraphs inside a story about moving abroad.

What genuinely surprised me

Probably the biggest pleasant surprise was the sports community.

There turned out to be many people here who live active lives, train regularly and do not see moving to a warm country as one endless holiday.

I notice the same thing among Vietnamese people themselves. Many exercise, move a lot and generally live quite active lifestyles.

For me, this became another side of Da Nang that is difficult to see in advance if you look at the city only as a tourist.

If I moved again

There is one thing I would definitely do differently from the very beginning: track my expenses more carefully.

When there are lots of relatively affordable services and products around you, it is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “well, it’s not expensive.”

Then all those small expenses start adding up, and the final budget looks very different from what you imagined before moving.

I would also pay more attention to how I convert Vietnamese dong into the currency I earn in. The real value of money depends on the exchange rate and how you exchange it, so a quick approximate conversion can give you a completely wrong feeling about how much you are actually spending.

What Igor does now

Today, Igor works with people who feel tired, have lost their energy and want to return to better physical and mental shape.

Training is only one part of that work for him. Together with his clients, he works on habits, eating behaviour and ways of regulating their state through working with both the body and the mind. He works both online and offline.

And that is exactly why we are interested in continuing to explore Da Nang with him through more than just the question: “Where is a good gym?”

The next topic will be much more practical: how to choose a gym in Da Nang, why air conditioning really matters in summer and why it is better to buy a one-day pass first and a membership only afterwards.

👉 [Read next: how to choose a gym in Da Nang]