Woche 18 - Ha Long Bay, Ha Giang Loop, Sa Pa

Another busy week! Due to time constraints, we only went to Ha Long Bay as a day trip from Hanoi. In the end, that was exactly the right decision. Because the weather was still very gray and, above all, extremely foggy. We could just see the first row of rocks and behind them everything disappeared into the fog. The boat was also really nice; upon arrival we were seated directly at the tables for lunch. With my luck, I sat at a super nice table with three other backpackers. An Italian woman and a French man traveling together and a Colombian man. Everyone talked a lot and was totally open and funny. So together at every stop we walked through the huge caves, climbed to the high viewpoint (without visibility), kayaked through the bays (with a race, of course) and at the end we went swimming (just me, because it was cold). Lunch was delicious seafood and then there was a sunset party on the upper deck with no sun and the most terrible wine I have ever drunk.

The next day we drove to Ha Giang, where we started the long-awaited Ha Giang Loop. A three or four day motorcycle tour through the north of Vietnam. You can decide whether you want to drive yourself or sit in the back and let yourself be driven. Since I didn't dare do it and also wanted to enjoy it more and take photos, I of course went along at the back. Knowing that it was a party tour, I still chose the tour with the huge group because I wanted to meet a lot of people. This huge group was divided into several small ones and I was actually very lucky because it was the smallest group with only eight people and no self-drivers. This meant we were always the first and only ones at every viewpoint and never had to wait for anyone. Our drivers also clearly had fun. They drove very responsibly but also quickly, often changing the order and overtaking each other. I actually only knew about my luck on the last day, since I only booked three days and the rest of my group four days, I ended up being driven back with about 18 others. This new group drove so slowly and then the others told me that it was fast for them compared to the last few days, ugh... Well, the nature was definitely incredibly beautiful and I really enjoyed going through all the different villages to rush and catch a brief glimpse into their very different lives. Colorful traditional clothing, children carrying branches and other things in baskets on their backs for miles, farmers farming with the help of water buffaloes, very simple houses with million-dollar views over the mighty mountains on the border with China and much more! The food was also super tasty and was always served family style for the whole table to share. Afterwards, round after round of Happy Water (homemade rice wine from the respective village) was distributed. But not in any way, but with the longest saying of all time, and yes, it has to be called out every time. The second evening was also super fun because the drivers invited our group to their table with hotpot, where we then communicated using Google Translate. All about the same age as us, all already two children...

Then we took the night bus to Sa Pa. I got there at 1 a.m., was kindly upgraded to a private room and was able to sleep through until 10 a.m. At breakfast, after a lot of deliberation and discussions with the others on site, I decided to simply start my own hike through the rice fields. It was really beautiful and, strangely enough, there were no tourists anywhere. The 'traditional' village of Cat Cat was unfortunately super touristy and a complete rip off but whatever. On the way back I met the one from my hostel and we went to the night market and ate my penultimate Pho of the trip. He was super nice and I thought it was a shame that we couldn't travel further together :( Well, it happened! Then I took the next night bus to Hanoi, checked into a super crappy hostel there, ate the last of the banh mi and left We rode the Grab Motorbike for an hour on the highway to the airport. 👀👀