Ha Giang - the North of Vietnam

From Sapa, we experienced a very turbulent ride to Ha Giang in a "limousine".

Upon arriving at the hostel, we treated ourselves to a pizza because eating rice every day can get monotonous. We were a bit nervous about the upcoming three-day motorbike tour through the mountainous landscape of Northern Vietnam. Since we both didn't have much experience with motorbikes and the route is said to be challenging, we booked the tour with a driver (Easy-Rider). The other participants were allowed to test their bikes, and Anna also had the chance to take a ride to practice for our further journey.

The next morning, after a short briefing, we got to know our drivers. Emilies driver, Que, seemed to be one of the leaders among the guides, probably because he could speak a bit of English. Que became our favorite over the three days, and we had some funny moments with him. But Anna's driver Wu also opened up a bit over time, although the language barrier didn't make it easy for Anna to communicate with him. The most important thing was that the drivers safely took us through the mountains!

The ride on the winding roads through the beautiful, almost magical mountain landscape was a lot of fun. The view reminded us a bit of a fairyland, so it didn't matter that the sun didn't come out. The scenery even seemed a bit mystical.

On the second day, after breakfast, we all set off with our motorbikes. Unfortunately, it was raining at the beginning, so everyone was sitting on their bikes in colorful rain ponchos, which was a funny sight. Fortunately, the rain didn't last long, and we could continue our journey without any accidents. The landscape was beautiful today as well and very impressive with the fog.

There was a small incident where one bike of our group got lost. Anna noticed it and went with Wu to search for it, while Emilie informed the others via message. Que and Emilie waited for the lost part of the group, and eventually, we all made it to the intermediate stop at the Chinese border. From a high tower, we had a view of China.

We then moved on to the next stop: the highest point of the Ha Giang Loop. We had to climb the last part without safety measures. It was really very high, and the abyss was very deep. Anna dared to climb most of it, while Emilie preferred to wait below; the view was beautiful even from there. Here we also met some local children who fearlessly played around the edge of the cliff.

The last stop of the day was a boat tour on the Nho Que River. Emilies driver was very proud that the river has the same name as him. Que created a lively atmosphere on the boat with music, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful view, which gave us goosebumps (or quote Emilie: "Maybe I'm just a bit cold.").

   

 

The last day arrived, and we made our way back to the hostel. Since it had rained during the night, the paths were very muddy and slippery. We had to wait at some points because construction sites blocked the way. It was clear that the whole group was exhausted, and everyone's butt was sore from all the motorbike riding. In a stressful moment, Anna unfortunately fell into a puddle and was wet and muddy. The mood was somewhat gloomy for most of us. One participant had an accident and broke his hand, so things could always be worse. A bit later, Anna was able to laugh about it as well.

After we all arrived exhausted at the hostel, we treated ourselves to another pizza. Three days of rice and eggs were enough (although we came to love rice with pumpkin soup and peanuts!).

A few hours after our arrival, we continued directly to the island of Catba on a sleeper bus. We are extremely excited about the beach and sun. We need it now after this very adventurous week!