Ha Chiang Loop - 6 days with the motorbike

In the morning at 6:15 a.m. we were picked up by a luxury minivan. Actually, we had bought a ticket for the sleeper bus, but after half an hour we realized that the minivan was not taking us to the bus terminal, but directly to Ha Giang. The passengers were not informed about this change. Probably the driver would not have been able to inform us about this due to his lack of English skills. During the six-hour drive, we made friends with a German married couple who have been living in China for three years. It was exciting to learn about 'the Chinese' and how life is in China.

In Ha Giang, we checked in at the Creekside Hostel and settled into our room. We decided to book the motorbikes at the hostel. The owner appeared friendly and competent and spoke decent English. The bikes were also in good condition. Mathias chose a Honda Enduro 150ccm. Andrea chose a Honda Wave 110ccm (semi-automatic scooter). For dinner, we went to the town. Ha Giang is not really worth seeing. The only interesting building is the large hospital. We can do without a tour of the interior.

After breakfast, we loaded our luggage onto Mathias' motorbike and set off. We both had to get used to the vehicle. Unlike Mathias, who also rides a motorbike at home, it was Andrea's third ride ever. And the first experience with a semi-automatic machine. After a short period of acclimatization, everything went smoothly. We were also lucky with the police control - the policemen were on their coffee break when we left Ha Giang. In Vietnam, neither the Swiss nor the international driver's license is valid. But this is usually not a problem. After a small fine, you can just go on.

Day 1: Ha Giang – Tam Son – Yen Minh

The first route led over a pass to Tam Son. Unfortunately, the weather at the summit was anything but good. Thick fog severely limited the visibility. Despite the fog, we made a stop at the viewpoint (Heaven Gate) and enjoyed a good coffee. The roads became wet and slippery due to the fog. But the biggest danger were definitely the oncoming trucks. They sometimes drove recklessly around the curves. At the beginning, we learned the two most important Vietnamese traffic rules: The stronger one wins (truck comes before car, car comes before scooter, etc.) and honking several times before each curve. We drove down the winding road leisurely. Fortunately, the visibility improved significantly after just a few minutes. We safely reached Tam Son, where we made another stop. After lunch, we climbed another pass. Here too, the visibility was good at the lower levels and very poor at the top. The descent to Yen Minh was quite precarious. The road was slippery and in relatively poor condition. The rear of the Honda Wave slid several times. Here, the lack of driving experience and the inferior vehicle became immediately apparent. We reached Yen Minh just before the first rain shower. Andrea had some doubts about whether she really wanted to complete the loop with this bike. The tiredness, the dangerous situations, and the bad weather took a toll on her. The stories of accidents we heard that evening did not help either. At dinner, we met a young German who had slipped with his bike the day before. Fortunately, he was unharmed. However, he met a young woman in the hospital who had broken her collarbone in the fall and had to end her vacation early. We went to bed with mixed feelings.

Day 2: Yen Minh – Lung Cu – Dong Van

The next morning, the weather was better and the fatigue from the previous day was gone. We decided to continue the loop as planned with two bikes. The route led from Yen Minh over some passes to Dong Van. Thanks to the dry roads and good weather, we made good progress. The landscape became more beautiful with every kilometer. We also rarely encountered a truck. So the overall ride was much more relaxed. Because the weather was so good and we still had energy left, we decided to make a detour to Lung Cu shortly before Don Van. Lung Cu is known for its huge Vietnamese flag at the border with China. The ride to the flag tower was a bit bumpy as the entire route is not paved. Although the view from the tower was not overwhelming, we still enjoyed the detour. The view from a hill just before Dong Van was really beautiful. We enjoyed the view of the rice terraces while having a Vietnamese coffee. From the viewpoint, it was only a few kilometers to Dong Van. In the evening, we met the German from the day before and made plans for dinner. Dong Van is a rather sleepy town. After 9:00 p.m., practically all the shops closed.

Day 3: Rest day in Dong Van

Since we had planned enough days for the loop, we decided to have a rest day. Late in the morning, we visited the local market, which takes place every Sunday. Market people from all the valleys had arrived. Accordingly, the offer was large and diverse. We took a walk through the village and enjoyed the relaxed day.

Day 4: Dong Van – Ma Pi Leng – Meo Vac – Du Gia

The first part of the route led over the Ma Pi Leng Pass. The view from the summit was stunningly beautiful! The green surroundings combined with the blue lake - fantastic. A relatively wide and well-developed road led to the next town, Meo Vac. From there, a smaller road led to Du Gia. This section of the route was by far the most beautiful. We crossed many small and some large hills. Apart from a few locals, we encountered very few people. The local farmers do a lot of manual labor. None of the slopes can be worked with a machine. And practically every hill is completely cultivated from bottom to top. We mainly discovered corn, rice, and hemp plants. We suspect that hemp is used as animal feed and for rope production. But maybe it is also used in other ways. The farmers use large baskets to transport the goods, which they carry on their backs. It is therefore not surprising that we encountered many older people with hunched backs. It is also incredible the distances that people travel on foot in the steep terrain every day. From young to old, everyone works in the fields. The people are poor but appear well-nourished and mostly happy to us. Fortunately, almost everything grows in the prevailing climate here, which makes self-sufficiency easier.

After about four hours, we reached our destination for the day. The small village of Du Gia (pronounced "Su Saa"). In the midst of lush rice fields, we found a homestay. Our host family prepared a communal dinner, which was eaten together with the other guests. The sleeping places were in the converted barn. We had a 'private room', which was only separated from the communal dormitory by a door. The back of the room was open, offering a wonderful view of the nearby rice field. The luxury consisted of a reasonably thick mattress surrounded by a mosquito net. It rained heavily in the middle of the night - a small taste of the rainy season in this region.

Day 5: Du Gia – Tam Son

Fortunately, the weather was good the next day and the roads dried up quickly. We decided to take the shorter route back to Tam Son. Once again, we regretted not renting two off-road bikes. On this route, entire sections of roads were missing quite often. Andrea was quite shaken on her bike. There were definitely no trucks driving on this route, and we enjoyed the wild nature of northern Vietnam. We encountered many hardworking laborers. Some looked at us in amazement. Tourism has not yet arrived in this part of the country. In Tam Son, we booked another night in a homestay. Our hostess Thu belongs to an ethnic minority. According to the cultural customs, she wore a black robe. Since only a few guests were staying at her house that evening, she had a lot of time to answer our questions. The conversation was a mix of English and sign language, complemented by Google Translator. During dinner, we learned a lot about Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese food and drink culture. Corn schnapps is particularly popular. Thu distills her own corn schnapps according to an old family recipe (100 liters per year). The homemade one was quite strong. We toasted between courses again and again. For this, the toast had to be spoken out loud and together. Our toasts attracted more family members. Thu's husband and her uncle also joined us after dinner. At 11:00 p.m., we climbed the stairs to our rooms light-footed.

Day 6: Tam Son – Ha Giang

After breakfast, we said goodbye to Thu and her family. On the last day, dark rain clouds adorned the sky. We were glad that we only had to cross one pass. As on the outward journey, the upper part of the pass was shrouded in thick fog during the return journey. The foggy part was quickly overcome, and the road was somewhat dry. We safely reached Ha Giang in the early afternoon. We were overjoyed but also exhausted. We didn't sleep well in either homestay, and riding the motorbike required a lot of concentration.

Although not entirely without danger, the Ha Giang Loop is definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. The narrow roads, the wind in our faces, the unique landscape, the incredibly beautiful rice terraces, the locals, and perhaps the associated risk made the ride an unforgettable adventure.

Our journey in Vietnam will end in a few days. We will take the bus back to Hanoi, where we will spend another day. Then we will fly to the north of Thailand. Our next travel destination is Chiang Mai.