Ha Giang Loop - solo trip through the north of Vietnam

I am happy.

...Well, and because it's you, I'm going to explain to you the reasons for this at length and in detail. :)

Oh, and beware if you don't look at the photos first! * whip crack*

There are just over 100.

So I was really humane and considerate in the selection. ;)

However, I can't promise whether I'll keep the blog as brief .

But be prepared - I will ask you when I get the chance and test whether you have actually read everything.

*shot into the air*

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I can't even tell you when exactly the idea came about.

I pondered so much about when I actually first heard about the Ha Giang Loop .

When I saw pictures of this incredible area and the decision grew in me to see it with my own eyes.

When I put the north of Vietnam on my bucket list.

I really don't remember, but it was definitely a few years ago.

The fact is:

Once again I was able to cross one thing off the bucket list and I have to see if there are any goals left on it after this trip, I've been able to tick off that much in the last 5 weeks. ✔️

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The adventure began as the best adventures always begin.

-Namely, almost unplanned .

Because probably not all of you know, let's first briefly explain what the Ha Giang Loop actually is:

It's a region in the very north of Vietnam.

And now a popular motorcycle route.

The loop starts in Ha Giang City, partly runs along the Chinese border and finally ends back in Ha Giang City after around 450 kilometers.

At the beginning I didn't know exactly how I would get there or how I would conquer the route.

Then I googled a lot and got smart.

A group tour was out of the question for me right from the start!

But that's actually what most people decide to do.

You pay between 250-450 euros for a 2-3 day trip.

Everything would be included.

The journey from Hanoi to the north.

The Easyrider, where you sit on the back as a pillion passenger for the entire route.

You ride around the area all the time as a group with 10-20 other motorcycles and in the evenings you sleep together in mixed dormitories.

You only take breaks at certain places that the company decides in advance and the places where you eat are basically not freely selectable.

No. Just no.

The thing I used to hate about group work: The group. 😆

I could go on and on about how and why I don't feel like it, but then we'll all still be sitting here tomorrow and nobody wants that. :)

But even if I were a bigger humanitarian:

Why should I pay so much money for this service?

Sleeping in a mixed dorm sometimes only costs 4-6 euros a night.

The 8 hour drive from Hanoi 12 euros.

An Easyrider maybe 15 per day.

And now do the math yourself!

Then why do they charge 250-450 euros?

I repeat:

No. Just no.

However, I briefly considered the option of booking everything independently but taking an Easyrider on site, simply because I wasn't sure about the weather.

Because he logically knows the route and road conditions better than I do.

Because for a moment I thought it might be nice to be driven while I can just enjoy the landscape in the back.

I abandoned the 'plan' as quickly as it was even conceived.

In the end I can't say I completed the Ha Giang Loop and in truth all I did was let myself be driven around.

I suddenly thought it was so silly.

So I booked a VIP bus with my own cabin to Ha Giang City, quickly checked out a 14 euro hostel for the first night and was so excited when it started.

I had stomach tingles and heart palpitations.

Really now.

I just drove off into the blue.

I didn't know what to expect.

However, I could already imagine that it would be great.

But not that it will end up being the most beautiful experience of my life so far.

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We'll skip the night in the hostel.

It was nothing special. (But very clean at least)

In the evening I went out for something to eat and immediately made friends with local bus drivers.

They invited me to sit at the table with them.

However, I politely declined her food.

Not just because they mentioned that they also like to eat the animals that sleep in the same bed with us in Germany...

No, also because the eye eats too.

And all of a sudden my eyes were full when I saw their food lying there.

I was only too happy to share their home-made schnapps with them. :)

As soon as my glass was empty, it was full again.

The translator app was our best friend that evening and it was fun, but also later and later.

It was already past midnight and I still didn't know what the next day would be like.

I said goodbye at some point and was walking towards the hostel when I noticed that the guy from there was following me.

It was a strange situation when his Google Translate suddenly said whether I would come with him 'to rest'.

(Then I'd rather have dog meat, swear.)

The next morning I set the alarm for 6.

I have no idea how, but I wanted to go.

I wanted this adventure.

But first I needed a wheeled vehicle.

There was a motorbike rental right next to the hostel.

I saw it clearly that evening.

Take a quick shower.

Have breakfast even faster.

And off!

I was supposed to pay 250,000 dong a day for mine

2-wheeler pay.

That's converted into tens and rather a lot by Vietnamese standards, but I didn't want to discuss it in the morning.

Short test drive.

Hit briefly.

'Bought.'

The guy quickly showed me a map of the area. Told me which direction to go and off I went.

Exactly in the opposite direction.

...And you don't have to laugh gleefully or anything like that. ;)

That was pure intention!

Why should I take the route that everyone takes?

( Against the system and stuff! )

It's a loop.

It's in the nature of things that you drive in circles in circles. :))

And whether you do it clockwise or counterclockwise doesn't matter. I would still see all the places that were important.

The advantage was that I rarely had these annoying huge groups in front or behind me.

It can get pretty loud, dusty and confusing when 30 mopeds with 60 people on them rattle past you and another group comes right behind them.

I also basically always had certain viewpoints that were on the way to myself, as I usually arrived somewhere at a time lag from others.

From minute 1 I knew I had made the right decision.

Right, driving the loop.

Right, doing it alone.

That's right, to drive counterclockwise.

I was on the scooter for less than 10 minutes and I felt a deep satisfaction like I've never felt before.

Nature had me under its spell from the first second.

Rainforest, mountains, deep expanses.

The weather was cooler here than in Hanoi, but that was to be expected.

I had long pants but a shirt on the first day.

It really could have been worse for me. (wait....!)

'I'm really doing this right now'

That was a thought that kept flashing in my head.

I had no plan where I would sleep that evening.

I had no idea how far I would get.

It was just me, this idea and my bike.

There are also green karst rocks, hundreds of meters deep canyons that run through the valley and that awesome smell of freedom.

You sit on your scooter and wind your way up the many serpentines.

The wind blows in your face.

The sun makes you squint your eyes and grin from ear to ear.

Every corner you take opens up new, stunning views and you just can't get enough of it.

Time went by so incredibly quickly.

The gas tank became empty and my cell phone memory became full.

I estimate I covered around 100 kilometers on the first day.

Of course, this takes a lot longer in the mountains than if you just drive a straight route.

I think all in all I was on the road for almost 6 hours.

Of course, I stopped so often because the view every 10 meters was more spectacular than the one before.

Anyone who knows me knows how addicted I am to photography am .

And now imagine the poor Easyrider being tapped on the shoulder every 3 meters, coupled with a hysterical 'Stop!'.

He probably would have pushed me off a cliff somewhere after an hour.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet:

I did everything right. 😋

My first overnight stay was in a small town called Du Gia .

I looked at booking.com to see what was available in my area and was lucky enough to get a small bungalow with a view of the mountains for around 20 euros.

In order not to let the blog get out of hand again (which of course still happens), I skip all the encounters with other travelers and go straight to the next morning.

It was cold.

I felt that almost as soon as I woke up.

Definitely 10 degrees colder than the day before.

I urgently needed gas before we could get started and that, my friends , is not that easy to get.

There weren't gas stations everywhere.

Rather even rare.

And the only one nearby was closed.

So I had to look elsewhere.

I drove in the direction I had to go anyway.

And actually there was a street, but on the morning in question there was suddenly this market.

And it's not like there was some space left for the vehicles, no.

People used every square millimeter to sell their stuff.

You just couldn't get through.

It took me so long to squeeze through it with my scooter. And it really wasn't anything other than squeezing.

All you heard was honking. And sheep and goats. Mooing and mowing.

And the roar of the people.

By the way, only women work at the market on Sundays.

Men use the day for social drinking.

If the man comes home too early or isn't drunk enough, it means he doesn't have any friends to get drunk with and then he's not particularly well respected socially.

I have no idea if that's really true.

But I heard it and I can imagine ANYTHING in Vietnam anyway. ;)

In any case, I saw so much in this half hour.

Water buffaloes grabbed by their horns and dragged through the crowd.

Pigs that were led on leashes like dogs.

Children who had chickens tucked under both arms.

Goats that got their butts kicked when they didn't run fast enough.

And what they sold.

Wow, that was so interesting!

Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures to present to you now, but just imagine the strangest things!

Then it started to rain.

Shit.

When I finally left the market behind me, I was already soaking wet.

It was cold and disgusting.

I no longer had any view of the landscape because I had to focus entirely on the road.

Some of them are not asphalted, but are now softened and look like small raging streams.

Sharp stones and mud.

A single game of sliding.

Rain Rain rain.

And fingers that were slowly but surely becoming numb.

I would never be able to cover the 100 kilometers I was aiming for that day.

I quickly understood that.

I got to maybe 40.

Then I had to make an unexpected stop in a tiny little town.

You can also get a bungalow here again.

And here, too, I have seen so much that I have reached the limits of repeating it.

But pictures can definitely say it better than my writing talent.

Therefore, convince yourself above.

(And remember the whip!)

;)

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The next morning I wanted to leave early.

Beforehand, I actually quickly bought warmer clothes and was happy about my achievements when the hotel owner wished me a safe trip.

'You want to go North. It's more cold than here. Maybe 8 degrees colder.'

(Yes, that's exactly how he said it.)

I was really looking forward to the trip now.

(Lie!)

And I quickly bought some gloves. (True!)

And what shall I tell you.

I needed that too.

Just 10 minutes further north it got so cold that I have no words for it.

It was icy and the sky opened up.

The rain hurt my face badly.

Plus, I barely saw the hand in front of my eyes.

I knew it was going way down next to me.

But all around me is fog like milk.

I didn't see any more mountains.

No trees.

No other vehicles.

Just a huge white nothing.

It was smooth.

And dangerous.

I asked me why.

Why am I even doing this?!

It didn't make any sense.

That was pure suicide.

I stopped.

Digged out my cell phone.

Typed Ha Giang City into Google Maps with stiff fingers.

I turned the scooter around.

And...

I could not.

I couldn't drive off.

I felt like I was giving up and turned the scooter around again.

And that was the best decision ever.

I continued driving for about an hour.

Hoping that things would get better at some point.

And my prayers were answered.

The rain stayed.

The cold too.

But at some point the clouds disappeared into higher altitudes and I finally had visibility again.

After about 2 hours of hellish travel, I arrived at my new accommodation half frozen.

I let the air conditioning thaw me out in 32 degree weather and couldn't have been happier.

Then I went outside again.

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By the way, I was invited to the family lunch that day by the hotel owners.

Did I say 'e invited' ?

Well, I would say it bordered on coercion . 😜

Man, they really are incredibly hospitable here.

They mean so well, but they somehow leave you with no other choice.

There were around 20 men.

Family and friends.

And me.

Spread over 3 tables.

They were literally trying to decide who I should sit next to.

And there were strange things on the table.

I'm a bit of a complainer anyway. Admittedly.

So I discreetly looked at the food and scanned everything that might be edible for me. What was about to end up in my bowl...

Anyway, so much for the theory.

In practice, my bowl was taken away from me and my hosts decided what I should definitely try. 😌

I didn't bat an eyelid.

At most, to turn my emerging disgust into a smiling grimace.

They filled me with high-proof rice wine.

My glass was basically never empty.

They always wanted to toast.

But But But

I had things in my mouth that I wouldn't normally even touch.

Just not to be rude!

I `m so stupid.

I hope to God there wasn't a dog there.

At some point I stopped asking.

They didn't speak a word of English anyway.

It was just strange that when I looked quizzically at the first of many portions in my bowl, they responded with 'chicken', followed by wild laughter.

Let’s forget about that real quick, shall we?!

I walked around for a few hours to process the food trauma, checked out an ethnic minority village, and mentally prepared myself to drive 170 kilometers back to Ha Giang City the next day

Yes, I know, it was a sporting project, and of course I didn't manage it, but I really tried.

But first I wanted to look at a few view points nearby. So a little further up into the mountains.

Even further north.

Almost to the border with China.

What excited me on the first day simply left me speechless.

The mountains were even higher, the valleys even deeper, the slopes even steeper.

The views became more and more spectacular.

I stopped so many times to take a picture.

But just as I was around the next bend, I stopped again because it was getting worse and worse. And again I dug out my cell phone.

Emerald green rice fields.

Huge mountain ranges.

Water falls.

I was in fairyland.

It looked like Avatar.

Just so intense.

And I'm in the middle of it all.

I was so overwhelmed at times.

Of my own emotions.

Difficult to explain.

Suddenly the clouds hung so low that you couldn't see anything anymore. (Once again)

The landscapes are only hazy.

But also damn mystical.

It's like looking through a frosted glass pane.

Well, everyone can do it normally, right.

This one, for example, is a fairly well-known viewing platform. Basically THE photo spot in the area.

For me it wasn't very breathtaking.

But hey, I was there.

LOOK FOR YOURSELF! 😜

⬇️

By the way, I almost died because it was really slippery on the rocks up there.

It was actually a bit dangerous for a moment and I teetered towards the edge, but guys, I'm still alive, so pack your stern look and just read on! :)

By the way, I wouldn't have found the view point on my own in my life.

Google Maps was highly unreliable in this area and the thick fog wasn't particularly conducive to searching.

So I asked an Easyrider who was standing there (obviously unemployed at the moment).

He wanted 50,000 to take me there.

Nope nope nope!!!

So 50,000 was way too expensive, but that wasn't what made me shake my head.

But in life I wouldn't give up on him.

If I'm going to die, I'll die by my own hand.

Do you understand?

Don't forget the extremely poor visibility.

The abysses everywhere.

I drove onto gravel paths, some of which were only 1.50 meters wide, and below me there was a 1000 meter drop.

I just didn't want to put my life in someone else's hands.

Not if I could help it.

Anyway, the life of a motorcyclist is apparently not worth much here.

The cars, buses, trucks are cutting you all the time. They overtake you at a distance of maybe 1 millimeter.

Racing towards you head on. Without regard to losses.

In general, only 2 traffic rules apply in Vietnam:

The braver one has the right of way.

The smarter one accelerates.

But In the north it was completely different.

They actually know that an accident there might not end so lightly.

There are no hospitals and no adequate medical care.

In addition, the deep gorges everywhere make survival not very likely anyway.

The close proximity to China also worried me, because in that country they have to pay for you for the rest of your life if you suffer any damage after an accident that was your fault.

If the worst comes to the worst, the Chinese will simply drive over you again.

SAFE IS SAFE!

(A funeral is definitely cheaper.)

😆

Back to the view point project:

The driver was irritated.

And it took some convincing, but since I had what he wanted (namely money), he agreed to let me use my own motorbike for this little trip and he simply drove up.

As I said, I didn't see much in the end.

The fog is too thick. The clouds are too low.

It was a shame, but bearable.

I couldn't change it anyway.

I was just happy that the temperatures were almost in the double digits again at 9 degrees and that it wasn't raining.

In the end I gave the driver another 50,000 dong because he really wanted to take me somewhere else.

Well, I'll put it this way:

A caravan of giraffes could have walked past me, I simply wouldn't have seen them.

In the end, the Easyrider was 4 euros richer. And honestly, I hope he invested it in a nail dart or something.

His nails were so long.

I have no idea why they let it get this far.

Maybe to pick your nose better or get something out between your teeth or scratch your ear better.

Or or or.

I didn't ask him.

After the foggy mini-trip it was really time to head towards Ha Giang City .

It was already midday and I thought I was dreaming.

There really was a bit of blue sky and even a few rays of sunshine.

Oh my god, I couldn't have been happier!!

At least for 5 minutes. :)

Because behind the next mountain it was just as cold and hazy as before.

Nevertheless, I was filled with good vibes from head to toe.

And I had so much fun driving.

That only changed when I took the wrong turn at some point.

I drove in the wrong direction for over 1 hour.

I only noticed it because suddenly there were only animals there and if there were people, then only ethnic minorities crossed my path. You can easily recognize them by their colorful clothing.

And anyway, I hadn't seen another vehicle for a long time.

It took forever to 'fix' my mistake. I couldn't make up for lost time.

Suddenly it rained again and it became dark.

So my last stop was in a mini-town, booked myself a mini-room with a rock-hard bed that reeked of smoke and, despite everything, I was probably the most fulfilled person ever.

The next day the weather was even worse, but I only had 3 hours to go before my adventure would be over anyway.

The adventure of my life.

I froze for days.

I didn't wash my hair for days because it was just too cold and there was sometimes no warm water available in the north.

"So what will it be?

Haircut or oil change?"

That would have been the question if I had gone to the hairdresser during this time.

I haven't seen any sun for days.

It was dark and wet all the time.

But they were still (by far) the best days of my life.

Because:

The Ha Giang Loop is simply unique!!

This almost majestic beauty and the breathtaking views gave me such indescribable feelings.

I will never, never, never forget these 5 days!!

And no matter how hard I would try.

Which superlatives I use.

No matter what I say or try to describe now.

No word in the world would do justice to what I experienced.

I just can't put into words what it looked like, what it smelled like, what it all did to me.

The only important thing is:

I am happy.

and now you know why. :)