Ha Giang Loop: a Wonder of Vietnam

20 October 2022

“To be honest I have been putting off this journal entry as I really want to find the right words to do it justice, perhaps that in itself says everything that needs to be said. From the get-go I was truly in my element.”

3 days and 3 nights, some of the best of the entire trip. A lot of this one is straight out of the journal.

Night #1

20:00 – Ready to go

21:00 – Sleeper bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang

This felt fancy, leather interior, shoes off. Honestly, I was so fascinated by it. This. Is. Backpacking. Movie downloaded, earphones in, ready for the journey. The whole concept was hilarious as a) we had no idea how long the journey was or where we get off and b) I had no idea what the next step was. Even now, estimating like 6 or 7 hours? It started off great, but as the journey lengthened the roads worsened and I was crippled with anxiety. The bus has rows of beds, I was in the middle row, so yes there was opportunity to find myself sprawled on the floor. I eventually strapped myself in and gripped the handles so hard my knuckles were white, and hands were in agony from the tension. Clenching the handles through every bend, this bus just felt too big for these roads. But I made it. Of course I did, that’s how these things work, you’ll [eventually] get there in one piece. The ticket collector/staff member was questionable, he poked his head through mine and Shannon’s curtain numerous times (we were on separate beds), just looking at us and smiling. I did feel for the people without a bed meaning the aisles were laced with people.

A guy came on with a board stating, “CHLOE MCGREGOR”. This initiated the next step of our journey. We just had to trust this is what was meant to happen, looking back, trusting so easily? If you haven't done it you wouldn't understand. This. Was. Normal.

0430 - Arrive at hostel

07:00 – Alarm rings. Time to get up, it begins Shannon and I used easy riders, best decision ever, we could focus on enjoying the views and built a great rapport with the guides. Of course, we were left with the pink hats with pom poms for ears, from the start the guides found this quite amusing. Let’s just say, if we fell off the bikes, they would do absolutely nothing for us. Lol.

The views throughout really were breathtaking, no picture, video or words can really paint an impressive enough picture as it is seeing it in person, to truly understand it must be experienced by oneself. It’s surreal how quickly we would ascend and descend throughout the loop. One minute we were pins amongst the overpoweringly tall mountains, and the next minute (after a few twists and turns) we were free, above the landscape, admiring its beauty with an open view, a true 'this is what I'm travelling for' moment.

The homestays, the food, all top quality. Even the coffee (if you know me you know I don’t drink coffee, but this was lush). And the rice wine, oh the rice wine, locally known as happy water. If you know, you know. You’ll never forget it or taste anything like it. It burned. Although no matter how many times we tried, the shot glass never seemed to empty. There was only so much liquid I could physically consume, never mind the alcohol but the locals wouldn’t take no for an answer. Ah it was all for a good time. It’s Vietnamese tradition to do a ‘cheers’ chant before every shot:

“một, hai, ba, /zo/!

hai, ba, /zo/

hai, ba, uống”

This was a phrase I had quickly become all too familiar with.

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The first day was hours of driving, my lower body was numb and I wasn’t even driving. We eventually made it to the first homestay where we visited a local waterfall which was freezing followed by watching the guides catch our dinner from the river. The accommodation was basically outside but I was that tired I slept like a baby the whole night, it was quite the view to wake up to. I’m glad I made the last-minute decision of bringing a hoodie.

Driving towards the Chinese/Vietnamese border viewpoint was a horrendous drive, straight cliff edge with no barrier. I was leaning so far away from the cliff that my guide had to push me to the other side as I was making us lose balance on the bike. In the end he played on this and had his fun torturing me while I was shaking in my birks. Upon reaching the top it was time to get the Pipes out, a cool concept to play a tune overlooking Vietnamese/Chinese border, sharing my culture in a place where it's particularly unknown; quite a few people had no idea what instrument I was assembling or what to expect.

The dirt and dust was so intense that on a lunch stop I went to the bathroom and looked like I had a dodgy fake tan job, when I took a tissue to my forehead to draw a line the difference was crazy, it was hilarious. Best tan I had the entire trip.

Riding through the villages we would often be greeted by the local children who would insist on giving their best high five, in other words, as hard as they possibly could, it was almost a competition to see who could slap our hand the hardest. The kids were always thrilled to see us coming, a warm welcome.

There was one night we went to a local place to grab a beer with our guides/easyriders who we built a great relationship over the few days. It was an interesting time as they spoke very little to no English and our Vietnamese was let’s just say about as good as their English… google translate was the entertainment of the evening as it wasn’t great at carrying out it's purpose. But honestly, I sat there thinking how fascinating this was, finding new ways to communicate without words, using signals, body language and even the power of a smile or laugh in situations like this. We didn’t need to fully understand one another to have a good time, it made the evening so much more enjoyable as we totally embraced it.

Leaving the guides and tour group I felt sad. To think that just like that it’s very likely we’ll never see them again. One of the downsides of travel.

“‘The vibrancy through your smiles”’.

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Although pictures don’t quite do the views justice, I feel that the pictures captured can really reflect the parts of the trip that words can’t. This entry (photos included, I have hundreds) barely scrapes the surface on the experiences, emotions and memories gained from this tour, it was the first time I felt completely invigorated and lost in the culture of a country so different to what I'm used to and the beauty of the backpacking journey. I would do it again in a heartbeat.