Ha Giang
Imagine riding a motorcycle high in the mountains with ethereal clouds that almost cover your entire peripheral vision with a pristine panoramic view of the lush green valleys below filled with fields that have been growing rice, hemp, corn and other ancestral crops for centuries. Can you picture it? If you can't don't worry I got a ton of photos and videos to give your imagination a break. 😄
Backstory
So the whole reason I got my motorcycle license back in April was to ride my own bike for the 4-day ride. Another option is to use an easy rider, which you would be riding in the back saddle while an experienced driver takes over everything.
One of the benefits of the easy rider is you can sit back relax and experience all of the scenery. You don't have to worry about navigating the ridges and cliffs which can easily test your mortality with a simple mistake.
However, in a world where everything is quickly becoming automated & automatic with every turn and having little control over the daily tangible interactions we have, the few things that I can be hands on with still I hold on dearly to. That's one of the reasons I still drive a manual car to this day.
But with riding yourself it opens you up to a few liabilities because the police will be there to enforce the traffic laws.
Similar to Thailand the traffic police setup a checkpoint at a strategic traffic artery that's necessary to traverse to get from one area to another. In a way all roads lead to "Rome". The police are checking for a valid international drivers permit with motorcycle endorsement. However, most tourists have either just have the former and not the latter, or neither. The fines vary from 500 baht to 1000 and up in Thailand which is around $27.
In Ha Giang though, the fine was around 2,000,000 Dong roughly $80. So when my tour got stopped I showed my documentation and was given the thumbs up that I was good. Unfortunately, the other folks on the tour with me weren't so fortunate. Already aware of the penalties beforehand they were prepared to pay the fine to enjoy the tour.
The Progression (Full Manual, Automatic Scooter, Semi-Auto Motorcycle)
Day 1
So the journey started early Friday morning in Hanoi where the tourist vans seen all over Southeast Asia, whisked me and a few others away during blue hour with heavy rain. The van dropped everyone off at the bus terminal where the long journey towards Ha Giang started. Making several drop offs along the way and one rest stop for food and relief I made it to the city around 1:30.
After arriving in the Ha Giang area I was transferred by van to the final destination of the Ha Giang Adventures meeting point, which was a cozy guesthouse that had a restaurant & bar with a warm jungle green theme to it.
There I met Su who would be my guide for the next four days. Little did I know Su was extremely adept behind the camera and became to be known as the director of cinematography and producer of our tour, and be integral in getting good quality photos of myself out on the mountains 😄 (More on that later though.)
Example of Su's framing and composition. Peep the foreground grass.
It was three others signed up for the tour alongside myself. Introductions were had and the excitement of partaking in this tour was shared by all parties. An American couple from San Francisco and a solo traveler hailing from Australia. Good people who I enjoyed spending the weekend with.
After getting prepped by Su: signing liability forms, going over the route, packing gear, and putting on safety equipment etc.
We were just about off to the races. I went over how to use the semi auto bike with a couple of laps around the road. The difference between a semi-auto bike than the manual bike I learned on was the technique in shifting. So the manual I got my license it was just one shift pedal in the front by your left foot. Pressing down with your foot shifted you down, and placing your foot underneath the pedal and lifting shifted you up.
The Semi-Auto however, had two shift pedals one in the front and another in the back. Pressing down the front one shifted you up, while pressing down on the back pedal shifted you down, finally there was no clutch as well--Same, Same but Different.
Bus ride, Bus Stop & Su briefing us on our adventure
Ahead On Our Way
The rain had stopped and the clouds subsided by the time I arrived in Ha Giang. So the start of the journey was pretty nice. Getting used to bike didn't take too long. After while downshifting up hills and and upshifting on long stretches came to feel natural.
As Su explained there are around 43 ethnic groups in Ha Giang that are recognized by the Vietnamese government, himself hailing from the H’mong . Su gave us a bit of his background throughout the tour. Slowly unfolding throughout the days like the plot of a well narrated anime with connecting themes that make you go--Ahhh okay.
Master of suspense
We passed through the city to stop by the ATM and fill up on gas then was off to mountains. Before we got to far outside the city we passed the police check point as explained above. After that encounter we went down through the various valleys and up through the mountains. Every place we passed by looked so scenic with so much varying landscapes and terrains.
One minute you are riding down a side street in a village with kids and adults going on with there daily lives, then you cross a small body of water via a bridge and are surrounded by a rice paddy field with no one in sight for the eyes can see. Suddenly you see a figure in the distance, recognized mostly by the Nón lá (rice hat) they have adorning their head. After that water buffalo, dogs, chickens and other animals seem to enter the frame all as if on cue.
As Su told us back at the homestay we would be following the Eastern Loop and our first homestay in the Nam Dam Village, which resides in the Quan Ba district.
Traversing throughout the villages and valleys the clouds slowly crept back across the sky. We reached Heavens Gate right before 6pm. The overlook is located at an altitude of 1500m and has an amazing view of the landscape below and beyond, that we were able to see just in time before the fog came and blotted most of it out.
After explaining about one of the ethnic group that lived in the area--The Tay. We headed to the our homestay for the first night which was required us to descend the 1500m mountain top to the valley below.
The majority of the corners had no guard rails so if you made a mistake you might end up tumbling over the mountainside. At first it was a bit daunting and I would downshift into second to slow my speed with engine braking. However, that was causing the motor to cry a lot, eventually I got comfortable with being in 3rd and just cruising down through the corners and slowly by speed up beforehand so I didn't carry any momentum I did not want.
After about 15-20 minutes we made it to the Mun homestay in Nam Dam village. It was a cozy village bungalow setup. Upon disembarking Su told us dinner was at 7:30. Being back on my feet I took the opportunity to take some photos with the fleeting light left.
The food that was a variety of delightful plant based dishes and savory meats served with 2 scoops of rice. Can't recall everything on the menu but everything was delicious, especially with the special sauce. Su would take some chilis & mix it in fish sauce with one or two more ingredients and make magic.
Su then introduced us to Happy Water which was similar to moonshine being corn based. The drinking ritual before taking a drink was chanting MỘT – HAI – BA– DZÔ then HAI – BA– DZÔ two more times and then bottoms up.
We may have had about 5 before we were all dismissed from the table. Since I had an early morning and little sleep the happy water assisted me in having a happy sleep.
Mountain viewpoints, Heavens Gate & Mun Homestay hospitality.
Day 2
The second day started off with breakfast at 8am Breakfast was a delicious assortment of light pancake with a similar consistency to crepes to be filled with bananas and honey. Of course tea and coffee as well.
Su went over the route we were embarking on: Lung Tam village, Yen Min city, The Opium Kings Palace and The North Point which shows the Vietnam China border.
The weather in the morning was clear not much rain when we set off. Lung Tam village didn't take long to reach. The village road was lined with restaurants, general stores and homes just like any ordinary area.
After parking our bikes we went down the road into a small alcove and saw the ladies getting busy with the hemp production. The production between everyone was so fast and efficient you could tell they have mastered everything that can be done with hemp.
Su explained how they use beeswax and the indigo to make the various dyes. The colors then are reversed on the other side similar to a negative. Awesome to see techniques from ancient days are still around in the present.
After watching some more demonstrations the store caught my eye. Wanting a new wallet I opted to support the ladies and get a hemp one with to store all my dong. Then we were back on the road.
Lung Tam village hemp linen making the traditional way
More Mountains & Valleys
Riding towards the border now the weather started to begin to get unruly and threaten with clouds of rain. We reached one of the overlook rest stops and got some refreshments. It was here I had the most amazing ginger lemon team. Freshly diced thin ginger sticks on a cool morning with the mountains it may have enhanced the taste a bit.
The views were amazing even with the heavy clouds. Driving deeper north through the mountains we stopped upon another rest stop full of children playing and some women with woven backpacks full of flowers. People just going about there day more or less. We stayed here a bit before we headed to the Hmong opium king.
Palace of The Opium King
So apparently in the early 1900s the H'mong King of the area had a lucrative opium business going on and helped out his fellow villagers. The palace itself sits inside the village surrounded by many trees. The path to the palace is small walkway that leads up to stairs to the front door.
The palace itself architecture reminded me of the all the temples you would see in Kung-Fu movies. One in particular– Hero, has a scene with Jet li and Donnie Yen clashing in a courtyard while the rain pours. It almost looked like a one to one replica albeit much smaller.
The palace actually featured luxury opium dens featuring benches. Decades ago many men must have stumbled quietly over into the corners and dozed off with blissful thoughts courtesy of the poppy seed .
Being a palace it included a dungeon to hold the treasure. Look out points for the sentinels to watch for intruders. And multiple quarters for the King and his wives.
We got lunch in the village which included this tasty ginger fried chicken meal. It was one of the most unique and delicious things I tried.
Weathering The Storm
At this point the rain was stopping and starting frequently. Su wanted to give our group a tour of his home which wasn't too far away. When we got there he went over that we could potentially see the North Point if the rain subsided.
We were greated by his dog who was excited to see him. Su then led us indoors outside of the rain to sit down and warm up with the mountains favorites–Happy Water.
Time passed slowly at Su's home. He showed us the various animals he had. Lots of cows and chickens. The homes to the side of his house were family as well. Most of the H'mong live close to each other he told us.
Realizing the rain wasn't going to slow down we made our way back to our bikes, The last stop for the night was the camp side our homestay which required some hiking.
We arrived at home at a small village at the top of the road with several houses nearby. Boots and walking sticks awaited us because it was about a 10 minute trek to the camp site in normal conditions. With the rain it was around 20 minutes with slipper surfaces and mud abound.
The camp site itself was beautiful. We got there while the last of daylight was burning, but the view was still serene. After getting our tents and the dinner time being announced I went to take some photos around the area.
Everyday on this trip the food got progressively better. The highlight for this meal were these fried taro pieces so delicious. Of course more Happy Water to go around the table. I think we made it to 7 that night.
It was still raining throughout the night. Hoping it would subside I set my alarm for blue hour which was around 5am the next day. My hope was to pilot my drone around the vast valley below us.
Alarm went off the next morning, but it wasn't needed since the orchestra of rain and thunder provided enough noise. An hour later the rain stopped and I unzipped the tent to seize the moment of clarity.
The view itself once the clouds dispersed was stunning and flying the drone further than my eyes could see opened a whole new appreciation of the area. One thing that stands out from looking from top to down is all the patterns you encounter. Patterns with the terraces, patterns in the winding roads, patterns with the various crops planted. Everything just looks like art.
Day 3
This might have been my favorite day since the place we visited was so immaculate. Ma Pi Leng with the appropriate nickname Sky Path. It was about a 4km walk from the mountain top rest stop. The views from anywhere at this place were breathtaking. Check them out for yourself.
