The last time I was in Vietnam, I was visiting the central-east region of Da Nang and Hoi An. While there, I learned about a region in far northern Vietnam that is close to the Chinese border called Hà Giang. I was told that this is a great place for a motorbike trip through this mountainous region. I took note of this as a potential future trip. This past October it turned into a reality. It was a four-day trip with a private motor guide where I stayed in homestays each evening. 

I decided to go this time since Japan has a national holiday in mid-October. I have also been to northern Vietnam in October to see Sapa. I figured the weather would make this a good time to go. As always, the weather patterns and recommendations didn’t quite match up to what actually happened (it was wet and foggy most of the time). The roads were often worn down and rugged, sometimes not even having a guardrail in some of the canyon areas. It rained heavily on several of the days, making the riding even more difficult. 

I specifically chose to do a motorbike tour rather than do it in a Jeep. Reviewers kept stating how a trip like this is meant to be seen on a motorbike. However, I didn’t account for how uncomfortable it was going to be riding on the back of the motorbike for that long each day. It’s especially difficult while sitting on the upper, rear of the seat. There isn’t much cushioning, and the “shocks” (shock absorbers) aren’t very effective. The worst part was not putting on head-to-toe rain gear before the rain soaked through my jacket and into my shoes. It also made the roads very muddy, and it splattered a lot of it onto my shoes and jacket.

On top of that, the transportation from Hanoi to Hà Giang and back was rather “interesting.” On the way there, I ended up getting onto two different shuttles before finally getting on the “limousine” bus. The majority of the homestays I stayed at while in Ha Giang ranged between “about what I expected” and “even worse than I imagined.” Luckily, there were several gems in between.

Anyway, onto the actual sites and views.

Day 1

I apologize ahead of time for not knowing all of the site names for this trip. I asked my guide to forward me the itinerary (the one he showed me using a map), but he never did.

As I mentioned, most of the time in Hà Giang was spent in cloudy, wet conditions. This made it more difficult to photograph, especially with switching between my camera and my phone.

Day 2

While the first day didn’t yield quite as many thrilling views as I had hoped (more existed, but not with the fog in some areas), the second day was both better for photos but also worse for weather. Today’s journey started off rather slowly with the first couple of stops. I just can’t seem to make it through trips without all of these trade-offs. 

While on the way to one of the sites (I don’t remember which), I got hit on my helmet with what must have been a stray stone flying at me. I’m guessing it had to have been from a truck that was ahead of us. I was looking to the right and had just turned my face forward again when I felt it hit. It shocked me for a moment because I didn’t see it; I only felt the impact. Luckily, I had my face shield down when it happened. From that point on, I had my face shield down (rain or not) whenever there was a truck or other traffic ahead of us out of fear that another stone could have launched my way.

The only other issue that I faced later was the homestay for today. It was, well, awful! I have been to Vietnam many times, and I’m well aware of how some homestays can be. This place was beyond what I had expected. It was located right next to (practically on top of) a school. The kids were out playing after school had ended, so it was quite loud. Before we went up the uneven stairs, I looked up to see a huge bee nest with bees flying around. My original room overlooked directly onto the front area where they were playing.  

As we walked in I saw that it had no glass windows, only wooden shutters. All of the noise came right inside. The mosquitoes seemed to be out in full swing, which I wasn’t expecting at this time of year. The humidity from earlier in the season made it smell rather musty. The flooring was a floor-papered “wood” pattern.

I was messaging the person who had set up my itinerary about my unhappiness with this place. I wasn’t rude, but it still made things awkward. He then immediately messaged my guide to tell him before I did. My guide then came to me, asking if everything was OK. As politely as I could (but without much patience left), I let him know that this wasn’t what I had expected. He asked the owner if I could move rooms, and they did.

The room I changed to had a mosquito net over the floor mattress. However, I also had to pull up on the door itself to get it to open. The door rips the floor papering if you don’t. I saw on the floor where other people also had to do this. The toilets were also not attached to the building. Most of them had clearly not been used much with the amount of bugs dwelling there. I, several other guests, and one of the owners all ended up using the same shower room that night.

Have I seen worse conditions? Yes. Was I expecting anything remotely close to a regular hotel setting? Of course not. Being prepared for settings like this is one thing. Being caught off guard is another. This was another example of the lack of communication that can happen for rural trips like this. Regarding the noise, it wasn’t the kids’ fault; this is their home. I just wasn’t a good fit for this place. The idea of paying for lodging but not actually getting to choose where that will be is something I’ll need to be more vary of for future trips.

I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep, which I didn’t. I was hoping that the rain had already dumped enough, but alas, I was clearly wrong. It rained heavily for the second half of the evening into the morning. This meant that my already wet jacket and shoes wouldn’t dry. The only OK part of the evening was my guide and I having hot pot (which I don’t even like). It felt awkward for me, and probably for my guide since I was not happy with this place. I didn’t mention not wanting hot pot. Instead, I thanked for him operating the hot pot equipment as he cooked the food for us. 

The next day I couldn’t wait to leave. No more disappointing accommodations and listening to loud kids playing all evening long. It was time to ride for many more hours along rugged roads, dangerous driving conditions, and see more spectacular views!

Day 3

The third day started with going to find someplace to get breakfast before continuing on the journey. There was a brief moment of light rain, but luckily it seemed to clear up.

The first stop was for a short boat ride. It ended up being even shorter than I expected through a part of a valley. My guide said that it used to go further until something happened. I don’t remember what, maybe a nature-related event, and then they closed off the rest of that area. We were the only ones there, so I was happy about that.

After the very short boat ride (about 30 minutes round trip), we headed off to the next area.

Lunch was a hearty “smorgasbord” of easy-to-enjoy food (as far as the taste). The pieces of chopped pork with the bone weren’t so easy to eat.

There were also some lovely power lines at one of the counters that overlook the road.

The next site was a place where an old military fort was constructed. The setting of this area was quite lovely, especially when streaks of sun shone through the clouds.

There were some local kids there too, asking for money, or some treat (but I didn’t know this at first). When one of them asked my name (in what sounded like rehearsed English), I told him. When he moved on to asking for money I then knew they must be quite used to this routine. I didn’t have any money or treats on me, so I just had to say “sorry.” I did see other tourists give them some treats, so they didn’t go empty-handed.

Before reaching the final homestay of this trip, we passed through another canyon area.

I was told that the final homestay would be much better. When we finally pulled up, I could already tell that it was going to be. The surrounding area was beautiful, and there was noticeably less noise. There were brief periods of what sounded like farm animals being led to slaughter. I later realized it must be some kind of machinery since the sounds were exactly the same each time I heard it. 

The owners had several dogs and a cat, and there were other people pulling in just before we did. Aside from the owners’ youngest child running around screaming loudly in the early evening, the rest of the time was mostly quiet with the sound of crickets chirping. It was more peaceful and a much welcome change to the noise and action from before. Even the shower and toilet situation was nicer. 

For dinner, it seemed as though the guests were assigned to different tables. At least that’s how it looked. A solo traveler was seated with my guide and me. He was also Vietnamese, so the two of them chatted, and all three of us took sips of a local wine. The food was once again delicious, and this time I didn’t end up biting down on any hard, crunchy bits.

The nicest part (other than dinner) was just sitting outside of my room at night. Facing the dimly lit up countryside and listening to the evening sounds was soothing. I did wake up at around 3:00 am or so to have to use the toilet. Before I did, I also heard several other people stomping down the hallway to use it. Oh well, this was still better than the previous situation.

Day 4

At last, the final day of the trip and a return into Hà Giang center. There were still a couple more scenic spots to visit first.

The next viewpoint was nice to look at. This is where my guide met up with other local guides (as he did at every stop) to chat. Once again, he encouraged me to take some time to have a drink and enjoy the view. This alone wasn’t the issue. The issue was that we ended up staying here for almost an hour. I found out later this was due to him getting caught up playing cards and gambling with the other guides.

At one point, we heard the loud squealing of an animal. The sound was moving around, which meant that it was coming from some vehicle. I and others looked over the edge of the viewing deck. We saw that there was a pig that was strapped to a motorbike. It was quite an awkward sight (not to mention sound) that broke the mood. To be honest, my mood was already rather broken as I became more and more impatient waiting for my guide. On the bus ride back into Hà Giang I would see this pig on the back of a motorbike situation again.

The last main stop was to a small local village. Here, you can see the process of how they make their clothing from a linen-like material.

After chatting with them it was time to head out for lunch for one more big bowl of phở.

The next stop was to see a set of hills that my guide referred to as “boobs.” He also talked about how he (or perhaps another guide) would sometimes jokingly ask if any of the female tourists (locals, not foreign tourists) wanted to show their breasts while here. As I have mentioned before, places in Asia, particularly southeast Asia, tend to have a different attitude about sex and the human body than we in the west do.

After visiting the last stop we headed straight back to Hà Giang. The closer we got, the sunnier it became. We were close to getting to my hotel, but my guide decided to take one last rest stop along the river. He told me that he lived on the other side of the hills on the other side of the river. I walked around on the dock while he chatted with another local who was fishing.

After we got back onto the road we saw a water bottle from one of the other tour groups fell off of a motorbike (or slipped out of a tourist’s hands). It landed in the road ahead of his, quickly bouncing around and breaking off pieces of the handle that scattered about violently. We had to make a quick slowdown, and luckily, we didn’t skid or slip over any of the pieces. Even when you are close to your destination, there is always one last chance for an “adventurous” moment in Vietnam. 

Soon after, we arrived at my hotel. I finally took off the rain jacket and pants, took my other items back, and we say our goodbyes. He apologized once again for the lackluster homestay situation and said that he hoped I could forgive him. I told him that, of course, all was forgiven. I also gave him tip money for the whole trip, and we finished with a hug. I’m glad that we had this chance to end on a happy note. When there was no desk attendant to be seen my guide looked around for someone. After he found the attendant next door he said his goodbyes and went off to go see his family. 

The front desk attendant told me that even though my bus back to Hanoi would be before breakfast time his brother could make me breakfast. However, when I went down just after 6:00 am, there was no one to be found. Not only that, both of the glass doors of the lobby were locked. Time was going by, and still no one showed up. I had to just leave my room key on the desk and get on the van when it arrived. The homestay was lucky that I paid when I checked in. If I hadn’t, I could have left without ever paying (although I still don’t think I would have done that). 

The ride back to Hanoi was quite similar to the ride up. We still ended up picking up more random people along the way like before and dropping them off. This time, the van only stopped once for a break at a rest stop. It was a very “local” rest stop, and I didn’t want to bother with ordering and waiting for food. I ended up buying a Toblerone candy bar (for way too much) instead. One of the random stops on the way back was to give someone something from our van. I don’t remember what but it was right outside of my window. This is the second (live) pig on a motorbike moment that I mentioned earlier.

Upon arriving in Hanoi, I and the other passengers had to get out and transfer onto another smaller van before being dropped off at our hotels. Luckily, that evening I was able to meet up with a local (his English name is Tony) who was originally my guide from the first time I visited Hanoi. It had been six years since we had seen each other, so that was a nice way to end the trip. All that was left was one last very early wake-up to make my 8:00 am flight. 

Vietnam keeps offering up more and more areas for me to discover, even after all of these trips. Which area will be next? Who knows, but I’m sure it will happen. Until next time, bye for now.