Ha Giang Loop - Day 01 | Vietnam

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Backpacking Vietnam: Day 06 (28 July 2019)

Mesmerising views and friends

Ha giang Loop - Day 01 (Ha Giang to Yên Minh - 100km)

Before 11AM, all riders from Bong hostel were out on the street. Ann was teaching some of the travellers how to ride a scooter. Many practiced as this was something new to many westerners.  One of the hostel staffs led the way and around 20 of us followed him. He wanted to take a shortcut till the point we could exit city limits. He said that this was to avoid cops from catching us. So, with a paper map and no other idea of what this was going to be like, I headed straight into the unknown. 

On my way, I met Tom and Marie. There was some issue with their scooter and I stopped to check or help them. The young couple was from Quebec. So, we spoke a bit in French too. Marie asked me if all three of us could ride together so that we had someone around in case of emergency. That sounded perfect for me too. That is how, we did the entire loop together. Many other travellers joined us here and there but the three of us stayed together - all the time. 

The first stretch of the Ha Giang loop almost immediately introduces you to the mesmerising landscape that you are going to spend the next four days in. We passed the Heaven’s gate and continued to Quán Ba where we had lunch at a local place. I had a plate of vegetarian fried rice. 

We skipped Lung Khuy cave and headed straight to Yen Minh. The ride itself was so thrilling that we did not feel the need to stop much and take deviations. 

At Yen Minh, we stayed at Ha Anh Homestay. This is the most beautiful place I have stayed in on this loop. The house is so well built and maintained. The garden and the farm are amazing. The owner’s mother stayed in an ancient house right in front of the main house. At an old age that she was in, she managed to do all the house hold work, including cutting and stacking up of firewood. 

After leaving my bags in the allotted room, I took a walk around the farm. In the evening, most of the travellers living there gathered on the terrace. It was a perfect place to watch the sunset and have a good conversation. The kind of conversation that you hardly remember after a while. There were people from several nationalities. On my table there were two girls and a boy from England and the three of us (two Canadians and an Indian). 

The homestay had good food too. I had their family dinner. There were a few vegetarian options too. Many westerners prefer vegetarian food while traveling so, I had enough company. All together, it was an amazing day and I had made good friends on the trip already. The nervousness that had existed a day before had vanished and an excitement had replaced it. 

CONTINUED HERE: Ha Giang Loop - Day 02