2019 Northern Vietnam Ride Part 1
It's year's end again and that means time for another ride. Having 10 days of leave I decided to go Vietnam to ride its far north region that borders China. It is a region of highly mountainous terrain with some truly spectacular scenery, and I've only heard good things about riding there. The excellent guides by Vietnam coracles makes it stupidly easy to plan a ride as well.
Route overview:
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| My anticlockwise northern Vietnam loop. |
Trip itinerary:
Hanoi - Binh Gia - Bao Lac - Ha Giang - Dong Van - Thong Nguyen - Lao Cai - Sapa - Sin Ho - Nghia Lo - Hanoi
Useful information in northern Vietnam:
Summer is hot and coincides with rainy season
Winter is cold, cloudy & drizzly in the Northeast, dry & sunny in the Northwest
Average daytime temperature 15-25C at sea level
Can be as cold as 5C or below in the high mountains (1500-2000m)- warm and waterproof gears are essential!
VND10,000 = USD0.45 = EUR0.40 = SGD0.60
Food costs about VND30,000-50,000 per meal
Accommodation is cheap: Guesthouse costs around VND200,000-300,000 for a basic room with bathroom
Petrol stations are plentiful even in remote places, no range anxiety here
Road condition is generally alright to poor, can vary a lot depending on location- northwest is generally better than northeast
Aim to ride around 250km each day, the pace here is much slower than Thailand and Malaysia's
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Day 1
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| All to myself |
The rental agreement at Flamingo travel stated that it's my responsibility to change engine oil every 800km- can't help but wonder what kind of street motorcycle need such a frequent oil change. The CRF250L Rally (bored out to 300cc actually) certainly doesn't- it's a Honda, it can run without engine oil... Anyway, papers signed and luggage secured, it's time to escape the city and head into the mountains.
Traffic was not as heavy as I thought as I dashed straight to the main road out of Hanoi. Bikes here are generally less than 150cc (mostly Honda cubs and its variants/copies) and are not allowed on highways (the 'CT' roads), but it's a shame that larger bikes are not allowed too under this blanket rule, because on any bike 250cc and above you're probably the fastest thing on these roads, and I had no issue maintaining 120kmh and overtaking all other cars with ease. Probably would have saved me at least an hour or two today if I could use the CT07 highway... Anyway, back on QL3 which I was on, it was hours and hours of featureless plain that brought me past many uninteresting looking towns. Slowly though the towns became villages and after Thai Nguyen (on QL1B towards Bac Son), mountains and limestone hills started to appear.
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| Limestone hills start to appear along QL1B after Thai Nguyen |
At Bac Son there's a great viewpoint however upon reaching the suggested location only I realised that 45 minutes of climbing was needed so I say forget it and went to find accommodation at the next village Binh Gia. Found a cheap as chips place with acceptable cleanliness for only VND120,000 (Nha Nghi Truong Nhan or Truong Nhan guesthouse), the owner even invited me for a huge dinner meal with them. Great, as there wasn't many food options in that village and only several small family-run grocery stores.
Day 2
Had to start early today as I originally planned to reach the town of Khau Anh on the first day, which means an additional of 60km of windy mountain roads on top of 219km planned for today. I set off at 6:30am into the cool morning air on QL279, which is a great twisty mountain road with smooth tarmac and minimal traffic. Wouldn't be able to enjoy as much if I chose to ride it in the dark yesterday that's for sure.
Short fuel stop and a bowl of Pho at Khau Anh later I headed towards Cao Bang via the shortest route suggested by Google Map on the smooth QL279 then turning right (north) on several unnamed back roads. These are miles and miles of twisty roads but there's plenty of mid corner sand & gravel traps to look out for. The road whilst smooth was slippery as well, and I could feel my rear wheel stepping out several times. After joining QL3 the road became a wide & smooth highway that heads towards Cao Bang.
On QL3 just before reaching Cao Bang I turned left towards the border region on DT203 & DT204. After heading directly towards China for awhile I took a left turn at the town of Can Yen before the border post, and rode close to the border for distance. Now this is remote border territory, there's a good 10km stretch of road that was only within 300m to 2 kilometres of China, its majestic limestone peaks looms over every bend and corner.
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| Towering limestone peaks- a feature that is repeated over and over again in northern Vietnam |
After the short stretch along the border I turned inland towards one magnificent pass that looked like this:
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| The arrow in the picture points to the narrow trail to reach the viewpoint to take the photo on the left. Oh and some joker labeled this as an off road race track... |
Apparently there's a new name for this pass, Khau Coc Cha (it was called Deo Me Pia before). Off-road this is not, but there's plenty of loose stones and gravels at every corner to prevent any fun- way more effective than speed bumps for sure.
After this it was a short ride into Bao Lac, a little town nested by the riverside, with a town square blasting propaganda and live karaoke on loudspeaker for the whole town to listen. Unfortunately my otherwise comfortable Quy Anh hotel (VND250,000/night) is located by the riverside overlooking the town square. Seems like most larger towns here have such a platform for the locals to sing their lungs out and the government to propagandise... Thankfully it all ends at around 10pm.
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| Quy Anh hotel by the river. |
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| Getting dusty here. |
Here I met a group of Canadians riding off road with Vietnam Bike Tours, from what was told it seems like they're having great fun riding but are paying totally absurd amount for it. All of them realised this when they were treated with plain ol' Pho for lunch while the tour organisers feasted away on 8 dishes with their money.
Day 3
A short descent later I reached the pleasant small town of Meo Vac just in time for breakfast (Pho again) and Ca Phe Sua Nong, or Vietnamese drip coffee with condensed milk. How rare is Ca Phe Sua Nong in the far north of Vietnam that it was the only time I was served actual drip coffee instead of the usual instant affair. After breakfast I detoured back up the garden of karsts again before resuming my journey north along QL4C towards the most famous Ma Pi Leng pass.
Shortly out of town the road ascended to this stunning vista of a deep, green valley with road twisting and hanging onto the slope on the opposite side, and several tall imposing peaks looming above all. In the middle of this a few ethnic minority houses were built on the steep slopes. Moving ahead the view opens up and the wide chasm of Tu San canyon comes into full view. This is reportedly the deepest canyon in whole of Southeast Asia with depth of about 800m. The iconic Ma Pi Leng gorge can be admired right here on the roadside in all its majesty.
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| The famous gorge of Ma Pi Leng. |
The road continued to climb along the mountainside and the bottom seemed further and further down. Then I made a left turn towards the famous Skywalk- a 2-foot-wide, vertigo-inducing pathway beside a sheer drop that leads to a few minority villages. A short but thrilling ride for me, but for the locals this is their main thoroughfare and they ride this path everyday. I only rode up to the main viewpoint and gingerly climbed up a rocky crag to admire the view. There a group of local kids speaking in a distinctly southern Chinese language (likely Hmong) climbed, or rather sprinted up and down these precipitous rocks like nobody's business. Then a saw 2 girls sitting on a small rock protrusion looking all relaxed and comfortable, yet below them lies a long long fall to a certain death. To top it all, out of nowhere an old woman looking in her 70's descended from the rock formation at a brisk pace that rivals us mortals walking on flat ground while carrying a huge load of wood.
I wonder what kind of life they have lived and admire their strength and hardiness which were developed since young to live in this harsh environment. This part of Vietnam definitely does not rank high in the government's development planning. Anyway moving along QL4C towards Dong Van the landscape became more rocky and barren, the road looked ever more incredible the way it was carved out of the barren rock face. It was a striking moonscape, and what's more unbelievable are the ethnic minorities that continues to cultivate and farm the lands in this remote windswept terrain, as they had done since time immemorial.
At Dong Van I had Banh Mi for lunch and had to make haste as I aimed to reach the town of Ha Giang that night. That meant riding in the dark which was a critical mistake. Sprinting past the major towns of Dong Van, Yen Minh and Tam Son I reached the Quan Ba heaven gate in total darkness. As it is this mountain pass is always covered in thick fog and is always wet and drizzling. Riding in thick fog on a rainy night with at most 2-3m of visibility, on a steep, tortuous mountain road with wet and slippery surface almost brought me literally to Heaven's gate. I overshot (literally due to blindness) and fell at a corner with a short runoff- had it been any other corners I would've plunged to my death. As it happened I only busted my left knee when the bike landed on it but was still able to bear weight and continue my journey after. Probably a hairline fracture or slightly torn ligament/meniscus I'm guessing.
I finally reached Ha Giang around 7:30pm and checked in at the excellent Thu Huyen hotel for only VND300,000/night.
Day 4
I set off late today as was debating on whether to detour and revisit Dong Van karst plateau that I so hastily sped past yesterday. There were so many photo opportunities that I missed and I was not satisfied with not slowly taking in the scenery. On one hand I have my 10 days journey all planned out that involves going to the extreme northwest region where Google map hasn't even mapped properly. But I thought to myself that the beauty of travelling solo and not booking hotels in advance is such that my plans can be as flexible as I wish. Add the ability to stop and go as I please, and being able to explore any side roads on offer are the reasons why I love travelling solo. So I decided to retrace yesterday's route on QL4C, this time in clockwise direction. I had no fixed destination for today- after the mistake of yesterday I was in no mood for any time pressure for my journey so I just played by ear.
Riding back up Quan Ba Heaven Gate it was slippery and foggy again. But it was daylight and the visibility much better- I'd say about 10-15m. I took things slowly and was even able to identify my crash site yesterday- it was a fortunate location to fall indeed. I think part of the reason I wanted to detour was also to prove to myself that I'm not that bad a rider and can conquer this road without falling. Needless to say I was pleased to made it to the main coffee shop along the road in one piece.
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| Tam Son town. |
Not stopping much I continued my detour to Yen Minh (pronounced 'yeen maan') pine forest with its swathes of pine trees that make you feel as though you're not in Vietnam anymore. From the road a signage with a slope up the forest gave me the idea that it'll be a secluded spot with only me and nature. But riding up I bumped into a bunch of people right away haha, it's all hidden from the road. Well at least everyone was quiet and was enjoying the nature, so it was a pleasant rest stop still.
At Yen Minh I unknowingly took the lower road (DT182 - DT176 instead of QL4C) that also leads to Dong Van. Turned out it wasn't a bad choice at all and I still reached the UNESCO designated Dong Van karst plateau- THE highlight of this trip which I hurriedly passed by yesterday. Now in full daylight only was I able to really appreciate the utter magnificence of this landscape. It felt truly out of this world with sharp peaks everywhere on a bare, exposed land with minimal vegetation.
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| Welcome to Dong Van Karst Plateau. |
The ride was so breathtakingly scenic, I stopped so frequently and never stopped shooting and admiring the landscape. There are women in colourful tribal clothing walking on the road carrying heavy load of woods. They had to walk for miles in this chilling cold- the plateau is about 1400m in elevation. Locals here live in small hamlets and brick houses, continuing their way of life separate from the outside world. This whole area is like a spectacular Chinese ink painting, what an incredible place.
At a junction I turned left towards 192B, a smaller road connecting to Dong Van. It's a narrower and more exposed road with fantastic views of the surrounding limestone peaks. The road condition was pretty good for what it is- there are many much worse examples in the following days. That being said there are a number of low traction areas with gravels and potholes that appears at the most unexpected locations, so caution is needed. As with all of Vietnam's smaller roads, you can never be certain. The journey itself was pretty magical though, as I was mostly riding high up in the clouds surrounded by the most striking landscape in whole of southeast Asia.
Upon reaching QL4C towards Dong Van, the road condition immediately deteriorated with sections of roadwork and rough patches. I reached Dong Van around 3:45pm and while searching for hotels realised that this town's economy now largely comes from tourism because the hotels are more expensive for what you get especially compared to Ha Giang. Oh and there's the town square again blasting loud music all night- just like Bao Lac and all larger townships in Vietnam.
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| BBQ for dinner. |
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| Public karaoke session. |
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Continued in part 2.
LY
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