The following day was bitter sweet. It was the last day of the Ha Giang Loop for me and at the same time it was gearing up to be the most incredible day on this motorcycle journey. I felt lucky to have perfect weather for these past couple of days. I really didn't think this following day could be better than the day before but I was wrong. All I knew the main event was going to be Ma Pi Leng pass which was in the first section of this route, so I didn't have much expectations for the rest of it. The rest of it, however, was so amazing I must have taken 100 stops throughout the day.
Ma Pi Leng
The first section leading up to the Ma Pi Leng pass was overwhelming by its incredible landscapes. It was just as beautiful as Annapurna Circuit in Nepalese Himalayas. I felt so small surrounded by these crazy landscapes and seeing the road ahead. The whole way to Ma Pi Leng was jaw dropping. It felt unbelievable I was doing this on a motorcycle. At times I was thinking I should go through it again just to enjoy the ride because half the time I was holding a phone in one hand trying to make a video.
Somehow I made it to the Ma Pi Leng pass and it lived up to the hype. I took a bunch of stops and spent quite some time soaking in the views but eventually I had to keep going. It was strange and somewhat sad continuing the ride because the main part was behind me now. I was expecting the remaining ride to be just a filler before my last overnight stop on the loop. Thankfully, the rest of the way was amazing too and I kept enjoying it.
Every now and then I would stumble upon some area and be stunned by how beautiful it is. The first break I took was overlooking a vast area of this very unique landscape. Next I was riding on this beautiful windy road up hill passing many valleys with remote villages. Even when I thought I was pretty much done I was hit by a stunning stretch of road that prolonged my arrival at the finish so much more.
My destination was Du Gia village where I found a homestay and spent my last night on the Ha Giang Loop. I was a bit bummed I would be leaving the area the next day and my motorcycle journey would slowly come to an end.
Leaving Ha Giang
The following morning was rough. There was a strong overcast in the area and it was raining for the first two hours. It was also the first time I was cold in the north. The weather was returning to norm. What I was experiencing prior was not common this time of year. I was glad it didn't hit sooner and I got to experience Ha Giang Loop in its full glory.
It was time to pack up and head out. I had a long day ahead. My next big destinations was Cao Bang waterfall. It's a waterfall on northeast Chinese border. Half of it is in Vietnamese side and the other half in Chinese side.
As I was heading out I had no concrete plan for the day but the Cao Bang town was about 250km away depending on the route. I wasn't sure I would make it in one day because the roads ahead were much less travelled and rougher. The entire north is just mountains so there are no flat lands and straight roads.
The ride was rough. Some stretches of the road were incredibly muddy so the pace was really slow this day. I decided to cut the day short and look for an accommodation in a town I passed through initially. It was already past 2pm at that point and I had done only about 120km so there was no chance I could make it to Cao Bang town on the roads I had in mind. I wanted to go on a route close to Chinese borders which had some cool zig zag sections. I figured it would be much more fun than sticking to the main road so it was better to split this journey into two days.
The town I ended up staying overnight looked really grim. I spotted only two hotels one of whom was quite new but a bit overpriced in my opinion, but I stayed in it anyways. I was off the beaten path so not many backpackers pass through here. Later that evening, some other backpackers arrived here so I wasn't the only one.
Tux
The next day when I went down for some breakfast before heading out there were 3 other backpackers eating and one of them was dressed in a fine tuxedo. Naturally, I was curious so I engaged in conversation with these people. The reasoning for the tuxedo was that the dude wanted to look his best if he ever died crashing his motorcycle. Fair enough. They were also talking about doing a very similar route and taking these small countryside roads so they invited me to join them.
It was fun riding on these roads despite pretty heavy rain. This was even more off the beaten path. There were two ridiculous zig zag sections with about 20 switchbacks. Overall it was beautiful out there. We tried sneaking into China at one point but were told to leave. Once we got back on the main road for the last 50 something kilometers the tuxedo guy got into an accident. This big ass water buffalo went crazy on the road and caused the guy to panic and slip. Fortunately he was alright but shook. Again, just a reminder how ridiculous this idea of riding in Asia on a motorcycle is. You got unpredictable traffic here, farm animals all over the place and crazy roads.
We stayed a couple of nights here in Cao Bang. Unexpectedly the guest house I was staying at was pretty cool a had bunch of other moto riders. The next day we went to the waterfall which was an 80 kilometer journey. While the waterfall was really beautiful it was mainly worth seeing because the ride over there was super nice. It would be a bit of a stretch riding this far to see it otherwise.
Approaching The End
This was more or less it. I decided to visit Cat Ba island in HaLong Bay before heading to Hanoi where I would end this motorcycle journey. I have been to HaLong Bay but I have not stayed on the Cat Ba island, and I read that there is some good rock climbing there. Also I was just looking for a reason to prolong the trip a little bit more. In a day from Cao Bang to HaLong Bay I rode over 300km and I couldn't believe my motorcycle didn't break after that punishment.
The first 150km were the last bit of beautiful riding I experienced on this trip. The weather on Cat Ba wasn't good so I didn't get to do much rock climbing and any other exploring. On the upside, I met some of the people I was riding together the first day in Ha Giang.
After Cat Ba it was time to head to Hanoi. It was the last day riding and unfortunately it was pretty bad. I was out of the beautiful mountain roads and for the first time in a long time back on the highway. That meant a lot of traffic, air pollution and chaos. The area around Hanoi is really congested and the road from HaLong Bay is one of the busier ones in the North.
At one point I got pulled over by a police officer. Since the brakes on my motorcycle weren't sharp anymore I stopped far away from him. I looked in my mirror and he was taking his time. Knowing how corrupt the police in Vietnam is and expecting that they would just try to extort money from me I rode away. I took off my jacket afterwards just in case so that I would look different :D.
The traffic and air pollution was on another level so I was already missing riding in the mountains. I made it to Hanoi in one piece and this was it. I finished my motorcycle trip.
The Sadness
It was really sad and even now having written this multi part blog post I feel a lot of sadness looking back. It was such an incredible experience. I did 6000km on a crappy motorcycle in Asia which seems completely outrageous. It's not something ever thought I would do or be able to do ever in my lifetime. I still can't believe it. Writing this multi part post is the first time I am actually looking back at it since I concluded this trip. I got so wrapped up in other things I needed to start thinking about I never really got a chance to look back at my travels.
The coming weeks I spent in Hanoi. Luckily I was able to meet up with some friends I made riding in the north. It helped to ease this post trip transition. Unfortunately I was faced with the tough task of having to part ways with the one constant on this trip - my motorcycle. I basically waited until the last minute before selling it. I just kept it while I was staying in Hanoi all this time.
This was such a wonderful experience I am already itching doing a round two. Until then, however, I have a couple more months left in Iceland at the point of writing this, and afterwards I am heading to Canada. Will see what's going to happen there and where it will lead to but it's certain I will be doing another moto adventure in the future.