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This side of things Matkaaja
Northernmost point
8. lokakuuta 2023, Vietnam
Today, Dad and I made our way up to the moth northern part of Vietnam.

We set off from Yen Min and made our way towards Dong Van. Being the most northern town in Vietnam, it was a little run down, but on the Ha Giang loop, it was also quite touristy. We arrived there about midday, today's ride only being a couple of hours.

Once there, we checked in, grabbed some food, and set off again. This time, I rode pillion and navigated as we wound our way up through the mountains once more to Lung Cu, the flagpole overlooking China.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaWhat did you do with your bike?
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This side of things Matkaaja
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Highlands of Vietnam
9. lokakuuta 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
The next day, we made our way from Dong Van to Bao Lac. It's another long ride but a nice one.

The first part was gorgeous. The Ma Pi Leng Pass, famous for its views and impressively built by hand by the locals to aid travel amongst the remote communities among the hills. We made our way down one of the hill sides to the river below. Taking a boat, we went down through the gorge with the hills rising on both sides. It was a bit of a treacherous journey down but worth it for the views.

The rest of the day was around 3 hrs of twists and turns, through the hills east towards Bao Lac.

Bao Lac is not the biggest of towns. It feels a bit like how Long Son will be in about 3 years' time. There were a handful of restaurants and sat on the convergence of two rivers. A nice little area, if a little military focused.

The next day was much the same as before. Twisting through beautiful landscapes down towards Cao Bang.Lue lisää
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Matkaaja Bubble tea?
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MatkaajaIt really is spectacular scenery!
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This side of things Matkaaja
Cao Bang
11.–13. lokak. 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Our accommodation in this beautiful part of the country is a townhouse on the outskirts of the city. The owner is the daughter of a military man and gifted the land by the government after the war. Everything in the area is owned by him and his family, built from nothing.

I was not feeling great yesterday, so I had a rest before our hosts cooked us dinner. Once again, excellent food and speaking to them was a great insight into life in rural Vietnam. Both work for the government and clearly have more than most in the area but nowhere near as much as they should.

They recommended for us to head out early today to make it out to the far eats of the country before the crowds. Our first stop was Tiger Cave. A massive cave system almost on the border with China. We did a tour through the main part and marveled at the sheer size of the caves. At one point there was a little river we could go down on a raft alongside one of the larger rocks. Our route ended at the other end of the cave at a ginormous opening. The contrast of sun shining through into the near black cave created a striking image.

Our next stop was the showstopper of Cao Bang, the waterfall system that acts as a border between Vietnam and China. We first saw it from above, halfway up a hill in an old temple. From about you can see its length but seems a tad underwhelming as its true size was hidden.

Back down the hill and a little further down the road we parked up at the entrance, paid and made our way down to the waterfall from below. From below you can see the true size and scale of the waterfalls. The power from them created a thunderous noise and haze at the base. Dad and I took one of the boats down right to the edge, quite an experience. We were the only vietnamese boat out, every other one was a Chinese one. This place was crowded on there side and sparse on our, clearly not a famous spot in vietnam.

From the waterfall we found somewhere for food then made our way back to town. Just before the city starts we took a right and headed up. After a few wrong turns and a rather bumpy ride, we found what we were looking for. Mountain with hole in it, or angels eye was quite a sight. No clue how it is possible but really quite something we spend a while sitting there looking at it as the sun began to set.

Our final ride back to the house, as the sun set was beautiful. The golden sun shone off the rice fields and trees the entire way turning everything golden and shiny.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaWow!
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This side of things Matkaaja
Back in Hanoi
13.–14. lokak. 2023, Vietnam
After travelling from Cao Bang to Thac Ba Lake, we stayed the night on the lake side. The journey was fine until the final 40 minutes, which was currently under construction road. That part was unnerving and painful, Dad was having a great time, and I was not.

The lake was nice but our accommodation was not as we had thought when booked. There was no view of the lake and overpriced for the dinner and breakfast.

And then, our final day of riding was upon us. One long journey south from the lake towards Hanoi. Thankfully, Hanoi was large enough that there were signs almost the entire way, making the ride nice and easy. The roads were all large and accommodating, making for a long but ok ride.

The final hour as we reached the outskirts of Hanoi was rough. Traffic plus the pure size and chaos of the city was tiring. I ended up feeling very uncomfortable when we were back in the city, probably due to what happened the last time, and was very thankful for our eventual arrival at Style.

Dropping off the bikes was bitter sweet. I was pleased because the trip has been so exhausting but sad because it has also been incredible.

We made our way by grab from Style to our hotel, had a drink during sunset on the roof top bar, headed to a very nice vegetarian place for dinner and then had a massage in the hotel.Lue lisää
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This side of things Matkaaja
Ha Long Bay
14.–16. lokak. 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Our mini bus arrived nice and early at 7,30am, and we headed off towards Ha Long Bay. We had to wake up at 6 for breakfast up in the bar so we could eat before we left.

The bus took quite a while, and we ended up arriving in the harbour at 11 a.m., after going for quite a while. Our boat was at 12, so we had to wait for a little bit. We thought the harbour would have some snacks, but they had very little available, so that was a pain.

The accommodation is insane. A floating collecting of buildings in the middle of nowhere. Practically silent, the place is a perfect end to our trip. 2 days of relaxation in the sun.

On the first evening, a load of us took a swim in the dark. The water was full of bioluminesence, making it seem like we were swimming through the stars. It was so much fun. The food was pretty similar but still nice. We took a journey in one of the kayaks around the island next to us.

We didn't actually do nuch, but it was good. A nice final few days.Lue lisää
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This side of things Matkaaja
Final evening
16. lokakuuta 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Our final evening was spent on the bus on the way back to Hanoi. Dad and I were in the front seats, so we got an insane view of the sun setting over the city.

We hopped off the bus earlier than we were supposed to because we were only a block away from our hotel. Checking in, we made our way up to have a drink on the roof with the tail end of the sun set.

We found somewhere for Banh Mi for finner and I went for another massage to end my day.Lue lisää
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This side of things Matkaaja
A day in Hanoi
17. lokakuuta 2023, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Our final day in Vietnam and our only proper day in Hanoi. We began with a coffee and history tour of the French sector. Dad finally found a coffee that he liked, why it was egg coffee, I have no clue. The tour was a lot of fun and we learnt a lot about the history of the city and the architecture of the French Quarter.

After wandering around the city a little, we got on one of the hop on hop off buses and spent an hour or so driving around the city looking at it all. The audio was patchy at times, but it was fun to see the city from another way.

Once off the bus, we made our final trip down to our hotel. We had about an hour to have a shower and get ourselves together before the flight.

Our driver was nice but ended up being yet another person who asked if dad and I her a couple. Which is just uncomfortable. And unfortunately, it's not been uncommon.Lue lisää
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This side of things Matkaaja
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Flying back
18. lokakuuta 2023, Englanti
Check into our flight was a little sticky for me. I thought I had lost my portable charger during the trip. Turns out, I did not. It was in the bottom of my bag, and I got pulled into security to find it. But I got there eventually and ended up getting through security easy enough.

Before the flight, I was feeling a little hungry, so I bought some food before we hopped on board. The first flight was ok. I watched a movie while we got food, then fell asleep.

Once landed in Doha, we had a 20-minute bus ride to the terminal. Then we had to go through security again, and I got my drink taken from me. Then, we went through another security check-in and got stopped once more. I was a random check, apparently, but it's just so annoying. Had another rest before the second flight and then slept a lot of that flight, too.

Landing into Gatwick was nice and simple. Caught a bit of the pretty sunrise as we made our way from the terminal to the train station. Mum picked us up from the train station, and I headed home for the first time in a year and a bit.Lue lisää
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Matkaaja Welcome home! What a year you've had! I've really loved your blog ! Thank you so much for sharing... And for finishing it off! Xx
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Matkan lopetus
18. lokakuuta 2023