The Ha Giang Loop - Day 1 (Great Intro)

After a few days in Hanoi, Amy and I headed to the very north of Vietnam to do the Ha Giang Loop. Every traveler I met so far and who had done the Loop was raving about it, saying it was by far the best thing they did in Vietnam. Thus my expectations were sky-high.

In the morning, we got all the logistics sorted and left on the bikes at 9.45am for a 3 days/2 nights adventure. The weather was cloudy, cold (it is Vietnam's winter after all) but dry, which was the most important.

We opted to do the loop as Easy Riders, meaning we sat at the back of our bikes, while a driver (my driver's name was Vanjam) would navigate us around the loop. This way, we could fully take in the breathtaking views and not having to concentrate on what are considered to be Vietnam's most dangerous roads. Our group consisted of 8 people - all easy riders - plus our drivers.

During our roughly 5h drive (105km from Ha Giang to Yen Minh), we stopped multiple times at some fantastic viewpoints and villages, had a great group lunch and generally took in the lush and green landscape.

We were amazed by the scale of some of the rice terraces and how they were scattered all over the mountains. No pictures or videos do the vast valleys and mountains we drove through justice. The weather was also kind with only a brief spell of cold drizzle, but also a brief spell of warm sunshine.

Once we arrived at our homestay in the afternoon, it was time to relax, stretch those butt muscles and get to know our fellow travelers and drivers a bit more. Then, at dinner, the drivers brought out Ha Giang's (in)famous drink: Happy Water. It is a type of rice wine and luckily not too strong in this part of the country (around 14-18% alcohol). However, the happy water kept on flowing the whole evening and with some music, stories and dancing, we were all a it tipsy. And with that, we concluded a brilliant first day on the loop.

At this point, I was thinking to myself: maybe all those other travellers do indeed have a point and it is the best thing to do in Vietnam. Let's see if that opinion would be further underpinned by Day 2.Read more