Cốc Pàng

This morning, the first stop was a very short drive up from where we stayed the night to a mountain pass to gaze at the Chinese border. Across the other side of the valley, we could see a squiggly line of a wall, which was the border! Pretty cool to see.
We then drove along Ma Pi Leng pass, and stopped half way along at a stunning view point. Obviously a popular one as there was a wee queue to take photos on a particular rock!

It was a bumpy ol' ride down to the bottom of the valley, to get to the pier for a short boat trip along a section of the Nho Que river. Some areas of the roads were the toughest we've driven over so far! Our drivers went super slow so it was actually pretty fun going through big ditches and over uneven gravel. We were told the river is normally a lovely greeny-blue, but because of the heavy rains over the past couple days the water was a murky brown. It didn't matter though as an hour long ride on something that wasn't a motorbike was welcome, and also very relaxing.
We stopped for lunch in a place called Meo Vac. Lunch and dinner has been pretty much the same every meal. Normally a big bowl of rice is brought out alongside a chicken, beef and tofu dish, some veg and some spring rolls. Not the best food, but definitely fills a hole, and is nice not to think about having to plan where to eat! I also love the style of eating, everyone has a very small bowl with chopsticks, and the dishes are put in the middle of the table, with everyone serving each other or helping themselves.
After filling up on spring rolls, we drove through Sa Li pass, which was unlike any valley we'd been through yet. The bottom half of the mountains were slate grey, and rocky with not much greenery in sight, but was still beautiful. It was a bit of shock to see kids as young as three or four walking along the road unaccompanied or just sat on boulders on the side of the road hanging out. We even saw kids that looked maybe 9/10 carrying their younger baby siblings on their back, whilst carrying bags along the roads. My driver Danny said it was very usual for kids part of ethnic groups and villages to do this as their parents are normally out working on farmland.
In the afternoon, the sun was out in full force, and I had to make sure to put suncream on at each stop, as the breeze on the bike makes you forget how hot it is! We stopped at Lung Ho viewpoint which was an absolutely stunning panoramic view of rice paddies and mountains. The last hour of the day was my favourite though, the sun was just starting to dip behind the mountains which created a gorgeous golden light, I had a great album playing in my earphones, and it was just magical! However once the sun had disappeared, I was eager to get to our accommodation as two straight days sat on a motorbike isn't the most comfortable!
We arrived into our homestay in Du Gia village just after 6 and all immediately jumped into the pool, and made the most of the evening light. Fortunately there was no compulsory karaoke tonight, so after food we just sat around chatting and drinking beer.Leer más