Kéo Hiền

Cao Bang Loop Day 1

After getting a nice waffle, fruit, and honey combo for breakfast I renter a scooter from my homestay. I went with a little 110cc automatic but I probably should have went for a semi as it would have been cheaper and I would have plenty of time to practice. Depsite it being on the expensive side, it was definitely worth it as it was the nicest bike I had rented in Vietnam - even the mirrors were good. Plus, I got a brand new full face helmet with a nice clear visor. I would have bet my life nothing would go wrong with this scooter so I was filled with confidence which is always a good sign at the start of a 3 day solo motorcycle loop. The owner, Lin, showed me the whole route on a map and pointed out exactly where I should stay and what I should do each day. With my notes written, bike revving, and bag packed I headed out.

My first stop was of course the petrol station to fill up but after that I was cruising through the beautiful Northern Vietnam. Being on a scooter is so much nicer than being in a car as you actually feel like you're a part of your surroundings rather than in your own little world in a car or bus. I ventured through the Ma Phuc Pass which gave an incredible start to my adventure. All the stops in Cao Bang seemed to be sign posted as part of UNESCO which was really useful, and there was a nice information sign at each place to explain what was going on.

My first stop was at the Incense Village. There were 3 small villages not for from eachother that all specialised in a very specific thing. The Incense Village was quite cool as you could just smell the aroma of incense in the air, but I must have gotten unlucky with the day I came as there wasn't any incense out and about being made, I think this is because it needs sun to dry and there was too much of a risk of rain - especially with the thunder storms last night. I watched some locals all come together to build a new house or building then went off to the next village.

The Paper Village was up next, and I happened upon this nice lady's paper factory. She showed me some paper products she had made, as well as showed me how to paste the paper on the wall so that it could dry. My pasting was horrible on my first try but went better on the 2nd. Afterwards she invited me inside for some tea and some happy water (11am is way too early for spirits). She didn't speak English so we communicated through Google Translate but it was clear it had some limitations as some messages made absolutely no sense. She was kind enough to make me some food which was made from vegetables she had grown herself as well as meat she had raised herself, telling me that she wanted to be as self sufficient as she could be as she was poor. She showed me some pictures of her family and after paying her 5x what she wanted for a beautiful hand made paper fan (which was still not much money to me) as a way of saying thank you, she wished me good luck and good health and I went on.

I had spent a couple hours there so didn't have loads of time to stop in other places as I wanted to get to Ban Gioc before sunset. I stopped off at the final village, the Forging Village, which was pretty cool as just riding through you could see their products. Mostly, it was various knives and cleavers which were "known for their quality and durability and not their looks" but honestly if I didn't have to carry round a cleaver for another month then take it on a plane, I would have loved to get one as I'm sure it would have done wonders in the kitchen.

After that there were a few more stops listed but either I couldn't find it (The Magic Stne) or they weren't much (Little Ban Gioc & The Chestnut Tree). With the Magic Stone I tried to follow signs but the roads got so bad and the directions got so loose I gave up hope. Little Ban Gioc was just a nice river, and I stopped for an orange juice there. And the Chestnut Tree was meant to be this grand important tree from when the French came over and brought chestnut trees with them but either I couldn't find the right tree or the tree that was next to the plaque had been felled in the storm last night... whoops.

I quickly checked in to my homestay before heading out again to the temple that was right next to the Ban Gioc waterfalls. Lin suggested to go here for sunset so I parked at the bottom and trecked up the hill into this temple that had a wonderful vantage over the Ban Gioc waterfalls (which were at low flow at the moment) and the mountains. I trekked slightly off the beaten path to this little hut further up the hill and that's where I sat and watched the sun set over the mountains for one of the best sunsets of my travels so far.

I drove back to the homestay about 15 minutes away as I didn't want to be out in the proper dark and eventually had some dinner with a French couple before showering and heading to bed in my own little private room (for the same price as the shared room?).Read more