VIETNAM

27 DEC – 10 JAN

It didn’t start really well in Vietnam, with rain and cold temperatures for our first stay in Hanoi. Too bad, because despite this, we enjoyed the atmosphere there, and wished we could have explored more.

Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh is famous for being the inland Halong-Bay, with its hundreds of limestone cliffs set in rice fields and rivers.

We based ourselves in Tam Coc for 4 days to visit this magnificent region. We didn’t really check the weather forecast before going there and got surprised by the chilling 8 degrees, so we had to invest in extra layers, mostly for our scooter trips.

We first visited the nearby temple of Bich Dong, and the Thung Nam bird garden (didn’t see any bird there, but it was nice, though).

Our second tour was the Trang An boat tour. Definitely very touristy, with a constant flow of boat roaming the river. It almost felt like being stuck on traffic in a highway… However, the scenery was really worth it, the experience was enjoyable, going peacefully between karst mountains and through caves on our paddle boat.

Trang An is also famous for being the place where Kong Skull Island was shot. A part of the film set was still there, and was of course one of the mandatory stops. Was not incredible, though…

We went to the Hang Mua temple on our way back, famous for its white dragon at the top of 500 steps, and its gorgeous views of Tam Coc rice fields (was not the rice season, so it was all brownish).

Finally, we went to the Cuc Phuong national park further up north. That a very long scooter trip in the cold, for not so much, in the end.

Tree hugging should be a thing.

Ha Giang

The Ha Giang province was definitely our favorite stop in all South East Asia, excluding Philippines. We didn’t think we would still be amazed by mountainous landscapes after Nepal, but we were proved wrong by the majestic scenery in this northern vietnam region.

The Dong Van Karst Geopark is a UNESCO natural site, and we lack words to describe its beauty. We think the photos don’t do it justice… On top of that, while becoming more and more popular among backpackers, the region is still quite under the radar, so still not overcrowded with tourists (actually for from it), and is full of hill tribes, dressed in their colorful traditional clothes. The best way, and the most common way around travellers, is to ride the Ha giang loop on a motorbike.

However, we were warned that since October the police was way more strict towards foreigners driving without license, and that road barrages were frequent outside Ha Giang (which we actually saw). So we opted for renting our scoot in Dong Van instead, and do day trips from there, which was in the end more comfortable, cause we didn’t have to carry our bags.

We didn’t have time to do all the attractions of the regions, especially the Ba Be park or Cao Bang, but just riding around the mountains was more than enough, and the sights of the Ma Pi Leng pass was definitely a highlight of our trip.

-Guillaume