Northern Vietnam

15 days in Northern Vietnam with bustling Hanoi, relaxing Hạ Long bay, exciting Hà Giang Loop by motorcycle and magical Ninh Bình.

^{Data from OpenStreetMap – Published under ODbL}

This trip is part of my 3 months South East Asia trip.
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Hanoi (Hà Nội) and Hạ Long bay

08 October 2019

We arrived late at night and got into extremely heavy rains when we headed out to eat something before going to our hostel Babylon Garden Inn.

09 October 2019

In the morning, we headed out to explore the city. We saw the red Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge Cầu Thê Húc and the bustling streets around the old city. We visited the area around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the famous Train street. There are incredibly many scooters around the city which gets really exhausting.

In the evening, we went back to the Train street to enjoy some drinks.

10 October 2019

Today, we went out for another stroll through the city. We visited Lầu Bát Giác and the literature temple Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám.

Over lunch break, we went to a European shopping center South of the city. We searched for some proper backpacks for our upcoming motor cycle tour in Northern Vietnam and enjoyed the best Banh Mi in Banh Mi 25.

Back in the city, we went to a great market.

11 October 2019

Early in the morning, we were picked-up by our shuttle that would bring us to our Hạ Long bay tour. On our way there, we stopped at a motorway station where we could buy souvenirs and snacks. At around noon we arrived on a shuttle boat that brought us to the large boat where we would stay for a night.

We had a wonderful lunch on board and had time on the top deck to enjoy the surroundings and especially the beautiful Hạ Long bay.

In the afternoon, we went for a kayak ride. We paddled to a beautiful beach where we could swim, snorkel and enjoy the sun.

We headed back to the big boat and had a beautiful sunset. We had great lunch and some drinks on the top deck. It was incredible! We then went into our beautiful bedroom.

12 October 2019

Early in the morning, we started our ride today. After breakfast, we stopped visited Sung Sot Cave at around 8 a.m. and had a bit of time to walk along the beach outside the cave.

We continued our ride and enjoyed the warm air and view from the top deck.

At around 10 a.m., we had a cooking class while riding back to the Hạ Long harbor.

Back in Hanoi, we walked around the city at night time. It was incredibly busy and soo beautiful!

Hà Giang and Hà Giang Loop

13 October 2019

Today, we got a bus from Hanoi to Hà Giang. We arrived in the Lila Inn and organized our motorbike rental and gear for the next day.

Route of the 4 nights Hà Giang Loop.
^{Data from OpenStreetMap – Published under ODbL}

14 October

Today, we started our 5 day Hà Giang Loop by motorbike! My friend and myself were accompanied by another German guy. We also had three spanish joining us for the first day. We firstly stopped at Mèo Vạc to fuel up. We then stopped at Điểm dừng chân dốc bắc sum to grab something to eat.

We stopped at Dốc Bắc Xum pass and Quan Ba Heaven Gate to enjoy the views.

We had late lunch at Restaurant Juan HOAN HAO in Quản Bạ and then continued our ride.

One of the spanish guys had a terrible accident because he was riding his motorbike too fast. He was carried away by the police. It got later and later for us, and we arrived in our destination, Yên Minh, when it was already dark.

We did not get a bed at Homestay Huyen Anh and then got one at Phắc Nghè Homestay. We had dinner at Nhà hàng Phong Vân Quán and then headed quickly to bed. Our beds were below mosquito nets.

15 October 2019

In the morning, we had breakfast at August Coffee & Restaurant and had a short look around the village.

We then headed North. One of the most stunning stops was at Chín Khoanh ramp (“9-turn-pass”).

We then continued our ride.

In Lũng Táo, we had lunch at Nhà hàng Vương Gia restaurant.

We continued our ride through beautiful landscapes. It was foggy every now and then end started to rain heavily the closer we came to the North.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Cẳng Tẳng, close to the Chinese border. When we arrived at the top of the Lung Cu Flag Point to enjoy the stunning view, the sun came out!

We continued our ride and headed back on the same path where we came.

Our final destination was the Stilt Home hostel in Đồng Văn.

It was really cold in the evening. I got a hair dryer to keep me warm. We later drank something with our hosts 😀

16 October 2019

We started our day early in the morning.

Our first stop was the Skywalk where we put our motorbikes aside and headed for a short walk up to a small village. The local people rode the path with their motor cycles. It was quite foggy.

Ma Pi Leng Pass Viewpoint.

In Cầu Tràng Hương, we got on a boat to ride along the Sông Nho Quế river. It is the deepest canyon in Indochina. We had to get down a million of stairs – which was really bad when we wanted to go back 😀

We arrived in Mèo Vạc, where we slept in Little Yen’s Homestay. In the afternoon, we walked through the village to find something to eat. In the evening, we played cards against humanity.

17 October 2019

Our first stop today was Lũng Phìn market

We continued our ride.

In Mau Due, we had lunch. Of course with yummy Vietnamese coffee afterwards.

We continued our ride with a short stop in Là Si. We also took amazing pictures of the Vietnamese terrace fields.

In the afternoon, arrived in Du Gia where we slept in Na Lien Homestay. We enjoyed the beautiful environment by laying in hammocks and drinking beer.

After relaxing, we went out into the village.

We then had a great dinner in our hostel together with the other guests.

18 October 2019

Our first stop of the day was Thâm Luông Waterfall near Du Gia. in the morning. The path there was really difficult to drive with our motor bikes. When we stopped to park them aside, some children appeared to show us the path back to the waterfall.

For our last section back to Ha Giang, we headed the streat shortly towards North again to then ride towards West where we got on the same street that we drove on our first day. The western passage was incredibly beautiful.

Around noon, we arrived in Lùng Tám. We continued our ride, stopped a few times for photos and had lunch in TT. Tam Sơn at the Caffe Yến Ngọc.

At 5 p.m., we arrived back in Hà Giang! We were incredibly happy and proud and celebrated at the bar of our hostel

Ninh Binh

19 October 2019

In the early morning, we got a mini bus back to Hanoi. There I said goodbye to my friend who had accompanied me since Myanmar 🙁

I went strolling around and shopping in Hanoi and in the evening, I caught a bus to Ninh Binh where I arrived when it was already dark. I stayed at Quoc Khanh Bamboo Homestay

20 October 2019

I woke up to an incredible scenery today! Ninh Binh is pure magic and I enjoyed every second of my very short stay here!! I would have loved to stay longer and would never want to miss this stop.

After breakfast, I got a bike from the hostel and rode to the village of Văn Lâm.

I got on a boat with two young Austrian girls. We were rowed through incredible tunnels and caves of the Tam Cốc area along the Ngô Đồng river, beautiful forests and stopped at great pagodas.

Together with the two Austrian girls, I then headed to Hang Mua. Approximately 500 steps brought us to the top of the peak where we had a stunning view above the Tràng An area. On top of the mountain is also a stone statue of a dragon overlooking the valley. There were incredibly many visitors around.