Rare Adventures

Tag: ha gaing

  • Ha Gaing Loop – Ma Pi Leng Pass and an early morning waterfall

    Ha Gaing Loop – Ma Pi Leng Pass and an early morning waterfall

    Day 2 of the Ha Gaing loop started in Dong Van with good news, the rain and cloud had cleared and we had beautiful blue skies. Even better, no hangover from the Happy Water which our driver, Mr Happy, had provided in great volume the night before. He had promised that we would have no aftereffects, though lack of sleep from the late night was still an issue.

    A Rod Sowden on a viewing platform with a large Vietnamese flag, overlooking a mountainous landscape under a clear blue sky.

    We loaded ourselves into the SUV and headed for the Chinese border for views into their superpower neighbour. Basically, we were only a few miles from the border so it wasn’t long before we were staring across the vast expanse of a valley across to China.

    During Covid, the Chinese were clearly bored or had a spare million workers, so they erected a still fence along the 800 miles of border with Vietnam. It is also not clear what the border is for, it is to keep the Chinese in or the Vietnamese out. Either way we could see the fence stretching in both directions with guard towers long the way.

    Corn plants growing among rocky terrain under a blue sky. every inch of the mountain is used

    After waving at the Chinese guards we settled into the SUV for a long day of driving. One of the most memorable things about this trip was hiding in plain sight. The Vietnamese subsistence farmers have used every inch of these mountains to cultivate crops. The soil appears to be sparse, so wherever there is a nook or cranny in the rocks, they have filled it with soil from the valley and planted corn.

    Mr Happy advised us that all this corn is so that they can drink lots of happy water, but I’m thinking that it might reflect just how hard the mountain life is for these dispersed communities.

    Ma Pi Leng Pass , rocky terrain, and lush greenery under a blue sky. A small structure with a red roof and a flag is visible in the foreground.

    The next big event was the Ma Pi Leng Pass which is part of the Dong Van Geopark, this is an amazing feat of humanity, a road built in the 1950s and dug by hand by thousands of labourers, opened up a pass that rose to 1800m. It is a really stunning site and there is a monument at the top to all they labourers that lost their lives in what appeared to be brutal conditions.

    We trekked up the mountain for a better look out, and there were corn crops everywhere and we were amazed at how hard life is for the locals. The climb also gave us a view of the beautiful reservoir in the valley, once again, man made but provides a stunning contrast to the mountains.

    Ma Pi Leng Pass reservoir - Rod Sowden and Claire Sowden and Mr Happy Te posing for a photo on a mountain overlook with a lush valley and river in the background.

    It is quite difficult to pick out more highlights as the Limestone Karst landscape rolls through the mountains for miles and miles as the roads wind through the valleys and over more passes eventually dropping down into our overnight village.

    A tranquil river flowing through a rocky landscape, bordered by lush greenery and trees, with buildings and a pool visible in the background.

    We stayed at a little village and stayed at a hostel, which inevitably had a karaoke machine that the bikers loved and the Dutch made extensive use of before heading off to a night club in the village.

    The highlight of Day 3 was the early start, before breakfast we headed off early to avoid the crowed, Mr Happy led the way along the valley promising us something special, and it was, we arrived at a stunning waterfall, and I might be 66 years old but there is nothing quite like jumping off a waterfall into freezing cold water to start the day.

     The final part of the trip was the drive back to Ha Gaing and the bus back to Hanoi. The highlight of this having an egg coffee at the top of one of the valleys watching the easy riders coming up valley and hoping that we would see our lad Sam in one of the groups with his tour operator Bong.

    Ha Gaing loop mountain pass with easy rider bikes

    A last coffee with Mr Happy overlooking Ha Gaing and it was time to board the bus.

    The Ha Giant loop was a lot of fun, a lot of driving and we were very grateful for the company and humour of Mr Happy who made the time go quickly.

    Time to head for Ha Long Bay and the adventures that away.

    Rod Sowden and Claire Sowden having a coffee over :looking Ha Gaing town
  • Ha Gaing Loop adventures – Day 1 to Dong Van

    Ha Gaing Loop adventures – Day 1 to Dong Van

    Before we could do the Ha Gaing Loop we had to get out of SaPa, and that proved more challenging than we expected. An hour to go 1.5km in a cab seemed ample but nope, the place was still gridlocked at 8.45am with people leaving the celebrations, so the trip to the bus station ended with us abandoning the cab and running down the middle of the road with bags on our bags in scene straight out of “Race Round the World”.

    A woman reclining in a comfortable setting inside a vehicle, smiling. The interior features modern design elements and soft lighting, with a view through the window showing another vehicle.

    We arrived at the bus station bang on time, only to find multitudes of buses leaving in all directions except Ha Gaing, my head was swivelling in all directions until I accepted the situation was useless, found our travel agent who said our bus was late and not to panic.

    So, at 1030, and after much anxiety, we boarded our sleeper bus to Ha Gaing. This was our first sleeper bus and it was quite an experience; they are beautiful things. I had a flat bed, that sort of propped up, a little cabin with a privacy curtain, lots of switches to fiddle with that changed the lighting atmosphere.

    Eventually the bus pulled out, I laid down, and that was that for the next 6 hours, I couldn’t read as I was on my back and the bus rolled around, so I just listened to podcasts and stared out the window and eventually we were dropped off in Ha Gaing, and I certainly wasn’t ready for bed !

    Interior view of a bus ceiling with blue ambient lighting and decorative curtains.
    Screenshot

    Ha Gaing is a nice, clean and friendly town and we stayed at the De La Mont hotel that was really excellent. I went out for a walk and found myself having a beer in a little street café, at which point the clouds opened and once again I was drenched.

    A public plaza with a large stone surface, featuring children playing and people walking, surrounded by lush green hills under a cloudy sky with two red flags in the background.

    Ha Gaing itself seems to have absolutely nothing to do, in the centre, for food there is only very basic street kitchens and getting something to eat proved very difficult, so not a place to hang around. For such a famous location, tourism seems to have passed the main town by, I guess the bikers must stay out of town in hostels or something.

    Next day, we were picked up for the Ha Gaing loop tour by our guide Mr Happy, and things took a definite turn for the better. We had a nice SUV to travel in and we had a guide who spoke excellent English and was clearly going to be a bundle of fun, so we settled down to 3 days of good company.

    A young man giving a thumbs up stands next to a woman sitting in an SUV with the door open. The SUV is parked on a rainy street adorned with red flags.

    The Ha Gaing Loop can be many different routes, using the road system that runs through the mountains of Northern Vietnam and along the border with China, The actual route you take will depend on your tour guide and mode of transport, and as we set out from Ha Gaing it was raining again and I was feeling very smug that I had chosen the SUV option as we watched the bikers in their waterproofs huddling from the rain.

    A row of motorbikes parked on a wet road, each covered with clear plastic rain protection and featuring bright orange helmets.

    Mr Happy was a great guy and taking us to all the interesting places. The scenery is quite stunning, the Limestone Karst landscape in the Dong Van Geopark is covered in little peaks that jut out of valleys and mountains full of caves.

    A group of individuals in rain gear outdoors, with one person handling a motorcycle helmet. The background shows a rainy landscape with greenery and a roadside.

    Unfortunately, the views on the first day we spoiled by the low cloud and fog, but that is life. We went to see the Booby Mountains, basically two hills side by side that look like a pair of tits and everyone does this photo!

    Two travelers stand on a lookout point with Booby Mountain in the background, surrounded by clouds.

    This area of Vietnam literally was bandit country, ruled by warlords over the centuries and they seemed to take a lot of delight in beating of the Chinese and more latterly the imperial French. They united under one leader in the 20th century and is one of their legendary figures, so we visited his palace, which wasn’t very exciting but had to be done.

    Lava rock landscape with green vegetation and mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

    The landscape was constantly changing and after one long climb through the mist was arrived at the top of a mountain pass, that looked every bit like I would imagine the moon, A rocky landscape with minimal soil anywhere, but there was a cafe, where the locals were blasting out their drum ‘n bass tracks to keep the travelers happy, strange but true.

    We also started to notice that wherever we went on the mountains, the locals had used every crevice to grow plants, in particular, corn. According to Mr Happy this was so the could make plenty of Happy Water, their local brew.

    Eventually we arrived in the down of Dong Van, our tour operator had organised a decent hotel which was nice. After a quick scrub up we went out for dinner with Mr Happy. We ended up in a big dining warehouse with lots of other groups who were travelling by bike, it was at this point things took an unexpected turn of events when we were introduced to the local custom of toasting and drinking Happy Water.

    A group of three people enjoying a meal in a restaurant with bamboo decor, laughing and toasting glasses. Plates of food and bowls are placed on the table.

    Happy Water appeared with the drink made from corn, (in other parts of Vietnam it can be made from rice) and upon tasting it you know immediately that this is not going to end well. Mr Happy was a very enthusiastic distributor of Happy Water and very keen on the toasting game that each group was doing, even though there were only 3 of us, we got roped into the game too.

    At this point, Mr Happy developed an even happier personality, very akin to Mr Chow from the Hangover films. Before we knew it, we were standing on tables and doing lots of toasting. One of the groups had an American sport teacher who was very used to this chanting idea and adopted Wooksie and taught her how to lead entire room in chorus.

    Two women are having a conversation in a casual restaurant with wooden decor. One woman is wearing a pink jacket and holding a can, while the other is wearing a dark jacket. Background tables are set with food.

    When dinner was over, Mr Happy took us on a tour of a surprisingly lively little down that had been taken over my groups of people on bike trips. We ended up in the main square in some sort of community dancing game that made as much sense as the toasting game, but it was a lot of fun.

    A nighttime view of a charming outdoor dining area with illuminated trees and buildings, featuring stone steps in the foreground.

    Mr Happy was on a roll now, we were oblivious to the time and next stop was a karaoke bar, where everyone from dinner had gathered. The Vietnamese bike riders were enthusiastically tucking away the Happy Water and every other Karaoke song was in Vietnamese and they joined in with gusto, then we would have a Western song, where we all joined in with gusto and the night rolled on into the early hours.

    A lively bar scene with a crowd of people socializing, many holding drinks. A person in a white shirt displays the text 'HA GIANG LOOP'. The interior features brick walls and a neon sign welcoming patrons.

    Mr Happy assured us that nobody gets a hangover from Happy Water, which I found hard to believe, so we drank beer as he sourced more Happy Water and headed off to join his local pals. Eventually we headed back to the hotel and agreed a 7am start wasn’t necessary and we would see him at 9.30am, which was definitely a good plan.

    To be honest, Happy Water did leave us with clear heads in the morning, the only problem was we hadn’t gone to bed till the early hours.

    Next morning, the sun was out, the weather warmed up, we connected our phone to the Bluetooth in the car and we headed off on day 2 of the Ha Gaing Loop.

    Here is the full story of our big night out