Vietnam (Part I): The North

May 19, 20323, view from the top of Mua cave, outside of Nihn Bihn, looking down on Tom Coc

 After all the visa drama that left me stranded in the Philippines for a few days, I breezed into Hanoi without any further issues. Customs didn't even ask to see my shiny, new emergency visa.... alas, THAT particular Visa drama was over. (Still undergoing India Visa drama. Stay-tuned.)

Reunited with Johnny, he was quick to show me his favorite haunts he had discovered in his few days of solo time, most notably his Vietnamese bar owner friend and his spot on the Hanoi train street. He treated us to corn liquor between train passings when you had to press yourself into the local shops to avoid the approaching locomotive. Johnny had also already found the best food spots, including a killer egg coffee. I happily ate my way through the Old Quarter in the short time I had before our transition out to Ha Long Bay. Hanoi had some of my favorite street food since Thailand for sure.

Ha Long Bay was one of those spots that has been on my wish list for years, and something I had tagged as a must-see as soon as we started discussing this trip. We splurged a bit and did an overnight cruise to explore the various caves and  Cat Ba island via kayak, not to mention stunning views of the limestone rock features at every turn. It was a nice break to relax in "luxury" with multi-course meals and a jacuzzi pool on the top deck. Sitting on our little balcony looking out a Ha Long Bay was another strike off the bucket list.

Rather than returning to Hanoi as the booked tour dictated, we took a rather long and somewhat confusing bus transfer to Tam Coc, just outside the town of Ninh Binh, in an attempt to save us a little time on the road. Nothing like being told to get off the bus and onto another with nothing but hand gestures to keep you guessing where you might actually end up. As soon as we reached Tam Coc, we regretted not planning more days there, but alas, there is always more to see than time to see it. I did have enough time to try the local goat dish that the area is known for and I was a big fan.

For our whirlwind tour around Nihn Bihn, our first stop included Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam during the Dinh, Le, and Ly dynasties (not one of the more impressive temples we've seen, but we learned some fun facts from our guide, like the history of the Vietnamese flag). Next, we hit the Mua cave and the very steep climb for the view on top. A hard climb on any day, but we happen to be experiencing a wild heat wave (at the end of the dry season as well mind you), which made for a very sweaty trek. You know the heat was bad when even the unshakable Johnny Miller caved to rent a shade umbrella for our third stop, a paddle boat tour on the Tam Coc River. A neat experience that took you through several cave tunnels and some great valley views. I felt for the locals having to row in the heat, but was also fascinated by how they would alternate between traditional rowing and a foot-on-the-oar method in which they used their legs like a bicycle to give their arms a break. We tipped accordingly for her hard work in the heat.

A quick overnight in Hanoi to break up the travel, and we were headed North for the Ha Giang Loop, a motorbike route that was a last-minute decision on Johnny's part. Although we had heard great things about it, the concern was the impending rainy season. If it decided to rain while on the loop, it would be a miserable few days on the motorbikes. In the end, we decided to take the risk, and man did it pay off. Easily one of the coolest travel things I have ever done, it was just an incredible experience. 

You essentially have 3 options for the Ha Giang loop, go it alone, hire a guide to follow, or "easy rider" in which you're a passenger on the back of the motorbike. Although Johnny and I tend to be "go it alone" types as much as possible, we had also heard mixed reviews about international driver's licenses. We both have our international motorcycle license (thanks AAA), but the fine print says that's not enough for Vietnam. The thought was going with a guide, we'd be less likely to run into issues with our license. In the end, it was a great choice because our guide took us off the typical route (after I proved my prowess as a female solo rider, we are a rare species out on the loop) which lead to some of the more incredible views of the trip. One stop was particularly notable, with a bamboo boat ride into a large cave where you could swim into the dark. 

When I say I don't have words to describe... just imagine three days of continuous mountain and valley vistas that are so surreal you have to go a bit out of body to even get the full grasp of it all. If I sound dramatic, it really was that memorable of an experience. Just something really special that I know we'll hold on to for the rest of our lives. Part of the charm included the nightly stops with all the other rider groups, which involved "happy water" (local homemade corn liquor), lots of cheers to the tune of "một hai ba, dô!", and very passionate karaoke. Fueled by the happy water of course. In my classic amateur hour, I tried to make an Instagram video to capture it.

After concluding the loop without injury (we witnessed or heard firsthand accounts of at least six accidents from our fellow riders during our loop), it was a sleeper bus off to the town of Sa Pa, a mountain town that offered a very welcomed break from the heat we had been experiencing during our time thus far in Vietnam. 

Sa Pa continued some of the amazing vistas we had in Ha Giang but with a resort town feel. I made Johnny try the local river trout hot pot (the other local dish was horse meat hot pot, but the line was drawn for cultural experiences there). Some more motorbiking brought us into the farm villages where the rice plateaus were being planted. Northern Vietnam certainly did not disappoint with the views.

We were planning on heading straight into Laos via a land crossing, but sitting sipping warm plum wine in Sa Pa, we found that E-visa or Visa on arrival was not available there. In order to cross on a bus, we would have needed to get our passports stamped in Hanoi, a fact that I am very glad we realized before taking the night bus for hours and hours to be turned away at the border. With that discovery, we decided to take the easy way and just head back to Hanoi to fly in, allowing us to do Visa on arrival. 

Although we were off to Laos and country #8, we knew we'd be back in a couple weeks to hit central and Southern Vietnam, but even with what we've seen so far, Vietnam has already been marked down as one of my favorite places of the trip thus far.