As my Cambodia chapter has come to a close and my Vietnam chapter begins, my intention for Vietnam is to simply relax. Taking long, conscious, and deep breaths, relaxing my body, and anything else to create a calm and peaceful presence. It’s not that I feel like I’ve been unrelaxed or need to relax, but I know in Vietnam ahead lies the Ha Giang motorbike loop. This loop isn’t considered a very safe journey, and while riding a motorbike through the beautiful mountains of northern Vietnam, I want to remain cautious yet relaxed and not tense. Relax, trust my driving, trust my judgment, trust my use of caution, and enjoy the ride.
I checked out of the hostel and grabbed some pho for breakfast on the way to another hostel that was the pick up location for the bus to Ha Giang. Here, I ran into one of the very few Americans I’ve met while traveling Southeast Asia, a smart girl named Rebecca from New Jersey. We talked about our travels and the difficulties and unorthodoxy of Americans traveling abroad for an extended period. We packed in a cab and made our way through the Hanoi streets whose chaos rivals that of Bangkok’s. After arriving at the bus station, we packed the night bus with people well over capacity, and many people were forced to sit/lay in the aisles. To board and get on/off the bus required stepping on the side rails to avoid stepping on the people in the aisles. Thankfully I secured a good spot at the very back of the bus, where it was more of an open mattress style space. Pros of the back, more space for my travy long legs and more storage for personal belongings. Cons of the back, no seatbelts, so you get tossed around with every turn and bump in the road. Despite fighting some motion sickness, I passed the 7 hour ride to Ha Giang by catching up on writing, as well as talking with my new friends in the back, Janis and Timo from Germany, and Adam from Denmark.
After the long day full of the roller coaster-like bus ride, we arrived to the hostel around 19:00 and joined a crowd of maybe 60 people cramming into Jasmine Hostel lobby to check in. Word on the street around Southeast Asia had been Jasmine Hostel is the place to book the Ha Giang loop tour with. By reputation, they have good parties, draw in fun people, and help you work around the police checks for those without an international driver’s license (most travelers). When I checked in, I was assigned a 4 person dorm with my Danish Adam, and his friends from home he travels with, Oliver and Simon. We dropped off our bags in the room and returned to the lobby for some overpriced and mediocre pizza and burgers. We ate, then grabbed some beers and hungout in the lobby, chatting and playing on the pool table. We played a couple games of pool until Janis taught us a new game called Crud with multiple players, only 2 balls, and no stick. Rebecca joined us and we played until about 23:00, then returned to our rooms to pack our bags. We would leave the next morning and embark on the Ha Giang Loop for the next 4 days and 3 nights.