Our group had morning breakfast and then hopped on our motorbikes and head to Tham Ma Pass to start our second day of the Ha Giang Loop. Here we took in more incredibly beautiful views of mountains split by the curvy road. After soaking in the beauty, we returned to our motorbikes and took a trip to Vuong Royal Palace. Vuong Royal Palace is the ancient home of Vuong Chinh Duc, the only king recognized by the tribes of Ha Giang in the beginning of the 20th century.
We finished exploring Vuong Royal Palace and then made our way towards our next stop. Along the way, it began to rain. This made the drive more difficult because low visibility and more slippage on the roads, as well as just making it a very wet and cold ride. By the time I couldn’t feel my hands, we made it to Lung Cu Flag Tower, the landmark where you can see across the China border. As soon as we arrived, we joined the dozens of other Jasmine riders huddled in the small market where they profited greatly from the sale of rain gear. I climbed the many steps to the tower base and then climbed to the top of the tower, but the views were completely obstructed by the dense fog and rain sweeping across the mountains. Disappointing, but can’t be upset about the weather being outside of control. What also made this stop less favorable was hitting my head twice climbing the tower because my rain jacket’s hood blocked my upper peripherals. Being 6’4” (194cm) tall in Asia, a country where everything is built for a smaller population, definitely comes with its disadvantages.
On the way down from the tower, Adam had the first fall of our group. Riding down the hill, he hit the brakes too hard and his back tire slide out. In order to avoid falling into the road and potentially being hit by a turning car, he just took an easy fall to the outside of the road, slightly close to the cliff. He was alright and avoided injury. Then on our way to lunch, Oliver was riding in front of me and had some back wheel slippage before making a left turn, causing him to go slightly off the road before braking in front of a cliff’s edge. The roads on the second day were much more challenging than the first day, and the impact of the climate conditions was obvious.
We made a stop at lunch where we had cold food but hot chocolate to warm our shivering bodies. After lunch, we road to the Skywalk, where after a short hike, we could climb some rocks up to a rock platform that sticks out over the edge of a cliff. From the map/guide we were given at the start, the pictures and views from the platform were amazing if you were daring enough to make the hike and walk out to it. At this point, the rain was very light, but the rocks were still very slippery. I saw others stepping out onto the ledge, and decided to give it a shot. I climbed my way up to the platform and was ready to take my turn. Thankfully there was a Jasmine worker holding onto us and providing stability when stepping out. A girl asked him if people along the loop had died from falling off this ledge, to which he promptly responded, “Yes. Many. Careful.” As soon as I stepped onto the ledge, I quickly noticed the uneven surface that was worn down by all who stepped onto it before. Holding onto the workers arms, I couldn’t keep my feet from slightly slipping no matter where I positioned them or distributed my weight. “This is very sketchy,” I thought, and then sat down on it and slowly slide myself towards the edge while seated. Like the Lung Cu Flag Tower, there was nothing to see but fog and clouds in every direction, which was less than ideal. Still, it was a nice hike and climb up to the platform and I’m grateful for not adding to the death count.
We made our way towards Lang H’mong Meo Vac village, where we would be staying that night. Along the way, the rain finally called it a day and the fog cleared up significantly. This enabled us to stop and take in a gorgeous view of the Ma Pi Leng Pass and Tu San Canyon, a beautiful canyon split by a turquoise colored river.
Following our arrival in Lang H’mong Meo Vac, we checked into the hostel. This time, our entire group of 17 people would be staying in one single large dorm. We had a group dinner with the same 7 people as the night before (Anne, Janis, Timo, Simon, Adam, Oliver, and myself) plus four guys in our group from Sweden named Anton, Erik, Gustav, and Theo. Similar to last night, we had plenty of happy water going around. At this point, I had the Vietnamese cheers memorized and was able to lead our group in it. “Mot Hai Ba Dzo! Hai Ba Dzo! Hai Ba Uong! Cheers!” This translates to “1, 2, 3 cheers! 2, 3 cheers! 2, 3 drink!” Some things don’t quite translate well to English, but the cheers sounds amazing in Vietnamese. After dinner, the 11 of us were moved outside where we had a few rounds of beers, conversed, and played games including “Most likely to…” and Zoomy Zoomy. After continuous push from myself and other group members, Simon, Adam, and Oliver decided to extend their loop to match the rest of our group and do 4 days instead of 3.