When you share a single dorm room with 17 people, it can be difficult to get quality sleep. There may be a snorer in the group (or several in this case) or people stumbling and falling in the night (Mitch). With this many people in a single room, once a few people are awake, everyone else follows shortly thereafter. This may be bad for sleeping in, but on the bright side, you don’t need to worry about setting an alarm. Our group ate breakfast, packed our bags, then got back on our motorbikes to commence day 3 of the Ha Giang Loop, the most challenging day of riding.
We rode back to Tu San Canyon, one of the top three tallest canyons in all of Asia, and down a large hill to the Nho Que River dividing the valley. Here, we took a bus to a place where we boarded a Diem Ban Ve boat. The boat crew turned on upbeat house music for the boat, which wasn’t exactly the vibe I would go for, but the gesture is appreciated. Our group sat in the front of the boat as we slowly made our way down the Nho Que River, splitting the massive canyon walls. It was on this boat that our group really got to know each other, and I was able to properly meet and talk to our other group members Matt, Elly, Mark, Mitch, Sam (all from Britain) and Inne (from Belgium). Until this boat ride, I didn’t have the opportunity to fully engage with each of them. I’m very grateful that we had such a large and diverse group of all amazingly kind and fun people. I firmly believe who you’re with is more important than where you are or what you’re doing, and this group really helped make the experience unforgettable.
Following the boat ride came the roughest part of the entire loop. We were no longer on paved road. We rode dirt roads with many large rocks and loose gravel. At one point we rode up a crazy hill made up of rocks the size of melons. I didn’t think it would be possible for us to continue on this path, but sure enough, we made it through. Afterwards, on rambunctious rocky roads, I was unaware Simon was riding next to me and he hit a large rock that threw his front wheel into my back wheel, causing both of our bikes to kick to the right with us flying off the sides. Thankfully neither of us were seriously injured. The slower speeds required by the terribly bumpy trail lessened impact, although the trails are what caused the crash in the first place. Still, we both got up with a few scrapes and bruises, and got back on the bikes. It was a frightening experience, having my adrenaline pump immediately while unexpectedly getting thrown off a bike. Still, I try to see it as a blessing because the Ha Giang Loop does have real risks and I didn’t want to get too comfortable or overly confident on the bike. This minor crash helped keep me cautious and careful for the remainder of the loop, and for all future motorbike riding. Others have been not so lucky, and several people have died from motorbike crashes while on the Ha Giang Loop.
We continued onwards to a nice viewpoint of the mountains, where we took group photos. I used my Kodak Smile Insta-print camera and snapped a photo of us all, giving a copy to our entire group including our leader Diep and easy ride drivers. There were three young village girls sitting on the side of the road here, and some other group members gave them some money and snacks. I snapped a photo of the three of them and gave them each a copy of it. Seeing their expressions when they saw the photos was truly uplifting. Their faces lit up with smiles and giggles as their eyes widened. It seemed evident they had never seen a picture of themselves before, and it was incredible to just be able to give a seemingly small but immensely appreciated gift to them. This really goes to show that something so minor to some people could mean something significant to somebody else. Not that I would consider the photos to be trash, but it certainly was these girls’ treasure.
Afterwards we grabbed lunch, then rode to Lung Tam and Lung Ho viewpoints to appreciate more beautiful views. The clear skies and lack of rain allowed for much better visibility than yesterday. Next, we rode to Du Gia village, where we would be staying at what we were told was the nicest hostel of the entire loop. This hostel was built by Jasmine tours specifically for their loop, and it was quickly apparent that it was newly constructed. This place sits atop a hill in Du Gia and surrounded by mountains on all sides. We checked in, and then Simon and I went outside to get some work done on our computers. While sitting, a group of 5 local village kids around ages 7-9 came up to us. One signaled for games on my phone by making the hand gesture of a controller, so I handed him my phone after opening Pocket Tanks, the only game I have installed on my device. With no instructions, the kids figured out the controls and objectives of the game. This kid also took off my scarf and put it on himself, and I later let him keep it. The other kids grabbed Simon’s GoPro and began making a home video.
Our group got together with the only other group staying at the hostel for dinner. It was apparent that of the 10 groups that started the loop together, only 3 had signed up for the 4 days and 3 nights tour. One of these groups was group #4, the group my friend Chloe (met on the flight from Siem Reap to Hanoi) belonged to. I feel bad for the other groups missing out, because not only did they miss out on the best hostel and night of the entire loop, but they also had to crank out 200km that third day to make it back to Jasmine Hostel. During dinner, as expected, much happy water was consumed over many Vietnamese, German, Swedish, and African cheers. After dinner, the party continued, and the group enjoyed one of my DJ SoundCloud mixes until karaoke took over. Everyone was having a great time and enjoying the bonding amongst the last groups of the tour, our group (#5), group #4, and group #6. Social drinking games and pool games were being played, a limbo pole came out, and the kids were running around and playing with us. At one point, me and a few other guys got all of the kids on our shoulders and were on the dance floor with them. While they were very cute and sweet in the evening time, as the night went on, they became more and more mischievous. What started as dancing on our shoulders turned into them hitting each other (semi-playfully). What started as them high five-ing us and giving us handshakes turned into pulling their hand away and stroking their hair (“too slow”) and giving us the middle finger. We then noticed that when nobody was paying attention, these kids were even taking shots of beer and hitting random vapes they could find! I was able to take the vapes away and put some of the unattended beers out of reach, but they kept finding a way to be the rebellious little wild children they are.
Since this hostel is owned by Jasmine and it is the last night of the loop, they allowed us to stay up and party as late as we wanted. It was about 3:00AM when I called it a night. Day three was easily my favorite and the most memorable on the loop.