@travyling Du Gia Waterfall in Vietnam with my Ha Giang Loop Group. Such an incredible experience with an amazing group of individuals. The Ha Giang Loop is a 10/10 must do recommendation for anyone traveling Vietnam. Apologies to those I didn’t have footage for. #travyling #travel #traveling #dugiawaterfall #vietnam #hagiang #waterfall ♬ Jump Around - House Of Pain
Day 4, the last day of the Ha Giang Loop, started with loud tech house music blasting around 7:00AM by the hostel workers to get people up and moving. This was a difficult wake up call given the night before, but I made use of the audial overload to help get me out of bed. We ate noodle soup pho for breakfast, packed our bags, then made way to our motorbikes. Before leaving, the one village kid who took a liking to me, who I lent my phone for gaming and gave my pashmina scarf to, followed our group to where we would get on our bikes and depart. I took a picture of him with my Kodak Smile Insta-print camera and gave him the photo and a hug before we left.
Our first stop was Du Gia waterfall. It took a downhill rocky ride to get there, during which unbeknown to me, my daypack fell victim to the many bumps and aborted from the bike. Thankfully Anne was there to grab it and bring it to me when we arrived at the trailhead parking lot. We hiked the short trek to the waterfall, where there was music being played by a tiny hut coffee shop. I was surprised and frankly disappointed that something existing in nature had to be met with commercialization, yet I’m aware that it’s a byproduct of the tourism that I myself contribute to. At the bottom of the waterfall was a deep pool of water, and at the top there were two different jumping spots into the pool. Another Jasmine group was leaving the waterfall as we arrived, but not before I could watch someone else jump to verify safety of the water’s depth and lack of underwater obstacles. Most of our group ended up making the climb to the top of the waterfall and jumping in from either the lower ledge (6m) or higher ledge (8m). I was excited for my first cliff jump since 2017 in Croatia, and I jumped in from the higher ledge down into the cold mountain spring pool of water. The rush of the jump and the chills from the cool water helped zap away all of the grogginess I had from the night before. It was enjoyable watching our other group members jump too, with everyone cheering on and providing encouragement if there was any fear or hesitation.
Following the waterfall, we rode back up the rocky bumpy hill towards our next destination. This time, my bag held on after I secured it with tighter bands, but while I was following Anne, a single flip flop fell out of her bag. I was able to make a quick stop and scoop the flip flop and return it to her at our next stop, coincidentally and ironically returning the favor from earlier.
We arrived at Lung Tam, a small village where we saw a group of villagers working together to make clothes. Most noteworthy was a 98 year old woman who had been painting patterns on clothes every day, for 10 hours each day, for 74 years. Physically, she was barely more than skin and bones, her back completely curved, and her fingers contorted in a specific holding position for the painting tool’s precise application. Her work was beautiful, but just thinking about the life this woman has, she’s truly living in an entirely different realm, an existence of flow state. Afterwards, we went to their clothing shop, where a few of our group members bought souvenirs. I tried on a couple of shirts, but as usual, the fit was not even close. Shortly thereafter, we returned to our motorbikes and continued forward. Not only was this stop supposed to be culturally educational and engaging, but it also provided the Jasmine scout the opportunity to investigate the police checkpoints on our way back into Ha Giang.
Cruising forward to our lunch spot, we had many sharp turns on hills that required full attention. One of our Swedish friends in the group, Anton, had a minor fall on one of these turns due to the steepness and tightness. Thankfully he was completely fine, but this marked the fourth time a member in our group had suffered a fall/crash. 4/17 group members, or nearly 1/4 (25%) suffered a fall. Later in the day we learned on a similar turn, a girl in group #6, who we had spent the night before hanging with, ran into a truck and wound up in the hospital. I was informed there were no broken bones thankfully, but she required 10 stitches on her side. Again, the Ha Giang Loop is not for the faint hearted and does include undeniable risks. Still, I highly recommend doing it, but if you’re not confident in driving a motorbike, the easy ride option with a skilled and experienced driver is incredibly viable.
We arrived in Quan Ba, the same village and restaurant we had our first lunch on day one. As we pulled in, we saw the Jasmine tours that were finishing lunch and getting started on their first day in the loop. Alongside the road I saw my friend Caroline, who I had met a couple weeks prior in Pai, Thailand, and we honked and waved to each other. After parking the motorbike, I was able to chat with her briefly and introduce her to some of our group members, sharing our group’s amazement with the loop and building excitement for her and her group. It was a pleasant surprise to run into her and I’m glad she’s getting to experience the Ha Giang Loop with an easy ride. Our group finished lunch, then drove the rest of the way back to Ha Giang and Jasmine Hostel.
Back at Jasmine Hostel, it was bittersweet to be done riding after such an incredible but exhausting few days. In the luggage store room, we had to dig out our backpack in a room absolutely overflowing with backpacks, which was no easy task. We were able to shower, sport our new Ha Giang Loop finisher shirts, pack our bags, and eat some food while waiting for the night bus. Not all of us were headed back to Hanoi, so as the evening turned into night, we said our farewells to our group members, to our guide Diep, and to the other workers who had given us such an amazing experience. Eventually my night bus to Hanoi arrived, where Simon, Adam, Oliver, Timo, Janis, and Anne were also headed. Waiting in line, we were asked if anyone was going straight to the Hanoi airport. Out of around 70 people, somehow I was the only person that would be dropped off directly to the airport. I have a flight at 10:00AM to Bali, and as I learned from my arrival in Hanoi a week prior, the airport is a long and expensive taxi ride from downtown Hanoi. I was told to board the bus first, and so I went straight to the back, where I sat on the ride in to accommodate my travy long legs. After I was on the bus, I learned that there were too many people for that bus, and a second bus to Hanoi would be needed for transport. To my disappointment, my friends were put on the other bus and we wouldn’t get to ride to Hanoi together after all. I opened the only operable window out the back of the bus and was able to reach and touch hands with my friends for a dramatized and sad farewell. Three members from group #4 who I chatted with the night before ended up accompanying me on the back of the bus, so I was able to have some familiar company and quality conversation. I began writing about how amazing the Ha Giang Loop was and covered the first couple of days before my exhaustion overpowered my writing will and I attempted to sleep.
I had high expectations for the Ha Giang Loop, based off my friend’s personal experience and recent travel friend’s sharing the reputation via word of mouth. I can happily say that all of my expectations were exceeded. It’s hard for me to imagine a more fun adventure or excursion that I’ve done in my entire life. I considered it matching the excitement, thrill, and adventure of the Japan snowboarding I rode back in January, but what sets it apart is the group of people. The quality time I got with some amazing people I was fortunate to have in my group is what sets this above the solo riding snowboarding. Like I’ve said many times now, who you’re with is more important than where you are and what you’re doing. That’s one of my key takeaways from my solo traveling journey so far, and this Ha Giang Loop experience gives heavy reinforcement. Sadly I had limited time in Vietnam, but I’m very happy with how I spent the limited time doing the Ha Giang Loop. I know I will return and do the loop again in the future.