I just spent four days riding through the Ha Giong area. It’s what the guidebooks call Vietnam’s final frontier. It has a lot of historical value as Ho Chi Minh spent a bunch of time there; it was a safe haven, and it’s on the border with China. You have to buy a permit to enter the area.

Between my off-road adventure the other day all through the mountains in the frontier area, the views were stunning. The limestone mountains and the roads rising and descending through them made for the best views on this trip.

I met a Canadian, Justin, traveling by motorbike through the north. He had a six-day rental, and we decided to travel together for a few days. Justin was the first westerner I met traveling by motorcycle in Vietnam. While I’ve found many people writing about riding in Vietnam, I’ve only come across a handful of people, and I’ve yet to meet anyone outside of Hanoi who is doing what I’m doing, who bought a bike to see the whole country on.

We stayed two nights in Dong Van, the northernmost city, and trekked for a day. It was nice to get off the bike for a day. The trekking was great. We found an old French fort overlooking Dong Van and then hiked up into the mountains on a random 10k hike. We met some nice guys who invited us in for tea.

The next day, I took the scenic route through the rest of the province and Justin made a B-line for Ba Be Lake. I ended up being off road again for much of the day. Justin got lost and didn’t make it to Ba Be until the following day.

I went to the local Yamaha shop to buy motor oil, and the owner kept giving me tea and shots of rice whiskey. I think I had shots with half the town. I could barely walk.