More Adventures on Two Wheels in Northwestern Vietnam

The second day on my new bike brought me to Than Uyen. It’s a good thing I ended up going back to Hanoi. If I’d continued from Son La directly to Than Uyen, as I had planned, I would have ended up at a road that stops at a river and no bridge! I might have been able to hire someone with a boat to transport me, but luckily I did not have to deal with that.

Not much to say about Than Uyen, it’s a town on the way to someplace else. My next stop was Sapa. Holy overtouristed batman! This is the number one tourist destination in the north. I stayed there for a night and got out of there. There is an “ethnic” village just outside of town, which should be avoided. Sapa should be avoided as well unless you need a “people speak English” fix.

That leads us to a destination I was excited about, Can Cau. It’s an ethnic village that is hard to get to and has a market on Saturday. The drive from Sapa was not good, the road was soaked, and it was treacherous riding. At one point, I had a corner slideout, and the bike and I went down. There were no injuries to either of us, but my ankle was sore. I was delayed by the weather and did not arrive until 11 am. The place was filled with tourists and minibusses, which is hard to believe considering how bad the road was. It was a letdown, but that’s the way of things sometimes. I returned to Bac Hac and got a room for the night.

Bac Ha is called “little Sapa” because they are trying to build up their tourist industry there. What I found there were helpful locals outside of the tourist area and predatory tourist bilkers in the tourist area. Not my favorite town. There is a Sunday market in Bac Ha, but it is known to be over touristed, so I just got out of there in the morning.

I made a run through the Bac Ha to Xin Man route, a rocky trail through the mountains that saved about 300 kilometers of travel time. I’d heard bad things about this road, but it wasn’t so bad. Sure there were some intimidating hill climbs, and the whole road was “paved” with rocks stuck out of the ground a few inches. I took a wrong turn in the morning and went 20 K on the wrong road. I knew I was going the wrong way, but it was so beautiful I just kept going. I stopped short of the Chinese border and turned around, then took a shortcut to where I was supposed to be.

I spent that night in Xin Man, and today I drove to the Pan Hau Ecolodge, a resort that’s very pricy for a budget traveler, but I needed some rest, so I took a splurge day. It’s a very relaxing atmosphere. I arrived too late for lunch, so I took a ride a couple of K’s back to find some food, all I could find was ramen, so I brought it back, and the cooks prepared it for me and through in some veggies!

Wandering Through Northwest Vietnam

It took me five days to decide on a motorcycle. I ended up with a 2009 Yamaha YBR 125G. It cost me a bit more than twice what I thought I would spend. My research was based on what I could find on the web: advice from folks on a very low budget. I’m also on a low budget, but I don’t care how much a bike costs, I care how much I can sell it for, how reliable it is and how comfortable it is.

I arrived at Pom Coong Village in Mai Chau on my first day. It took me a few hours longer than I thought, but my trusty GPS app got me out of Hanoi without any issues. I did a homestay there, and it was great. It included diner and breakfast; it was the best and biggest dinner I’ve had in Vietnam.

On my second day, I drove to Son La, it was a nice drive through the mountains, and in the first hour, the fog was as thick as pea soup. My bike is losing power under load at high revs, so I will get a new air filter and check the gas filter. I’ll probably drain the float bowl to ensure no water is in it. Son La does not have much to offer. It’s just a place to stop for the night. I could have easily continued to my next stop today, but I have some time to kill as I’m planning on getting to the Sapa area on Friday night so I can check out the untouristed weekend markets on Saturday and Sunday. These markets are off the beaten track and should be an excellent opportunity to see and interact with some Vietnamese Ethnic folks.

On day three, I figured out that my bike was burning a half liter of oil every 100km, and I was only getting 25 KPL (Kilometers Per Liter). I called the folks I bought the bike from, and they agreed to get another one ready for me. On the way back, the electrical system died, and one of the instrument pods fell off.

I’m back on the road again today after a night in Hanoi. My new (to me) bike seems much better. I’m happy I was dealing with someone who stood behind what they sold. Or I would have been out quite a bit of cash.

This evening I’m in Nghia La, I had a great day riding, and there were some fantastic views. Every day I see more and more ethnic folks and fewer tourists. I did not see one westerner once I got out of Hanoi this morning. I like riding in Vietnam. Riding in Central America in 1995 ruined riding in the US for me. I stopped riding for about 11 years. You can set your level of risk here and choose which rules to follow. Just the way I like it. Since none of the people I know now ever knew me riding a bike, you don’t need to fear for my safety. As I’ve said before, I’m much safer on a bike than in a car. That still holds.

Paradise in The Philippines

Sagada is as different from the rest of the Philippines as Darjeeling is to the rest of India. It’s an oasis of beauty with a slower pace. After an 18-hour journey from Manila to Sagada, I arrived at my guest house and was invited for coffee and cake by some educators. They were in the region for a conference on a curriculum for indigenous children. They were going caving that afternoon and invited me to join them. I jumped at the chance and got changed.

An hour later, we were making our way to the cave opening. There were nine of us and three guides. Most of the folks on the tour were middle-aged, and the caving trip was much more dangerous than anything in the US. I can not imagine finding such an adventurous group of middle-aged people in the US. The cave was amazing. There was some light technical climbing and some water crossings, as well as some climbing with knotted ropes. The guides were excellent and knew exactly what to do to help some of the less in-shape members of our group get up, over, or around obstacles safely. It’s the most fun I have had in a cave. The cost was about $5 US per person, including tip. A trip like this in the US would have required training, lots of safety gear, and a hefty fee.

The next day I went for a hike to the top of a mountain. There are no good maps available of Sagada. I think it is a way to encourage folks to hire a guide. With very rough directions, I started to make my way up the mountain. I missed a turning and ended up climbing up the rice terraces halfway to the summit; then I found the path. About 3/4 of the way up, it dawned on me that no one knew where I was or when I was coming back. If something happened to me up there, I was on my own. I made it to the summit, where three houses were at the top, but no one was around. I took the path on the way down and was glad I took the terraces on the way up. There were turnings off the path on the way up and no way to know which way to turn, so by getting a bit lost on the way up, I saved a bunch of time not taking false paths and had a much better experience.

Ken, Joalalito, Me, Wama and Jayson

I also took a walk to the little falls as the big falls were closed. There is a swimming hole at the little falls, and I had a nice swim with some locals. Four young people that worked at a local guest house invited me to join them at a nearby summit for some drinks and a sunset fire, so I did. They were from different parts of the Philippines and had come to Sagada for work. We had a great time hanging out, talking, taking pictures, and dancing to music from their cell phones.