Ma Pi Leng pass is gorgeous and there were lot of tourists in this area.
BHPian double cuisine recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
I had an opportunity to do a short ride through some villages and passes in Ha Giang loop Northern Vietnam.
We were team of 4 mates from Dubai, 3 of us flew from Dubai and one joined us in Hanoi from Chennai since he had his riding gear back home.
The flights are overpriced as always with Emirates being the only non stop flight plying Dubai – Hanoi.
3 of us reached on 2nd May and had booked accommodation at Daewoo hotel only because of the name. However there are no signs of connection with the automaker.
There are 2 popular bike rentals in Vietnam – Tigit & Style. We chose CB500X from Tigit since they had extensive knowledge about the routes and had the facility to pick and drop bikes at different places in case we changed plans midway.
We rented a Fortuner from Hanoi to Ha Giang town (pronounced HaZaang) where we would collect the bikes at our hotel. The 4th guy was picked up from airport enroute Ha Giang. The roads were butter smooth entire stretch except some patches, roads were empty but Vietnamese drivers follow the speed limit religiously making the drive feel slow but safe. Stopped in a Dhaba type highway eatery with passable food and at another complex selling Tea, Sugarcane juice, random spices as we entered Ha Giang region. Things are priced very reasonable and we enjoyed the time being millionaires (in Vietnamese Dong)
Reached the hotel, had a quick check in and shower and went down to check out the bikes which were already parked across the street. All had about 23K on odo and we picked whichever bike was near us and went for a familiarization ride.
Had Pizza at a local eatery which had a big Israeli group, chatted with them for a while and left to our hotel. Pork meat as protein and Beer as hydration is staple in Vietnam. Even small tea shops have local beers stored on display refrigerators.
We had IDP, India DL, insurance and what not? But we were in for a shock the next morning.
Started the ride a bit late because of the breakfast (we knew this was our last proper hotel breakfast) and one bike had a flat tyre. As we were riding out of the city, Vietnam Police stopped us. Despite having all documents they told us using translator device that our IDP is not valid however we could pay 3Mn VND each and thy would issue Vietnam DL valid for the trip.
Tourists with big bikes were targeted (500CC is biggest in Vietnam from what we saw) and eventually paid the amount as advised by Tigit team. They gave us a Red book with no flag, no stamp or nothing written in English.
We were checked at 4 places after that and the red book was handy to proceed without delays. The change of expression in their face while we fished out the Red book was entertaining (From 4 X 3Mn smile to 0 in no time)
We reached Dong Van (126 kms) as planned and checked into a small hotel. The facilities were average but a young guy name “Kha” who was the receptionist, waiter, laundryman all rolled into one, compensated by being very friendly and enthusiastic. His team cooked us Vietnamese dinner but a bit spicier. We wandered into the town and ended up celebrating someone’s birthday at a Karaoke bar.
Vietnamese breakfast is 7AM-10AM, Lunch is 11.30AM – 1.30PM and Dinner is 7PM-9PM max. Cities have late night eateries but many restaurants close at 10 and refuse to let customers in after 9PM.
We had a decent breakfast next morning and rode around 180Kms through superb roads to reach Pac Bo boutique resort near Cao Bang. Ma Pi Leng pass enroute is gorgeous and there were lot of tourists in this area who rented smaller motorbikes and scooters for a short ride in the mountains. Halfway through, this route rides very close to China and you can notice change in facial features and dressing style seen in other towns. Since we were the only guests, they tried their best to serve us which they thought is their nicest dishes.
The next day’s ride was only 100 kms to Ban Gioc waterfalls sitting next to Chinese border. One side of the river is Vietnamese boats and other side is Chinese. There were few tourists on the Viet side but none on the other side.
The waterfall itself was scenic and the place was scarily quiet. Met an American Dad/Son riding same bike as ours and chatted for a bit before they left to their hotel.
The breakfast was bearable despite the language barrier and we suspect that some of us ate farmed worm sausage thinking it is pork.
Next day’s ride was to Bac Son (Tham Khach) where one can ride through a natural cave approx 1 km long. This cave also has an abandoned military project inside which adds to the mysterious setting. We ended up at a homestay to the American duo whom we met earlier. There was a young Vietnamese group there and they were playing some sort of foot shuttle badminton all the time and not staring at mobile phones.
Next day was the saddest one as it was the last day of our ride to Hanoi before we flew to Ho Chi Minh City for some shopping and then return to Dubai. We did Bac Son – Hanoi through inside roads avoiding major roads (Motorbikes are not allowed on Motorways in any case). The day was the hottest and humid in the whole trip and we were drained when we reached Tigit office in Hanoi. They offered to refund some amount (about $70 a bike) since their initial price calculation included the transport from Ha Giang to Hanoi by truck.
The whole ride was uneventful except each of us dropping the bikes while parking. The traffic sense in rural areas is something which really made the ride a breeze. Two wheelers in cities have a different mentality though – HCMC was crazy and Hanoi was busy but sensible.
May is not the ideal month for the ride except for absence of rains, anyone considering this route could try November – December mid.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
