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challenging path, he asked if he could ride my Honda XR150, much lighter and more agile than his Versys 300.
Using Lan ´ s Homestay in Trung Khanh as a base, we rode to the Chinese border at the waterfalls on the Quay Son River. Taking a boat trip on the river we were in China for a brief moment, crossing the imaginary border line which runs under water in the middle of the river. We also found time to visit Ho Chi Minh ´ s cave at Hang Pac Po, where, in 1941, he spent a few weeks in hiding, returning to his native Vietnam after thirty years in China. Ho Chi
Minh is affectionately known as Uncle Ho. Not far from the cave is a monument marking the start of the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Riding the Ha Giang loop, with detours into more remote parts of the area, brought us to Lung Cu, the tower marking the northernmost point. Several hundred steps brought us to the tower. An additional effort brought us to the top of the tower, and we were rewarded with fantastic views into China, and the surrounding mountains of Vietnam. The parking lot for the tower was packed with hundreds of motorcycles and scooters. The vast majority were“ easy rider” scooters with driver, rented by back-packers who prefer to be driven around, or don’ t have a driver’ s license.
One day, after a couple of hours riding on steep single-track paths in the mountains around Cao Bang, we ended up at a primitive bamboo ferry taking us across the Song Nho Qué river. The ferry is pulled across the river by hand and a cable system. The ferryman was pulling the boat across, while his wife was getting on with washing the laundry at the other end of the raft.
After a few days traversing the Ha Giang trail, we moved southwest towards Lao Cai and touristy SaPa with Vietnam ´ s highest mountain Fansipan. We spent some time with the Hmong people, one of fifty-four ethnic groups in Vietnam. Surprisingly, some of them spoke English well and also turned out to be very persistent and persuasive salespeople. Both Sebastian and I ended up walking away with several handbags.
With only three days left on my visa, I said“ auf wiedersehen” to Sebastian, and headed for the Laos border at the Na Meo crossing.
Arriving at the border I parked
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