Ba Be

From Cat Ba Island, I rode back towards Hanoi and then up to Ba Be Lake National Park in northern Vietnam where you’ll find a valley with small villages around a long but narrow lake. I knew there wasn’t much to do here but I really liked it anyway.  The owner of the homestay took me on a private boat tour up the lake and through a river to a huge cave carved out by the river.  I was expecting just a narrow cave but it was far larger than expected and boats have to pass through it to continue up the river.

A couple days later, I woke up to the roosters on an otherwise calm and quiet morning with some sun peeking through the cracks in the wall.   Just five minutes later, it sounded like a tornado was right next to the homestay and metal roofing was being ripped back and the heavy rain was almost horizontal.  I waited for it to stop before going outside to dry off the table and chairs for breakfast and then packed up the bike as the rain was dying off.

Knowing the front tire of the bike likes to slide on slippery surfaces, I took it easy for a couple hours.  I was forced to go slower than usual anyway because I had to avoid all the debris left behind by the storm earlier.  I was heading to Ha Giang in northwest Vietnam and I took the shortest route Google Maps gave me.  This 190km shortcut took from about 9am to 2pm and 100km of that was riding through mountain jungle villages on brutal roads.

Riding a dirt bike up and down the mountains on what I would consider to be just memories of roads with picturesque moments around each turn was the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle and I was glad I decided to pay extra to have a decent dirt bike.  The Honda XR 150 may just be an entry-level dirt bike back home but here it is a beast of a bike and I’m very doubtful I would have been able to keep my pace or even stay upright on a lesser quality bike.  Sure, the throttle stuck as I was trying to slow down heading fast into a steep hairpin turn and the kickstand spring popped off so the kickstand got stuck in the extended position for a bit but glitches like that are to be expected on bikes in Vietnam.   It’s all part of the experience!