I couldn’t really take on the experience of traveling through Vietnam by motorcycle without attempting some of the famous routes so I came up to this part of the country specifically for the Ha Giang Loop. The loop is about 300km through very mountainous terrain and is packed with tight turns up and down beautiful deep valleys throughout the whole loop. One particular town on a lesser known section of the loop had an interesting wooden bridge I had to cross. There were many locals crossing the bridge so I didn’t hesitate to cross it as well but it was a tense crossing as I watched the motorbike ahead of me ride over the wooden slats. Those slats didn’t appear to be secured so they were bouncing up and down as the tires passed over them.
The kids in all the villages were really friendly and waved at me or said Hello as I flew by. Some kids even extended their hands for a moving High-Five which I made sure to slow down for so our hands didn’t smack too hard.
The Ha Giang loop bested the previous mountain pass as the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle. The previous pass was more fun because the roads were complete shit (at best) but the never-ending tight turns of the Ha Giang Loop and views that go on forever made it an unforgettable experience and I’m very glad I took the detour up to this part of the country.
It takes an average of 3 or 4 days to complete the Ha Giang Loop. I went a tad quicker though and did it in a day and a half and I made it back to Ha Giang city early so I had lunch and just kept going to my next destination, Sa Pa.