High fives and smiles are universal, Dreamy waterfall swim, Final leg of the epic Ha Giang loop

Today was our final leg of the epic Ha Giang loop where we rode from Du Gia back to Ha Giang. We started off the day with what we thought would be a quick excursion out to a waterfall. We ended up taking a route that included some really difficult motorbiking. We eventually gave up on the motorbikes, parked them, and hiked the rest of the way. We had read that the route was tricky to find so we didn't actually know where we were going. 

We ended up walking through a H'mong village which gave a chance to, once again, see how different our lives are from theirs. People here have very little and work so hard to meet their most basic needs. Despite our very different circumstances, people were more than willing to point us in the right direction of the waterfall.

 

Typical H'mong home in the Du Gia area 

H'mong woman spinning hemp

Typical H'mong home in the Du Gia area 

We found the path to the waterfall 

A woman and 2 of her kids hiking out to harvest 

Apparently, motorbikes can do this

We were psyched to find the waterfall. It is actually a fairly popular spot, but we went early enough in the morning to have the place to ourselves. Yay 😁. Rumor has it that you can jump from near the top of the waterfall, but locals had mentioned that you need to watch the current during monsoon season so we stuck to a little jump. We were missing guinea pig James to try it first. The water was actually warm - it was odd going in a swimming hole and not freezing my biscuits off.

We found the waterfall 

The view hiking back from the waterfall was gorgeous.

Looking back towards the waterfall 

Two H'mong kids playing outside their home 

Rice paddies in Du Gia - they are so green!

Rice paddies 

Rock and mudslides are super common along the road and there is never any warning that you may be coming up on an obstacle in the road.

I'm getting to really like my motorbike 😍

A canyon near Du Gia 

A regular event on Vietnamese: essentially a one lane road, a blind curve, a rock slide blocking part of the road, two people coming opposite directions

Another canyon near Du y

A woman using a giant spinner for processing hemp fibers

Entering a really beautiful valley on our way from Du Gia towards Yen Minh. There were lots of families - especially lots of children hanging out along the road in this valley.

Let me take a moment to mention the children we have encountered along the Ha Giang loop (especially since we saw so many during this leg of the journey). In this region of VietNam (rural Northernmost part of VietNam), children typically stop going to school at 8 years old so that they can help their families with growing and harvesting food. VietNam recently opened up for tourism after being closed for 2 years for COVID. Many of the children we saw have only recently been seeing outsiders and may not even remember a time when others were in their region.

From what we have seen and experienced, many children hang out along the roadsides (mostly with siblings, but sometimes with some other children). Sometimes they are near their homes and sometimes they are along the road and hang out while the adults have gone into the mountainsides to harvest crops. It appears as if they are unsupervised by adults, but they are quite street savvy. When we would ride by, they would be waving with big smiles and often requesting high fives. If we successfully were able to high five them (while motorbiking) they would erupt with sounds of joy. In fact, despite having what we would consider a hard life, there seems to be lots of happiness and creative play among the kids. Of course, this childhood is fleeting for these children based on their family's circumstances. Of all I have seen and experienced in VietNam so far, it is the children that will stick with me the most 

Kids along the roads Ha Giang wave to you and frequently ask for high fives as you are riding by.

Fallon riding on the main road 

Typical homes in the valley through which we were riding. There are lots of people hanging out under the awning of the center home.

Grandmother's often are charged with childcare.

Field of hemp

Hemp plant used for fibers 

We saw so many older kids responsible for taking care of kids.

The mountains are so awesome 

A view of the valley through which we rode

There are people harvesting all throughout the mountains 

A random waterfall along our ride.

A laundry room 

Older women have spent their whole lives carrying heavy burdens and they often have a permanent bend in their backs from doing so.

Corn harvest time - drying out the kernels (the girl in the background is working the mill).

Motorbikes make the harvest much easier. We saw these kinds of loads everywhere, either being carried by people or motorbike.

A linen cooperative - everything is made from hemp fibers.

Corn kernels drying (also the best way to know the weather forecast...if it's going to be sunny for an extended period, people put their corn out).

Hemp fibers

A woman using a loom to weave hemp fibers.

Sewing change purses

Indigo dye - so much work to dye the fibers

The weather forecast shown to us by everyone wrapping up their drying corn and rice - this means the monsoon is imminent.

Crossing a bridge on my motorbike and getting more comfortable.

Every time we saw a big pig on the back of a motorbike, we were in awe of how people managed to get them on while they are still alive and moving

Lunch in Tam Son - veggie pho

Riding over Heaven's Gate 

So much stuff!

After arriving back in Ha Giang, we went to Mama's House to return to motorbikes. We were able to shower (that felt outstanding). There was a little bit of time before our sleeper bus came, so we grabbed some dinner. The sleeper bus was so awesome! What a brilliant idea. 

On an interesting note, the US Embassy sent out a warning the day before about Typhoon Mulan that was going to hit VietNam while we were on the night bus heading for Hanoi. Our original plan was to go to Cat Ba Island the next day, but it was going to get a direct hit, so we put several options in place and we decided to just audible it when we arrived in Hanoi. Of course, I did reach out to the best weather gurus I know (my parents) to get their expert opinions. Their advice was to seek higher ground (like the top floor of a hotel) and not leave. Most importantly, they advised NOT to go to an island.

Food to go for our sleeper bus 

Sleeper bus - just about the best thing ever

While there were lots of twists and bumps in the road, I slept fairly well on the sleeper bus. Lucky for us, we were allowed to stay on it for a couple of extra hours at the bus terminal which was such a gift as we were in the middle of a typhoon. So. Much. Rain.