Motorbiking on the "sky journey to pride and happiness" road

Our day began in Dong Van with searching for something for breakfast. It's probably hard to believe that it is tricky to find food when you are surrounded by food options, but it actually is when you have no idea what everything is.

Bamboo shoots

So many greens everywhere 

A street in Dong Van

Women selling greens and spinning hemp fibers by hand

A pile of chickens

Fresh ginger - one of the many kinds

Little surprise packages of food wrapped in banana and coconut leaves, plus some delicious donuts 

We really liked the ones on the upper left (mung bean and coconut) the others were savory and we didn't like them as much 

Opening my breakfast surprise package 

Chicken to go. People transport all sorts of animals on motorbikes - even pigs

After getting some food in Dong Van, we headed out to the northernmost point in Vietnam in Lung Cu. The ride there was so fun and beautiful. I'm starting to really like this motorbiking thing.

A military exercise happening at the visitors' center. We had to walk right through it which was weird.

It looked like some sort of military game of hide and go seek was happening when we left 

Not very many people wear helmets, but we totally rocked ours.

There are crops on the steepest slopes. Just imagine harvesting them.

The road went very close to the Chinese border. We were able to see the big fence along the mountain tops. The border used to be easy to cross and the ethnic minority Hill tribes would travel to China for the markets. Now, they can no longer do that. We tried to get a look at the Chinese border up close, but some military guys let us know that it was not allowed.

The Chinese border is at the top of that mountain. If you look closely, you can see a massive fence.

The massive fence at the Chinese border 

When we arrived in Lung Cu, we could see the prominent flag tower. This marks the northernmost point in VietNam. The tower is 54 m tall representing the 54 ethnic tribes in VietNam and is built on the top of Dragon Mountain. The view from the top was spectacular.

The flag tower in Lung Cu at the top of Dragon Mountain marks the northernmost point in VietNam.

A sign near the Chinese border

The flag tower is 54 meters high representing the 54 ethnic tribes in VietNam

Looking out at the Chinese border 

There are 2 lakes that you can see from the tower and they are considered the dragon's eyes

Going up the stairs in the tower

Looking down at the ground from the top of the tower

That winding narrow road was what we biked to get to the part that you then walk - motorbiking skills are coming along.

Another banana leaf surprise

Filled with glutenous rice and some sort of mushroom mixture 

After visiting the flag tower, we got back on our motorbikes and headed towards Meo Vac. The scenery and people along the way were outstanding. We were wondering if it would rain that day but seeing everyone drying their corn kernels let us to believe it would be a dry day. We have found that the most accurate weather prediction is when people put their corn out, it will be dry and when they quickly put it away, it will rain.

Looks like some sort of border security post. Beyond the building, there is something in the background on the Chinese side.

This woman was very sweet and we sort of communicated through sign and body language 

Drying corn outside of a H'mong home

The corn kernels drying 

A machine to remove the kernels 

Corn was drying everywhere in the region 

A H'mong barn

When the sun comes out, so does the landry

A typical backboard for carrying crops. These are everywhere.

A H'mong barn with animals and soybeans drying in the top

Such beautiful and bright clothing 

More corn drying 

A woman hand sorting the kernels 

Old Dong Van 

Dong Van

Banana flower salad and veggie pho - so good!

Landslides are common along the mountain roads. This is a recent one.

Check out the guard rail for the road 

The road we traveled was through the mountains right behind me 

The youth monument marks a heroic time when thousands of youth from many provinces shed their blood to open the legendary road of "pride and happiness".

Along the route, we decided to walk out to the sky rock. It is a unique rock outcropping with an unbelievable view from it. However, it is pretty scary going out on it. The drop is huge.

This is a typical scene. When children turn 8, they are expected to help in the fields.

This girl walked with us for a while

Sky rock

It's a long way down from that rock!

Fallon went partway out - it is scary 

Corn is planted everywhere because the soil is too rocky for rice in this part of the mountains. Sometimes people will even move a pile of dirt into a nook in a rock to make a place to plant a few kernels.

Corn is planted on the steepest slopes. Harvesting it takes the labor of everyone.

Back on the road again towards Meo Vac, we  got our first glimpse of Tu San canyon from Ma Pi Leng pass, the largest canyon in Southeast Asia. It was awesome to see how the river had carved through the mountainous terrain.

The view from Ma Pi Leng pass of Tu San canyon. It is the deepest canyon in southeast Asia.

I bumped into this woman gathering crops as I was walking 

Mountains carved out by the river. Check out how the road goes all along the mountain side.

You can see the road along the mountainside

Big trucks use this road as it is the only road between Dong Van and Meo Vac.

The view of Ma Pi Lang pass and Tu San canyon 

Our room at the H'mong Clay House Homestay 

The family meal at the Clay House 

It was another full day of culture and scenery on the Ha Giang loop - we feel so fortunate to be able to experience it.