Riding along the Vietnam-China frontier

We arrived in Ha Giang, gateway town to Vietnam’s northern border, and hired a 150cc 2-stroke motorbike. We had come to ride a three day, 300km loop that would take us within a few kilometres of China. Surprisingly, the region is relatively unknown to foreign tourists, as it has some of the most dramatic scenery we’ve encountered on our whole trip

The closer we got to the border, the more rugged the terrain became, with steep limestone peaks.

The narrow and often rough roads wound their way through the mountains. A motorbike was the perfect way to explore the area. Riding felt like a game - as we came to the crest of a hill or passed around a peak, new valleys would unfold before us. The roads were rugged everywhere, but in places we found ourselves riding on narrow tracks of loose shingle.

The region is home to 22 different ethnic groups, people mostly making a living by farming the inhospitable terrain. No matter how rugged or remote the landscape, there were always crops growing and people working the land. We felt like we were both in the middle of nowhere, and yet still surrounded by people. Many of the local farmers have motorbikes, but we saw many others (particularly women) walking the steep roads, carrying huge loads on their backs.

Two tough women taking a short break

There were a lot of kids among those farming who would wave to us enthusiastically and even run down the hillside after us.

Each ethnic group has a distinctive style of dress, making for very diverse and colourful villages. The people of some ethnic groups marry very early, and they have an interesting tradition. Once a year they dress in their best clothes and gather at a regional “Love Market”. There, they have a day when they are free to meet up with old loves.

While some of the towns we rode through were lively, others felt like ghost towns during the day, with everyone out working in the fields. Strangely, each settlement has a huge road running through it, even though the roads on each side are barely one-lane wide.

Our motorbike was often the centre of attention amongst adults and kids alike

One of the hotels we stayed at had a convenient ride-in reception

Three days of sharing a small motorbike on rough roads took its toll and we were ready to get off the saddle by the time we returned to Ha Giang.

Comments from WordPress

• Seam 2013-04-28T22:05:25Z

  Hey Craig & Sal, LOVE this! I got as far as Dalat a few years ago and heard rumour of the route you took. Looks like I’m gonna have to go back and re-trace your steps one of these days!

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson