Ha Giang Day 1

Today we got up early for the hostel breakfast. We double checked our packed bags and checked out of the hostel room. Next we got our bike and had a quick practice before attending a briefing on the trip. Then we were split into groups for the riding experience. We would meet all together at set points and for the hostels but the riding would be split into smaller groups.

The first half of the day was a breeze with wider roads and no traffic. We reached a cave location and trekked up and into the cave. Luckily the weather was on our side, a few days ago the Ha Giang region was drenched by rain. After the cave we set for lunch.

We stopped and had a family style spread in a restaurant. Still a little congested, we visited a pharmacy and bought this amazing nasal spray which cleared us right up almost instantly.

Whilst driving we were stopping roughly every 40-50 minutes which gave our legs and bums a rest.

The rest of the day was spend zooming up and down hills, dodging trucks, stopping at viewpoints, and having our snacks.

We reached the hostel at around 5pm. This gave us time to shower before dinner. Again this was family style. After dinner the happy water began. Unlike other ‘wine’ spirits, the Ha Giang ‘happy water’ is made of corn not rice due to the climate. This produces, in my opinion, a more palatable spirit. Robin disagreed.

We stayed playing cards for a little while before heading back to the room and leaving the drunk dancers to it. Off to bed at 9pm for a 6:45am wake up tomorrow.

-M