The chickens are back on the play on words game!
After a bus ride (for a change), we experience a seamless crossing of the border. How pleasant it is not to have to negotiate the amount of corruption during a customs passage! We are entering our third month of travel, and we are now in Vietnamese soil for three short weeks. We decide to limit ourselves to the north of the country, considered less touristy; Vietnam is so vast, and the distances to be traveled by bus pretty long.
Hanoi, world capital of the scooter
After a stop right after the border at Dien Bien Phu, we take a bus to the Vietnamese capital well known for its impressive two-wheel drive (Audrey’s new passion), and gargantuan gastronomic offer mixing restaurants and street food (the common passion of our chickens).
The chickens are very lucky, with us in our great luxury base camp at our friend and host Julien. This expatriate compatriot welcomes us as kings in his new apartment!
It is therefore fresh and rested that start our discovery of the city. From the first sights, the contrast with the Lao rhythm is striking. Everyone is active in the four corners of the city and the traffic, made up of an incredible number of two wheels, never stops. Crossing a street requires a little skill and a lot of composure, car here the pedestrian is all at the base of the food chain of priorities. But it is certain, after a few days in the Vietnamese capital, we will be masters in the crossing of crowded intersections!
We take pleasure in finding for a moment a citizen life far from our habits during the past two months. The wanderings in the old quarter, the cafes and the drinks here and there occupy our days. An element will be at the heart of our city travel would be the Vietnamese gastronomy discovery! Street food, egg coffee, banh mi, pho bo, cha bun, cha ca la vong, on will not fail to tackle this task!
PS: our Vietnamese readers will excuse us for the lack of accents on the words of their language, on the dishes listed above. It must be admitted, even if it is essential to the pronunciation, it is not easy to find all the accents on our European keyboards!
We also take the opportunity to discover the few pedestrian areas of Hanoi, sidewalks have become two-wheeled parking. At the weekend, the park around the lake of the sword is very popular. It comes alive with outdoor fitness, badminton, chess and young students looking for exchanges with Westerners to perfect their English. Also, in order to discover this sprawling city and especially the old quarter, we decide to opt for a “free walking tour” with two young Vietnamese students. Quest for an intensive practice of English. This half day in the company of these two adorable young people proved to be very pleasant (we have the right to say it as if we were quite old and full of wisdom, because they were really closer to the twenties than our thirties). Discovery of the old quarter, exchange on the differences and similarities of our cultures and societies, and Vietnamese negotiation demonstration for the purchase of an umbrella at the market. We were able to teach them that in Europe too women marry most often in beautiful white dresses (it is not only a Vietnamese fashion trend) and that the color of our eyes can vary from an individual to the other. From our side, we learned more about the family organization and the aspiration of a young Vietnamese from the 2000s. A rich experience that we will renew with pleasure during a future capital visit.
Finally, in order to diversify our activities which revolve quite a lot around walks, visits of pagodas, scooter, and research on where to sleep and eat, we decide to attend a show at the Hanoi Opera. Called “My Village”, this show is a modern transcript of the life of a Vietnamese village featuring acrobats on bamboos of about ten meters high. A nice surprise thanks to the troupe full of energy and a more than pleasant staging that made us reconnected with cultural outings a little neglected lately!
We complete our visit to Hanoi by ethnographic museum to better understand the 54 ethnic groups populating Vietnam. A real diversity that leaves thought in a country in such a strong economic development and struggling to keep this wealth! We also take the opportunity to reconnect with our old habits by booking a Vietnamese massage. So, after the Thai massage that is, we must admit, rather tonic, the Vietnamese massage is also quite unique! Massage does not necessarily mean relaxation in this country but with efficiency. Audrey laughed heartily at Ben’s small murmur of pains at her side (torn apart by a squat little Vietnamese woman standing on her back), before her turn to be afflicted with some “slaps” in the back as a toned muscular awakening ! Ben even had the right to get haired pulled, surely to activate irrigation or something.
To close this city chapter in Hanoi, we join a knife making workshop through the Backstreet Academy website. Yes, travelling around the world is also that, to get involved in activities that you will probably never have the opportunity to redo. It is therefore in the heart of the Blacksmith district that we are entitled to a private lesson. It is in their little studio that a couple of craftsmen in the business for 30 years (and many generations) accompanies us for the creation from scratch of our knives. We are of course equipped with our PPE (personal protective equipment – a long-sleeved t-shirt and glasses for projections) to follow scrupulously the instructions we are given. Audrey does not even hurt herself (which is still a miracle, since in France, she can cut herself with a thrifty, or even a sponge …)! And it is with enthusiasm that we carve our wooden handles with machetes, that we hammer the metal coming from tank tracks to the mass, and that we sharpen our blades pretty proud! It will remain a very good experience, and we are delighted with this DIY Vietnamese. Promised, you will have the right to taste a slice of sausage cut with our new utensils upon our return.
After a few days in the skin of city dwellers, it is time to be surprised by the Ha Giang region located north-west of Hanoi, not far from the Chinese border.
The loop of Ha Giang or the magnificent unknown
After the Thakhek loop in Laos, we thought we had already seen such nice landscapes. Big mistake, it was nothing compared to the pure beauty we were going to cross in the Ha Giang area. We still had some idea in mind after reading some of the best bikers’ blogs in the area and we knew this fourth scooter loop was promising. Clearly dear readers, this course did not disappoint us!
From the beginning we understand that we will be in our element: few tourists, hoteliers more than pleasant, and landscapes that looked incredible. It’s up for 4 days of looping scooter (which will become 5 due to a small mishap due to sickness of Audrey – the certificate of work sickness has been filled, do not worry). The city of Ha Giang does not have much interest except to be the starting point of the loop. It will still have the merit of welcoming us to a hotel and scooter rentals with lovely staff and care to allow us to prepare this loop at best.
The weather forecast is mixed for the coming days and we must swallow the kilometers for the first step to Dong Van. But right out of the city we are already delighted, smiles all the teeth outside, amazed by these landscapes of rice fields, mountains in the background and roads lined with cultures held by locals in full labor. Then, almost lunar and volcanic landscapes at nightfall offer a new atmosphere to this cliff-side road that reveals another facet of Vietnam. A more agricultural country, much less built and especially populated by farmers not hesitating to climb mountains with peaks to plow every inch of its flanks and install their crops!
Upon our arrival in the first Dong Van stage city, a significant tranquility is felt. A calm that will not last, the city being stormed by Vietnamese and Chinese tourist buses during the weekends. But if they come, it’s for a reason. And aside from the landscapes, Sunday is in most villages of the region (and mainly Dong Van) a market day. A real experience for the chickens! A lively atmosphere from another time (cattle sales, muscular negotiations around rolls of fabrics, sale of farm products) all in a colorful environment.
The next step of our journey is the “Ma Pi Leng”. This is the highlight of this loop, of an incomparable beauty (we stop there and let the pictures speak for us). Between mountains, rice fields and haze well present but offering a special atmosphere, we are amazed! We end the day under the sun, which, it must be said, has been quite rare since our arrival in Vietnam! It is therefore in a “homestay” of Du Gia that we will enjoy the last lights of the day, images full on our mind! Oh yes, to be mentioned that the “homestay” in Vietnam are nothing like home because it is actually large dormitories where we will be around twenty in the evening around dinner. We still had a great evening with tourists from all over the world, as well as the family holding this beautiful place. A large bamboo house above fluorescent green rice fields nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, all that we love! As a bonus, the corn alcohol distilled by the mother and distributed gladly by herself with a malicious eye.
This region still preserved from mass tourism will not be long in our opinion to become the new preferred destination for travel agencies, similar to what Sapa currently knows (mountain razed to build amusement parks, excellent). We were surprised by the authenticity that prevails and the little emphasis on this part of Vietnam offering breathtaking landscapes. We are therefore delighted, as the few tourists met on motorbikes, a smug smile, happy to have had the chance to discover this region of so many treasure!
Next step to discover Vietnam, the coast! Halong Bay is calling us, but that’s for an upcoming episode of chickens travelers!
See you soon,
Ben & Audrey