7 Days Back in Time. Remote North Vietnam. Part 1 or 2.

Thanks Ha Long bay, I was knocked out in bed in Hanoi after returning from my trip for 2 days, one of which I have no recollection of… which is scary, when you’re on your own in a different country. Some random flu like bug I think. Never mind its all good now.

I headed out of Hanoi again with a tour company, I am really enjoying these small trips. Not having to find accommodation and transportation eases a lot of stress off. The company I’m going with as well, really have there act sorted and the guides are great fun. Anyways….

The first of the 7 day trip I was signed up on was very very long… 6 hours in a van with 3 others heading up north to Ha Giang. As usually the time shot past for me as I promptly passed out on the back seat…, only waking up when the road went from normal to dirt road and pot holes. Then I was wide awake as it was fun and interesting driving J.

We stopped off at a small walk after a few hours and had a 45 min scroll around a trail that took us past some local villages houses. It was nice to get out of the car.

The walk took us past several small houses and farms, people were farming tea here and carrying large loads down the hill.

Back in the car we continued on to Ha Giang where we stayed the night in a hotel. The bottom floor was reception but also the car park and lounge area, mmm car fumes.

The next morning we had to organize some paper work as the rest of our trip would take us close to the Chinese boarder, a disputed area. So while our driver and guide sorted this out we walked around the local market areas.  The markets were colorful with all manner of fruit and flowers.

Once the paperwork was sorted we headed out of Ha Giang and started our climb up the mountains in the Van.

The retired German couple that was with us, use to be teachers back in German and had brought some books and pencils to give to school children and teachers on the trip.

We stopped at a remote school in the middle of no where, the school had 4 class rooms which would cater for the ages from 4 to 12~. The young kids were so funny, at first they would only come to the door of the class room and when one got scared and ran back into the classroom it was like a stampede they all ran and hid. Then would come out and take another look followed by the rest of the group and the cycle would repeat.

We took some pictures and I showed the kids my camera with a picture of them on it… this was a big hit, the children had not seen this before and giggled and laughed. So funny. From here they were not scared anymore, showing us their classrooms and books. We passed a few books and pencils to the teachers and said good-bye to the kids.

As we continued in the car we climbed up a steep hill, the views over the valley we had just come from were nothing short of breath taking, we could really see how windy the road was and how far we had come.

At the top we stopped and had a small walk around a village, just before we were due to get back in the car a loud scream came rolling down the hill. It was echoing off the mountain sides and it was getting louder. 2 min later a motorbike passed us with a massive pig still alive strapped screaming on the back. Dinner tonight maybe, a fact of life in these parts of the world without refrigerators the meat must be kept fresh longer.

A few hours drive later we reached a nice view point which overlooked the next town we were to stay at called Quan Ba. The town was famous in the region for some natural formed mounds they call the “Fairy bosoms”. I know what a name… J They can be seen on the right of the photo.

The area was also filled with corn fields and rice fields. The limestone rock also gave the valley a very special look.

That afternoon after checking in we went on a small walk for 3 hours around the valley, it would take us past several small villages and ethnic minority groups.  We passed a school where the kids were playing games in the courtyard, but we didn’t want to interrupt so we continued.

We ended up on another ridge were we could overlook the valley below, it was so beautiful to see. The small village we had stopped walking at there was a wedding. 


Once one of the locals spotted us, they all converged on us and they were dressed in there traditional cloths and colors. Although its not rare in these parts to see they are rare anywhere else in the world. The traditions  are also slowly fading away, as western cloths and fashion creeps into these remote communities.  


These people were the “Red Zao people” (Not sure about spelling but its how I think they sound).

We returned to the village just as the sun was setting. I had a few hours to kill before dinner so I went exploring around the village on my own. I was greeted with offers of tea and people inviting me in for corn wine. But the funniest thing was the mob of girls that followed me saying Hello, How are you?, What’s your name?. Ok I admit I’m not some boy band wanna be but for 30 min, it was funny as hell being the center of attention and being mobbed… When I tried to reply back and get a conversation going, but it was apparent they had only learned these 3 phrases and not anything else. It was still funny.

I headed back to the hotel and caught up with Tim from our tour and had a beer to share my story.

The next morning we headed out early to the next town called Dong Van.  We drove a short distance out of Quan Ba and stopped, the road was heading down into a valley but we were going to walk along a different road and meet the car at the bottom.

The views seemed to get better and better as the trip continued, there was a small village at the bottom of the valley and mass mountains and hills with a  blue haze around them. You could see hills behind hills till they seemed to just fade. 

As we got down to the village we passed several farm houses and crossed a small bridge. The van had packed next to the local towns meeting house. As we neared a old lady came up to us and asked our guide (Sung) if we would like to visit her business, they were weaving blankets and table runners using traditional methods.

It was just next door, after a few minutes a lady started weaving using “hem” made from the stems of the marijuana tree. They take a branch and take fine strips off it, then weave these into a trend. This is then spun, woven into a cloth then rolled on a big rock till its soft. Then made into cloths or tourist items to sell at markets.

I tried my hand at spinning the hem onto a reel. It was quite easy, the hardest part was sitting on the small stool the lady was using before that was  10cm off the ground… The local elders almost fell over laughing at me trying to fold my legs up to get close to the spindle.

After visiting the workshop we moved next door where we could see the final products. I didn’t buy anything but the others in our group did.

The road from here on in, was along a ridge again and the hills kept rolling in, it seamed at the end of each corner in the road the landscape and the country side would change and become more and more beautiful.

As we progressed north the plants on the side of the road also took a unusual look. It was marijuana growing wild on the side of the road. Large bushes of it, so what did we do..? We stopped for a photo op, of course.

After another hour of driving we stopped again and went for a walk through a small valley past some villages.  


The locals were working in the fields just down from there houses and the children were playing on the pathway. One of the children must have been 5 or 6 and was carrying his younger brother on his back, while his younger sister who was to shy to say anything sat on the rocks in awe of the new people.

That evening we arrived in Dong Van. After checking in Sung asked me if we would like to walk up to the top of a nearby hill to see the sunset as we had time. 


It was a great idea, the hill had what looked like a old fort on top with turret holes and walls. It was a perfect place to relax and see the sunset, with the rest of the group and Sung. The hike up was not to difficult as well which was nice.

That evening there was a local open air performance in town.

People singing, dancing, students doing plays from school, and all other performances.  


They were all dressed in traditional cloths and colors. It looked as though the entire town had come out to see the performance and have fun.

To be continued in Part 2 of North Vietnam.

Till next post, Have FUN!

Steffen.