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Day 20

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Ha Giang Loop

Up at 7 AM, my sensory systems were not fully online yet.

I had Bun for breakfast, a hot soup with noodles and a little pork. Or maybe it was beef. I dunno.

The French group seemed to be having a bit of an argument. Places like this with thin walls and community spaces mean disagreements are not private. I have no idea why. Perhaps the cold. Several of them seemed surprised to see me still alive, whether because of my age or because they noted my attempts to scale the ladder the night before.

Tony asked my permission to ride my bike for a few minutes, to which of course I agreed. He sped off demonstrating he could handle manual shifting.

Lauren and Matt were quiet. We packed our bikes. This was to be our last day on the Ha Giang Loop. That meant a little trepidation and excitement for what was to come, and a little relief and sadness that it was about over.

I paid our tab for beers, perhaps a couple of dollars and be bid farewell to our hosts. We could see better in the morning light and the place was nestled in a beautiful glen.

Departure was scheduled for 9:00 AM but 9:30 was more like it with Tony and our group. Tony led us a few short kilometers to a place where we parked our bikes to hike to a waterfall. Again, none of this was explained in advance, it just happens. 

It was about half a kilometer hike up a little creek to a beautiful waterfall that fell into a pool surrounded by boulders. There was a coffee and beverage stand on one side that we climbed into and found a seat on a bench facing the waterfall.

One intrepid young European woman took off her cold weather gear to reveal a swimsuit, and dove into the pool. The crowd applauded. Several other women followed suit, wading or falling in on the slippery rocks. The fact they came with swimsuits told us this was apparently a famous thing on the Ha Giang Loop circuit.

Possible Motorcycle Problem

On a turn from the main highway, my bike had a shimmy, not unlike but much less severe than the blowout experience.

I pulled to the side of the road to inspect the tire and suspension, making sure I could trust the motorcycle.

Of course Tony had led Matt and Lauren far ahead. After 2 or 3 minutes I was satisfied with the bike, and resumed travel. Our group had stopped at a restaurant that was hidden behind a tall stone wall. With no way of knowing, I passed it eventually coming to a point where the road turned into a dirt path. I stopped to decide my next move and Tony came riding up to take me back to the restaurant behind the wall.

Mad as hell I did not join Tony sitting at the fire, thinking we speed through town to race to sit at a fire in a walled compound? Nuts. I went for a solitary walk outside the compound instead. Listening to the chickens sing to one another at the farm across the road was relaxing for me. Fifteen minutes later when I returned, they were still sitting by the fire. With relief, we were invited inside for a nice family style lunch of rice, tofu, chicken, beef, spring rolls, and omelet.

Mobs of motorcycles and police again.

We hiked back to the bikes and returned to the road. We encountered several large groups of motorcycles, all with Easy Riders. They were a blob of motorcycles traveling together. I much preferred our tiny and nimble group of four.

We encountered yet another police roadblock for another driving permit check. I had the sense that they thought we had been caught, but when they saw the motorcycle endorsement the lead policeman said, “You are OK to go.”

We rode through a village and once again, Tony raced through it. Refusing to go faster than 40 kph, the limit, I plodded through. This battle of wills was getting old.

Back on the bikes after lunch, we needed to make time.

We were due in at 4:00 PM in Ha Giang to catch a bus for the 6 hour ride back to Ha Noi where we had hotel reservations. 

We encountered several groups of 20 or so touring motorcycles, mostly Easy Riders. These were long serpentine columns that would stretch around the next curve, so we never really knew how long they were. Tony made it his mission to try to pass. It never worked. 

Knowing the area very well, Tony then adapted to a cut-across strategy, where he would lead our tiny group off the highway onto paths, alleyways, and sometimes sidewalks. This required great agility by us with tight corners and steep climbs where you might expect stairs. We startled a lot of chickens and spooked the local dogs. 

The ploy never worked. We would typically rejoin the highway just as the end of the group we were attempting to pass would drive by. Undeterred, we would be asked to try again in a few kilometers.

Back on the main highway we encountered a huge traffic jam with trucks, buses, cars, and motorcycles all stopped, with drivers outside their vehicles milling about.

Tony led us all the way around and through the jam to the roadblock that caused it all. BTW, our Dutch friends were in a car in the middle of the mess. A construction crew had closed the road I presume to clear a landslide. Tony had a conversation with one of the road crew. I don’t know what was said. 

We had to get to Ha Giang to catch the bus by 4 PM. Tony returned to us and said, “It’s OK, I know a shortcut.” 

When you hear those words, be very afraid.

We backtracked on the road to a turnoff onto a much smaller side road. A few kilometers later, the side road turned into a paved path. As we were going, we were climbing in elevation. Remember the road was closed due to what I assumed was a landslide. These happen in mountains and we needed to find another way around or over it.

A kilometer or so later, the paved path became an unpaved path with thick jungle on both sides. Two ruts really, and the pathway got steeper and the foliage thicker.

You have been following along where I have been saying it was raining, right? It was mud. Describing it as mud does not do it justice. It was clay that had been soaked with rain. Slime was a better description. If you have seen the movie Hamburger Hill, there was a scene where the soldiers with attempting to climb the mountain or hill whose wet soil was the same slime. When the soldiers would slip, they would fall and slide some distance down. It was like that, but not as steep.

Riding on the slime was squirrely with our bikes fishtailing. I fell. Matt fell. Lauren fell. We would climb back aboard and try again, only to fall again.

Our bikes, our packs, and our clothes were a mess. After several falls, we were exhausted. This was not going to work.

After my last fall, I was having trouble getting my bike upright again. A four wheel drive vehicle was behind us and a couple of guys jumped out to help. Fall off a bike in Vietnam, and people will help. They got the bike upright and I attempted to walk it up the hill. Matt  helped Lauren to upright her bike the last time. That was not going to work for any of us and we decided to try to walk out.

A few Easy Riders appeared on the same folly shortcut. They fell. Even after discharging their riders, the professional riders fell again. So it was not a matter of our skills.

The slime was so slippery that we could not walk on it without falling.

The only way to make progress was to walk on top of the vegetation. There was a narrow strip of grass on either side of the ruts that was the best bet for being able to walk. Beyond that, the jungle was too thick to walk.

It was only a few hundred meters to the other side of the quagmire where a paved road awaited. We we finally made it out, we collapsed on the guardrail, drank from our water bottles, and tried to recover.

Tony had miraculously been able to make it all the way through with his bike. He was a pro and no doubt had experienced similar situations before. He went back in to retrieve our bikes one by one, God bless him. We were too exhausted to do anything other than raise a toast with our water bottles.

We waited and recovered. We were soaked with sweat and covered with mud slime. By now, it was clear we weren’t going to make a 4:00 PM bus in Ha Noi. We visited with Matt, as conversation and recovery were the only things available. Our phones were mounted on the bikes still in the jungle.

Sidenote

When you reach a certain age and visit a doctor, they ask “How many times have you fallen in the last year?” I say, “Dunno. Eight or ten.”

They get concerned. I explain, “Yeah, off a motorcycle … in Vietnam … in the highlands and the jungle.” Not what they were looking for, they usually say “never mind” and leave.

When Tony returned with Matt’s bike, he hopped on it and sped off in the direction of Ha Giang. As Tony recovered from his Herculean rescue of the bikes, we were more deliberate on getting back aboard, taking stock of the minor damage (bent mirror brackets and clutch lever). Tony, Lauren, and I took off in the direction of Ha Giang maybe 5 minutes later.

Near 5 PM we were resigned to having missed bus. That meant finding a place to stay and missing our reservation that night in Ha Noi.

Hey, just going with the flow is part of adventure travel in Vietnam.

As the light was fading and as we neared the town of Ha Giang, a policeman with a baton stepped out on the road and pulled us over. Here we go again. 

They already had Matt. Turns out that he had sped past an unseen radar camera at 66 kph in a 50 kph zone. 

Lauren and I got out our driver’s permits, but the police never asked to inspect them. I was too tired to safely get on and off my motorcycle, so I just stayed aboard straddling the seat. For about an hour. Resigned, whatever was going to happen was going to happen.

The Police Did Not Allow Photos – Bear With Me

Traffic Court!

The police had traffic court set up on the side of the road. Traffic court consisted of 4 traffic cones connected by hazard tape and set in a square pattern to form a virtual room.

At one side facing the traffic was a desk where a senior policeman had a desk from which he adjudicated cases. A young couple were in the court when we arrived. They were traveling with ducks in a bag on a motorcycle. The ducks were just outside the courtroom, looking at us

I don’t know what offense the couple, or the ducks, committed but their court session took a LONG time. At one point someone crossed the courtroom tape without being told to and all 3 policemen began shouting at them. Bad idea.

Matt was up next with Tony as his translator. We had no idea, but the discussion was serious.

Matt’s cash had already been cleaned out from his first police encounter. We wondered what was going to happen and whether he and his motorcycle were going to be able to leave. The senior police officer acting as judge seemed angry. Come to think of it, he seemed angry most of the time. Lauren and I could only watch from a distance exchanging nervous glances with the ducks. The fate of the ducks and Matt were in doubt. 

After some time, it was over. Matt and Tony left court and mounted their bikes. We put away our papers, started our bikes, and headed to town in a somber mood. Matt was silent. It was getting dark now. 

Tony was agitated. Apparently he had to pay whatever the fine was, in essence making a loan to Matt. He said the police recorded the offense on his license and he muttered, “This would not have happened if he was following me.” Perhaps he could spot the seemingly invisible radar cameras.

We weren’t speeding and did not have any ducks … so they let us go.

We pulled into the alley with the Ha Giang Hostel, our destination. We dismounted, got our gear, and staggered into the lobby. We collapsed on the sofas. It was over. And we survived.

An older Vietnamese gentleman came over to me, pointed to the mud on my armored riding pants, smiled, and nodded a salute. I returned the smile and the salute nod. I think he may have been in the 4-wheel drive following us through the jungle.

Tony appeared for the last time to collect honorariums. As much as he frustrated me, I did respect his job.

We inquired if a room was available. Remember our reservation was 6 hours away in Ha Noi. We were given the same room we previously occupied. The hostel said a bus was available to Ha Noi the next day. We were too exhausted to go out for dinner.

Across the hall in a common space were two tables with upholstered bench seats.

Vietnam is an up and coming but still developing country with a thin mobile internet economy smeared over everything. On the table there was a card with a QR code that could be used to order food.

Lauren, bless her, took stock of me and said, “I’ll take care of it.” Soon enough, two shots of something appeared. She had tended bar parttime during grad school, so she knew what was required of the situation. I love my daughter.

Detecting signs of life, she ordered another round and a pizza. We ate, recharged, and I discovered that I could smile and laugh again. Walking out of the jungle, I was not sure that would be possible.

I was deeply satisfied with another epic adventure. One of my bucket list items. Glorious sleep followed.

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