Motorcycle Diaries: A Love Letter to the Ha Giang Loop

Stretching across the lush mountainous region of Northern Vietnam is an off the beaten path motorcycle trail known as the Ha Giang Loop. This trail is a four day long loop that spans enormous heights to deep valleys. This is the heart and soul of the Ha Giang Province. My time on the Ha Giang Loop left me forever changed. Here is my experience, seeing the Ha Giang loop through my eyes.

How I discovered the Ha Giang Loop…

I first discovered the loop while doing research for my first solo backpacking trip across Southeast Asia, I was 21 and planning to work my way across 5 different countries.

Evidently, the promise of this life changing journey wasn’t quite thrilling enough for me. I was really hungry for was some grand, daredevil, adventure to mark the success of my first big solo trip.

There was something about the appeal of coming home and saying, “Yea, trekking across 5 countries solo was great and all, but what was really life changing were the 4 days I spent on the back of a motorcycle riding through the mountains of Vietnam.”

I didn’t know much about Vietnam prior to my trip aside from 2 things: 1) they have some of my favorite food in the world, and 2) its home to some of the most iconic scenes of natural landscapes. The idea of this beautiful, green world in Vietnam brought me a sense of experiencing nature in a way I never had before.

How to Navigate the Ha Giang Loop

I discovered there were a few different ways to ride the loop. You could do it completely solo, navigating with just a map, (which I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re a real pro, but it is doable), or you can ride with a guided tour company.

As someone with no experience driving a bike, let alone on unpaved, cliffside, roads, I opted for option #2. I found this to be the most popular option among travelers.

In this case, each person is assigned their own “easy rider” who drives you for the duration of the trip. If you’re someone who is comfortable driving a motorbike on your own, you can also opt to ride solo while still being a part of the guided group.

Upon my arrival in Hanoi…

Upon my arrival in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, it was clear the Ha Giang Loop was what had everyone buzzing. Everyday a fresh group would hit the trail and another would return from their adventure.

This made the hostel a revolving door of exciting new tales of what the loop had in store. Everyday people were telling me how this adventure was the highlight of their Southeast Asia travels, and is sure to be mine too.

I remember making deals with friends, agreeing that despite whatever detailed accounts of the loop that we had heard, we would go in with no expectations. See for ourselves all it has to offer. I can now confidently say, that of all the adventures in my travels, the Ha Giang Loop is one that no amount of stories will be able to capture the true awe of. 

The ride of a lifetime begins…

Our first day taking off on the trail consisted of a lot of rain and fog, but we held out hope for the days to follow. After 4 hours spent on slicked roads our first day, we came across a Hmong village.

The Hmong people are an ethnic minority in Vietnam, and many villages can be found all throughout this mountainous region. The tribe is well known for their colorful attire, and farming techniques that allowed them to thrive in this region i.e. terraced rice farming.

Arriving at a Hmong Village

Immediately upon dismounting our bikes, our group was rushed by Hmong children, excited to get their hands on foreigners and have some fresh faces to play with.

The villagers gave us snacks and water, showed us their traditional clothing, and let us goof off with the kids. At some point the boys of the group joined together to go make secret handshakes and mess around.

This was when I was approached by a little girl who began pulling on my shirt, motioning me to crouch down. One by one each of us from the riding group knelt to the ground and were huddled around by 2-3 small Hmong girls. The little girls, giddy with excitement, began sectioning off our hair, passing giggles between themselves. They then began braiding.

“There was an almost tangible feeling of sisterhood…”

All of this took place with not a single word translated between us, yet there was an almost tangible feeling of sisterhood. A common thread that couldn’t let us forget, regardless of place of origin or language spoken, we were all connected.

I worked in tandem with the girls, demonstrating to the youngest of the group how to improve her technique. After finishing my new do, we giggled, hugged, and exchanged goodbyes. I thanked the girls for their warmth and we set off on the road once again.

 

On the Road Again…

We rode in a group of 30, in unison, whipping down and around the mountain roads. All of us, undoubtedly, having the ride of our life.

Each driver had their own unique and courageous personality, and they all had different strategies of making the ride as entertaining as possible for us.

Sometimes they’d race one another, or fly by, blowing a snarky kiss as they passed. Others had packed snacks and would toss a flying lychee into the wind, making a game out of catching and enjoying our snack.

They also made sure we all got the best photo ops, and would even steer us closer to the road’s edge when we’d near an especially breathtaking view.

“I wondered if the magic of the loop was ever lost on him. Or anyone for that matter.”

I wondered how many times they had made their way up and down these same mountain roads. If I paid attention, I could sometimes catch my driver gazing off into the distance, admiring the view for himself. I wondered if the magic of the loop was ever lost on him. Or anyone for that matter.

On our second day of riding, the rhythm of the ride had really begun to kick in for me. We’d begin at the mountain top, gazing down upon a valley of green giants. Then before I knew it, we’d be back at ground level, zipping through a field of sunflowers.

The amount of exploring we were able to accomplish in just four days was wildly impressive. No two views were the same.

I witnessed rice farmers working in their fields , livestock trotting alongside us on the roads, and children of the local villages running out of their houses to wave as we went by. Every wind of road would brought us into entirely new territory. 

The loop filled me with such an overwhelming sense of wonder that I hadn’t experienced since I was a child. It made me emotional.

“I was truly free, and simply present.”

It was a funny thing to have so much free time on the back of a bike and realize there was nothing in the world I was obligated to do in that moment. It was the first time I had ever felt this way, so stress free.

There was no deadline I was trying to meet, or looming payment I was working a double shift to make.

There were no thoughts, worries, expectations of me, sense of self or time, and no awareness of how close or distant I was from where I wanted to be in life. I was truly free, and simply present.

Reflection on the Loop…

During my time on this ride, I reminisced on certain times in my life. Specifically, the transition from pre-teen to teenager into young adulthood. A time when I didn’t know my place in the world or where I was going. When I felt like no one understood me, and by extension, that no one cared.

I imagined just how proud my teenage self would be of me and getting to witness this great dream of ours I was now living. I know she almost wouldn’t have believed it, if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Everything had come full circle. Soaring through fields of green, with the sunlight warm on my skin, and wind dancing in my hair. It was surreal.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, until they eventually got picked up by the wind. I was filled with so much compassion for my younger self, wishing I could tell her that we do eventually get to see the places we dreamed of, and feel the level of satisfaction for a life well lived.

I took the time to reconcile a lot of things within myself, on this ride, some of them I hadn’t realized I’d been hanging onto for years. Yet here I was, and somehow, I could feel the weight sloughing off my shoulders into the passing breeze.

After my Ha Giang Loop Experience…

My time on the Ha Giang Loop is still the most memorable for me of all my time in SEA. I had heard so many people’s accounts of their own journey on the Ha Giang Loop, and none of them could prepare me for the impact of my own journey on the trail.

Just like anything else in life or travel. You can listen to a million peoples stories, or their opinions about a person, place, or thing, and you never really know until you experience it for yourself. 

My solo trip is definitely the accomplishment I’m most proud of. The thing about solo travel is that when you take off to a foreign place where you are the only person you have to rely on, it grows your relationship with yourself in a way I don’t know that anything else could.

I remember leaving the Ha Giang Loop feeling like a new version of myself, a new sense of peace, and wonder for life. The diversity of experiences that I had in scenery, people, and food all in just one small region of the mountains of Vietnam, told me there was so much more to come in life, and in my travels.

By the time I was hopping on my plane back home to California and realized I had successfully navigated myself across so many borders and the adventures that followed, I felt capable of anything. I am the sole person with the power to make my dreams come true.

In Conclusion…

The experience was much more than just the motorbike trail for me. I left changed. I think some pieces of myself that had been missing for a long time fell back into place on that trail, and on my trip in general. But don’t take my story as the only Ha Giang Loop experience to be had.

Everyone who has had the courage to hop on a bike and hit the trail has their own unique story to tell. I couldn’t be more grateful for my experience and the impact it left on me.

 If you’ve had a Ha Giang Loop journey of your own or suggestions for other amazing travel adventures please feel free to share below!! As always if you have any follow up questions or concerns about my time on the loop, or solo traveling, feel free to leave them in the comments or send me a message on my socials.

Here’s to many more experiences on the horizon. 

With Love Always, 

Alyssa of LyssJustLiving