I was told by several folks to work my way from South to North in Vietnam as the landscape continues to get better. I have found this to be the case throughout my time here, but this week, I really got it. Both Ninh Binh and the Ha Giang motorbike loop were absolutely stunning. The mountain formations are unlike anything I’ve seen before and there were plenty of jaw dropping moments in the hills, as well as incredible views for sunrise and sunset.
LOCATIONS
- Ninh Binh, Vietnam (Nov 1- Nov 2)
- Ha Giang, Vietnam (Oct 3 – Oct 6)
ACTIVITIES
Ninh Binh by Bicycle
I spent my first afternoon in Ninh Binh cycling around. It was a great way to see all the hills from different perspectives. By happenstance, I hit a killer sunset on my way back to my hostel. Honestly, not much more to say about this one, so I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
Hang Múa at Sunrise
There’s a pagoda atop a 500 step climb nestled on the edge of the hills in Ninh Binh. Most of the folks I talked to that had walked up went for sunset. The reviews I heard were that the sunset view was amazing, but the space up near the pagoda was quite small and it was incredibly crowded which took away from people’s ability to enjoy the view.
So I decided the way to get the best of both worlds was to hit it at sunrise. I tried to rally a few others to join me but ended up the only one wanting to get up at 5 to get over there in time. The plan was to take a Grab taxi, but after 10 minutes of waiting in the morning, no drivers had accepted. There happened to be a middle-aged Vietnamese woman on a scooter nearby the square I was waiting at. I walked over and asked if she knew any way I could get a taxi. She said no to the taxi but said that she had a bicycle I could rent for the day. I wasn’t sure at this point if I could ride myself over there in time, but I didn’t have many other options so I went for it. She took me back to her homestay, I got the bike, and hustled over as quickly as I could. It’s a bit more challenging trying to hustle on a single speed upright bike with a basket that’s too small than it is on my road bike. Not very aero or efficient.
Thankfully, I got to the bottom of the viewpoint about fifteen minutes before sunrise time and booked it up the large steps. Ten minutes later I arrived at the top, out of breath but ready to enjoy the view. My company was a whopping three other people when I arrived. No more than a dozen others came up throughout my time perched on the rocks taking in the beauty of the surrounding green hills, city, and fields.
Ha Giang Loop
Wow. This one is hard to describe in a compact fashion. Four days on the back of a motorbike through endless mountains, valleys, rivers and rice terraces with a group of eleven new friends from Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands. Three nights hanging out in homestays with one to two other groups of similar sizes sharing so much good food & drink, and singing karaoke (well, for me mostly listening to others sing karaoke).
I’ve never seen views like this before. I’ve seen equally beautiful places, but they’re each unique and this was no exception. Honestly, I had no idea there was this kind of expansive mountain range in Vietnam, covered head to toe in green trees of all shapes and sizes and rice terraces everywhere. I’ve never seen rice terraces in person before, and they are an architectural beauty. They’re incredibly simple, but the distinct layers and designs they create in the hills are stunning. The lines and ledges between layers are so precise, and as much as they are designed for function, they carry so much beauty.
It was also really nice being around the same group of people for four days. It was a needed break from all the resetting every single day interacting with new people, and it was fun getting past the initial conversations and learning a bit more about what everyone’s lives look like back home. I was dubbed “Seattle” early in our trip, and in honor of that I tried to get a bit of husky energy going in a few of our pics.
REFLECTIONS
Simple Joys
At one of our viewpoint stops along the Ha Giang loop, I noticed two young kids in the distance. They were doing somersaults in the grass and were filled with laughter. They didn’t need any toys or any screens to enjoy themselves, and it struck me.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the grand experiences that we look forward to and overlook the little moments of joy in the day to day. There’s so much beauty all around us if we just take a bit of time to look for it. It’s impossible for life to be a continued mountaintop experience, and I think there is a lot of value in learning how to appreciate the mundane.
Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is something that I’ve thought about at an intellectual level in the past, but I don’t think it’s ever hit me in the face quite as much as it has on this trip. Every day I choose to stay in one city is a day less I have to spend in another. Add enough of those up, and eventually it means there are certain cities I won’t make it to, and the same goes for countries. As much as I don’t have a hard timeline for my travels, I do have a few times where I want to shift continents and that means my time on each is limited.
There’s a temptation for me to focus on all the places I won’t get to instead of just enjoying where I’m at. It’s a reality I have to accept that I’ll never be able to see and do everything. As challenging as that is, there’s a strange sense of comfort in it too. There’s no “right” place to go at any given time, and chances are that any place I end up will be enjoyable if I approach it with the right mindset.
Pace
Another thing that relates to opportunity cost is pace. It’s been on the forefront of my mind especially after my time on the Ha Giang loop. As amazing as it was, we moved so quickly by motorbike and by the fourth day I felt overloaded by all the views. They started to blend together and lose a bit of their wow factor. It was disappointing to know that what I was seeing was beautiful but not being able to fully feel that way.
I find when I slow down, it’s easier to be present in what’s around me. For me, that’s taken the form of bicycling instead of motorbiking / driving, or taking time to wander a city by foot with no plan.
In the high-level picture of my trip thus far, my pace has been quite quick and I’m starting to feel the toll of that. I think it’s natural to start that way, as all the travel I’ve done in the past has been in 2-3 week chunks and it’s feasible to run at more of a sprint for that duration of time. But on the scale of months, it becomes less and less so. I’m feeling ready for some more relaxed days, and I’m hoping once I get to the beaches of Thailand that will be a good rest point for me.
BLOG POSTS
- A Different Kind of Decluttering
- Photos – I’ve got a wider array of highlight photos linked now!
NEXT UP
My time in Vietnam is coming to a close. I’m headed to Hanoi tomorrow night, which will be my final stop before I jump over to Thailand. As much as I’ll miss Vietnam, I’m excited to step into a new country with new culture, new food, and new scenery. If you’ve got any recommendations, send them my way!
As always, if you know anyone that you think would be interested in anything I’m writing about, I’d ask that you consider sharing this with them.
Thanks for being here. Talk to you next week.
– Trevor