In order to discover what is supposed to be some of the most spectacular scenery of Southeast Asia -or so many guidebooks say- we took a motorbike tour throughout Northwest Vietnam.  After three days and 600km both on- and off-road, we have to say that this truly is some of the most beautiful and diverse landscape we have ever seen. And riding the motorbike was a very special way of seeing this all, feeling as if we formed part of the surrounding nature.

The tour started in Ha Noi from where we traveled to Mai Chau, a district Southwest of Ha Noi, located in a valley surrounded by endless rice fields, and known for its stilt houses made of bamboo and timber. These houses, typical of Thai ethnic Vietnamese, are elevated off the ground to avoid water damage and to shelter their animals.  We slept in one of these stilt houses belonging to a wonderful family.  They cooked us a delicious local dinner as well as one of the best noodle soups we’ve had yet for breakfast.

Day 2 took us from Mai Chau to Phu Yen, heading Northwest, from where on day 3 we headed East back to Ha Noi. Throughout the entire tour, the scenery was truly amazing.  The colors and shapes of the land were constantly changing. As we were driving, we left behind a large and diverse selection of crops, including banana plantations, sugar cane, corn, green tea, plum trees, bamboo, rice and bee hives; all of which were planted on every possible surface, from mountains to hills, valleys, riversides, lakes, reservoirs, waterfalls etc.  The combination of shades of green, brown and yellow made it appear at points as if there was a patchwork on the hills.

Later on, we found out one of the main reasons that makes this possible. Every Vietnamese family (4 persons: father, mother, and 2 kids – maximum number of children permitted) is granted by the government a plot of land of approximately 100m2 which they have to exploit with some sort of agriculture. The result is a rich selection of crop, which after it’s picked is laid out along the side of the road to dry.  The countryside street life is decorated with drying vegetables, roots, nuts, and fish, which are also accompanied by an assortment of two and four legged friends.  Chickens, roosters, ducks, turkeys, cows, bulls, pigs, boars, goats, dogs and cats are all freely wandering along the road. Moreover, we can’t forget to mention the lovely children sitting and playing on the streets, who were enthusiastically greeting us as we would drive by their village.

On day 3, the windy weather, the upcoming rain and a mild pain in our butts from the bumpy road, made the way back to Ha Noi pretty straightforward. Upon arriving to the city we experienced what is driving in the middle of one of the most chaotic driving styles in the world. Having made it to (and through!) the old quarter safely is definitely a sign of our adaptation skills to Asian driving. It’s best described as “strangely controlled chaos”.  As you are in a situation where all motos and cars are driving in multiple directions on the same street at the same time without any traffic lights, Josep has a theory that it is best to be in the middle of a group when turning left.  This, as you don’t have the highest risk of an accident as the first moto, and also are not the last one in danger of getting snapped up by the impatient oncoming traffic.  Well, we made sure to take a few “fun” videos to share.. if you’re interested remember to ask us when were back!

Next post: Ha Noi city life.