Our Vietnam Road Trip, Part Two

We are back on the road with our super scooters travelling through Vietnam starting where we left off, Hoi An. Our next journey was to Hue which involved riding through the infamous Hai Van Pass. Unfortunately it was a really underwhelming experience as we saw much more spectacular sights during our other trips, particularly on our nerve-wracking ride in the mountains out of Dalat that we spoke about in the first part of this blog. We counted ourselves lucky for having the other special experiences and continued on our way to Hue. The coast in Vietnam is beautiful and so untouched that it's always a pleasure to ride around the winding cliffs in the sunshine.

One thing we began to learn whilst riding was that everyone on the road only looks out for what's directly in front of them. This means a young child riding a motorbike or a huge truck full of livestock will hurtle out onto the road in front of you without so much as a glance behind, you are just expected to slow down or stop if they get in your way. Generally it works as we haven't seen any accidents, everyone just does what they need to do even if that is veering across six lanes of traffic on a push bike. We've also learnt a lot about the kinds of objects you can carry on a motorbike from 5m long stalks of bamboo trailing on the floor behind,  to a couple of fridges precariously balanced on the back. It's madness to us but everyone seems to get where they need to go, you just have to always be on your toes watching out for the next surprise.

Hue was a welcoming place but we saw it when it was very rainy! The weather in Vietnam is so varied that when the south is roasting hot, the central area is very wet and the north is cold. This makes travelling around really interesting as you never know what you might find, particularly during winter! In Hue we visited the grand Imperial City, a walled Palace and Citadel which was once the imperial capital of Vietnam. After the wet start we were heading to Phong Nha, a national park full of caves with the oldest karst mountain in Asia formed over 4 million years ago. We both said to each other as we left Hue it can't possible pour with rain the whole 200km journey right? It really did and when you're riding a bike the wind chill is unbearable. We stopped at a petrol station where a man saw me shivering uncontrollably and kindly gave me a poncho. It covered me, my bag and my bike and flapped around like crazy in the wind, but I think it kept me alive meanwhile Josh was braving the weather in shorts. We eventually made it to Phong Nha and after a few laughs from the hotel staff at our downed appearance, they showed us to our room.

There's nothing we can say about Phong Nha that will do this beautiful place justice. The bountiful limestone cliffs look so impressive and varied as some dramatically grow out of the landscape whilst others fit perfectly together in sloping symphony. The quaint town was really welcoming and very quiet at this time of year. In winter the lower temperature and increased rain just adds to the prehistoric atmosphere with the misty mountains looking even more mysterious. Just riding around the park was mesmerising, we must have stopped 50 times just to take photos or admire the view of untouched rainforest, we'd never seen anything quite like it. The Botanical Gardens were a jungle adventure with a mighty waterfall to climb at the end. We arrived at the base of this huge waterfall ready to climb to the top but it was rainy season so the river was very deep and very fast. There was a point high up the cascading water where we would have to wade through the river so we made the decision to edge our way back down. It was still a lot of fun and probably one of the most beautiful waterfalls we've been able to clamber over. Phong Nha is famed for having the largest cave in the world which is 5km long with a cavern big enough to accommodate a 747. Unfortunately it also has the longest waiting list to explore of 3 years and the highest price tag of $3000 so we went to see Paradise Cave instead. It was stunning and a real joy to walk around to see the colossal stalagmites and stalactites.

Perhaps it was our sadness at leaving Phong Nha that made the weather turn again but we had a very wet ride through the national park towards our next stop over Vinh. The road was such a joy to ride on as the views were truly spectacular. The cliffs are all covered in such dense jungle that even what looks like grass is actually a carpet of vibrant ivy that could be metres thick. We stopped a few times to take some gorgeous pictures of the area and shake off the rain pooling onto our coats. It did actually stop raining by the time we got close to Vinh which was great, but it was also dusk when all the insects fly around which meant lots of splattered flies on our faces.

Ninh Binh is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to Hanoi and is famed for being like an inland version of Ha Long Bay. The weather was unbelievably dry here to say we'd experienced so much rainfall only a few hundred km south which we were thankful for. We went on a boat trip through the caves in Trang An which was one of our favourite experiences whilst in this town. After a few minutes of rowing around the cliffs, our guide began heading towards the rock face which we thought was for us to take a closer look at the beautiful limestone. We then noticed a hole at the bottom, we both looked at each other not believing that we could fit in this tiny cave. The lady manoeuvred the boat with such skill, we must have only had a few feet of room in the pitch black of the cave and we were all ducking as low as possible, but we made it through. It was scary but magical being in a cave that tiny and it went on for what felt like forever until eventually we came out the other side. The trip took about 3 hours rowing though the giant cliffs and more hidden caves with our wonderful guide. After the boat ride we took ourselves over to Bai Dinh Temple with the tallest pagoda in South East Asia. We ended our day sat on top of a cliff at Hang Mua to watch the sunset over the gorgeous limestone landscape.

We knew we had to visit Ha Long Bay on our trip to Vietnam so we made the decision to ride over to Cat Ba an island close by. This meant it was significantly cheaper as we could arrange our own one day tour and not have to stay overnight on one of the old boats. The journey to Cat Ba was also a test as we had to navigate bridges that didn't exist on maps and ferry crossings with boats that looked like they were on their way to the scrap yard. Cat Ba is another diamond in the rough as although surrounded by industrial areas, it is a national park with historic caves and rolling hills. Our day trip to Ha Long Bay began at 7am but as we stepped out of the door we noticed something that wasn't there the day before, very strong winds. We quickly learnt from our tour guide that we had to get the go ahead from security before we were allowed to leave due to the gale, which meant a change to our schedule. If we're honest it was for the best as we ended up having the bay to ourselves! Kayaking within the cliffs, watching the sea eagles soaring above in a beautiful location with not another boat in sight was perfect, even though we technically only saw La Han Bay. We also had a rather odd adventure on the beach with our guide playing bizarre games and trekking barefoot in the jungle which you can see in the video. Overall it was a lovely day with Asia Adventures who also have a little dog nicknamed Tesco at the shop, if you're lucky she will jump on your lap for a cuddle. 

We ended up coming into Hanoi on a bus not on our trusty bikes as we sold them to two lovely German guys on the boat trip. It felt like fate as it was exactly what they were looking for and it was a good a time as any for us to depart. We hope they run as well for them as they did for us as we didn't have a single problem during our whole trip and they were super speedy through the mountain passes. Our visit to Hanoi was a chance to wind down after the busy travelling we'd had, but we arrived during the weekend madness so everywhere was very busy. There was no room at the inn as our hotel double booked, but the Christmas vibes kept us going as we searched for somewhere else to stay. The cold weather made it feel even more like December, well it was only 17C but to us that felt Arctic. We ate very well here as there's so many unique veggie places to sample, with friendly dogs of course, and it was also a chance for us to find a Christmas present for each other at the market. Being wrapped up in our coats due to the temperature drop made us incredibly excited for our next adventure in the Philippine sunshine.