Trip of couple Anne-Marie and Christian AUDE with the local agency Vietnam Evasion
From September 20, 2019 to October 2, 2019
Tour : Hanoi – Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lung Phin – Lan Ha Bay
Episode 6: From the Gates of Heaven to Ma Pi Leng Pass, Meo Vac
The journey from Tam Son to Dong Van resumes above this small village, the steep road climbs to a viewpoint.
On the side of the road :
After a moment of astonishment, we have the answer: these children are made up and installed here in the middle of nature by their parents rather than going to the school. The objective is to collect some coins that tourists would like to give them since we are on a rather touristy road. It is obviously advised not to do so, otherwise it will encourage others not to go to school.
I have never seen anyone asking for money in Vietnam (unlike in Morocco for example), so they just smile.
As for me, I think that paying to take a picture is the last thing to do when traveling, so I won’t do it (we preferred to give clothes as seen in the previous episode)
The descent of the pass until the small city of Yen Minh is pretty without being as spectacular as the other side, then the road becomes more and more wild in direction of the city of Dong Van in the middle of the limestone peaks, with tiny valleys :
We make a detour to Sa Phin, a small village where the mysterious Vuong palace is located, a fortified residence which would have been built by the French for a local Hmong king.
If this palace in such a remote area is unlikely in the middle of limestone peaks, the palace itself is quite disappointing :
The road still winds through this amazing scenery, crossing another pass
then we reach Dong Van the most northern village of Vietnam, where Vinh still finds us a gargote with the excellent kitchen :
At the exit of Dong Van begins the climb to Ma Pi Leng Pass
We are then left with the 28km often presented as the most breathtaking in the country.
Accustomed to the summits of the Alps, we are often disappointed by the mountain landscapes encountered on our trip (we are more easily fascinated by some coconut trees on the edge of a green lagoon …. we will not do it again, especially if in addition a charitable soul offers us a drink based on rum while admiring the sunset), but the panorama at the top of the Ma Pi Leng pass will remain as a great moment of our trip. If there is one subject that is difficult to render in photos, it is the 360° mountain panorama.
One then starts a hike to the top of the pass
or women try to grow some plantations in these fields of stones
and where the locals take aerial ways to go to their houses lost in the mountain (we are happy not to be in 2 wheels as some days earlier).
What surprised me more than once in this northern mountainous region, is the extremely scattered habitat. Everywhere isolated houses where the inhabitants probably live on (very) little.
Another surprise: we find new schools in the most remote corners, often a single building where the inhabitants of the surroundings drive their children by moped in the morning when they are not too poor, otherwise the way to reach the school is called tong.
After crossing a small pass, we go down to a village
where Nghia awaits us above a deep gorge where the Nho Que river flows :
and as you can imagine, a refreshing hop-based drink is waiting for us… it’s been a long time since I put a picture of beer
We are only a few km from Meo Vac, we will spend the night in a hotel without any charm but clean and comfortable.
Food really any also in a kind of local fast food because we do not find a restaurant… Vinh does not have an address here.
Meo Vac, this is the end of “happiness road”.
This day was the least good for the weather, the sky was leaded all day long as we can see on the pictures.
To finish, a photo to make understand why we had so much difficulty to learn some Vietnamese words :
6 ways to write the word ma with 6 ways to pronounce it, which makes 6 different meanings.
Next episode : the market of Lung Phin
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 1)
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 2)
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 3)
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 4)
Fantastic roads Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 5)
Fantastic roads Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 7)
Fantastic roads Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 8)
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 9)
Fantastic routes Bac Ha – Hoang Su Phi – Ha Giang – Dong Van – Lan Ha Bay (episode 10)
