Day 43: Sa Pa to Ha Giang
Although the drive was beautiful, the roads were so bad for such a long time that I burst into tears. Immediately upon crossing into the Ha Giang district, all road care ceased and the entire route was massive potholes, rocks, bumps, etc.
We did meet some sweet Vietnamese people who were very interested in Mak’s drone!
Day 44: Ha Giang
Today we spend the day in Ha Giang, which has turned out to be a cute city with more tourism than we have seen in weeks. We spent the day getting our bikes cleaned, oil changed, and planning our route through the North.
Here is the plan:
Night 1: Du Gía via Yen Minh
Night 2: Dong Vân
Night 3: Sneak into China in the far north, then return to Dong Vân to sleep
Night 4: Complete the dangerous but beautiful Sky Pass and sleep in Bao Lac
Night 5 & 6: Two day drive to Hanoi.
Day 45: Ha Giang - Du Gía 12/19
79 km
Unfortunately things did not go to plan.
We started our day at 5:30am, starting on the roads before sunrise to avoid the police. Police checkpoints are located at the very start of the Ha Giang Pass to prevent unlicensed tourists (Mak and I) from driving it. It worked - no police problems.
An hour into our drive on day one, however, Mak skid out on a wet corner littered with gravel. Once he picked up his bike, he saw me skid out right behind him.
Mak was able to walk away unharmed, but my mirror was smashed and my knee was in bad shape.
I was still able to get back on the bike, but after a few kilometers I realized I was really struggling emotionally with this accident. This was about five seconds before I was charged by a water buffalo.
Literally.
I was rolling by a herd of buffalo on the road in second gear (a common occurrence) and one lowered his horns and rammed into the left side of me and my bike. Unbelievable. I was able to chug away with no real damage, but the village girls were clearly concerned that their buffalo had just tried to push a tourist off the road.
I finally caught up to Mak and we pulled over at a rest stop set into a Vietnamese forest. Mak built a small fire and cooked eggs and ramen for lunch. In case you’re wondering, the cure to recovering from the shock of an accident is exactly this.
After a relaxing hour we continued on our way to Du Gía.
Day 46: Du Gía
The next morning in Du Gía, we packed everything onto our bikes only for me to realize that my knee wouldn’t bend enough to sit on the bike. I knew it was swollen but had assumed that since I could drive with it the previous day, it would still be okay. That was not the case.
It was frustrating, but Mak was a good sport about it. We spent the day resting in Du Gía, and I kept my leg elevated in the hopes that it would bend enough the next day.
Day 47: Du Gía
My knee couldn’t bend enough today either. With input from a backpacking nurse and veterinarian, I determined that my knee most likely had a pulled interior ligament. Not very serious, but I needed rest. I probably would not be back on the bike in time for Christmas.
On top of that, Mak and I were out of cash, and the village of Du Gía didn’t have an ATM.
While I iced my leg with Coca-Cola, Mak drove three hours round trip to Yen Minh to get cash.
I found a bus that would take both me and my bike to Ha Giang the next morning, and from Ha Giang I could take another bus to Hanoi. Mak will continue with as much of our original plan as possible, and we will meet up in Hanoi for Christmas in four days.
Day 48: Du Gía to Ha Giang
So I missed the bus. It left at 6:30 instead of seven.
So one receptionist hopped on my bike and I hopped on the back of another bike with another receptionist (my knee just fully extended out to the side) and we drove down the road to catch up with it.
My bike was wedged onto the bus with many Vietnamese locals, and we careened around the beautiful Ha Giang mountains. The road here was absolutely terrible, and I was so grateful to not be on my bike for this stretch of road.
Day 49: Ha Giang to Hanoi
Today I took a bus to Hanoi, my motorbike secured in the storage underneath. It was nine hours long, but it was a sleeper bus so I was able to nap.
When I arrived in Hanoi, I realized that the bus station was a full 30 minute drive from the hostel, so I was stranded with my bike on the wrong side of town.
After some careful stretching, I was able to bend my knee enough to get on the bike and ride through Hanoi traffic. It was such a victory! I was so excited to have both ridden the bike and survived. My knee must be doing better!
Fingers crossed it heals enough in Hanoi for me to drive to Ha Long Bay for New Year’s!
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