She Wears the Pants, He Looks at Plants: What Sapa Ning?!

The motorcycle adventure has officially begun. We headed north of Hanoi to see the mountain regions of Sapa and the northern country side. We had heard the roads north of Ha Noi get a bit rough but the payoff of beautiful scenery and the countryside seemed like a fair trade.

Rest stop on a muddy and rainy day

The road

The set up...

The first day on the bike proved to be more difficult than we had planned. Just getting out of the hustle and bustle of the huge city was a challenge and on top of that, the four of us didn't have experience on manual motorcycles. After five hours, more than a few wrong turns, some rain, and mud, we stopped for the day. It was slightly embarrassing when we realized we only traveled 66km according to the map. The town where we stopped clearly does not see many travelers so there were some interested stares and curious children. We stayed at the only hotel in town that was a massive building and also home to the manager and his family. We were the only guests that night and the manager, Mr. Phu, who spoke no English knocked on our door at about 10pm and wanted us to go downstairs. We weren't sure if we were being kicked out of the place or in trouble for something so we followed him to the lobby. Next thing you know, we are sitting in the typical Vietnamese wooden furniture while he pours us shots of rice whiskey from a water bottle and skypes with his daughter who lives in Seattle. His other 14 year old daughter was our translator and we exchanged stories until two bottles were finished and we had tried all the Vietnamese treats he brought out (freshly roasted peanuts and fried rice balls). Thanks to Mr. Phu, we learned how to count to three and cheers in Vietnamese - Mot, Hai, Ba, Yooooooooo (one, two three, Yoooooo).

Waiting for our bikes to be fixed, having tea and coffee.

A normal sight

A truck o' pigs

With a few more interesting stops, we made it up the steep, winding, foggy road to the picturesque town of Sapa. The fog was so thick that we couldn't see the lake from our lake front guesthouse. Sapa is known for amazing trekking and beautiful scenery but due to the weather we got comfortable in some cafes. The morning we left, we realized what all the hype is about. It was clear as a bell and absolutely gorgeous. Fortunately we had some amazing mountian views on the road out.

Warming up by the coals after a long cold day! They are preparing Pho in the background! Yum!

The main church in Sapa in the fog

The thick fog of Sapa. This is in the towns main square!

Clear morning the day we left

We were finally getting into a groove and getting the hang of these bikes so when it was 3pm and we were 50km away from the next town, we decided to push on. Little did we know that 40km of the road ahead was dirt and mud and under construction. It felt like we were in a motocross tournament racing against day light, dump trucks, and other scooters to make it to the next town with promise of paved roads. Although we lost that race (to the daylight, not the dump trucks) we stopped at the first guesthouse that was also a restaurant. We sat down, opened a beer and at that moment the generator went out. Note to the adventurous traveler: never leave home without a headlamp.

After the long, dusty road!

Fishing net and rice paddies

A typical lunch stop

Rice Paddies

A view from the monument in Dien Bien Phu

Rice Paddies

A guy with a tree on the back of his motorbike. He has a light load compared to others on the road.

The rest of the loop was filled with spectacular vistas, mountain villages, small towns that fade into one another, mechanics, cafes with hammocks that serve tea and coffee, and Pho restaurants. Driving into Hanoi was even crazier than when we left. We arrived at rush hour and joined the tens of thousands of other moto-commuters in the organized chaos known as Vietnamese traffic! We hung out here for a couple of days to get the bikes tuned up and took a side trip to the famous Halong Bay.

Halong Bay...