Motorcycling North Vietnam: Hanoi and Hà Giang

March 2024

Devin organized a great motorcycle trip in North Vietnam for his 40th birthday. 10 of us, mostly Canadians, a Kiwi, and myself, the only American, were in and out of Hanoi and spent a week in Hà Giang, close to the border with China.

Hanoi is a fun, friendly, and delicious city. We stayed in the Old Town Area. It was fun seeing all the kids joyriding.

The rooms in our AirBnB had interesting names. I stayed in the “Comfy Room” it lived up to the name.

One of the first things we did on our dudes’ trip was get haircuts at an awesome bar/barbershop called House of Barbaard. Some of us had more hair to cut than others.

I ordered an Albert Eistien. To get the drink you need to finish the book (the little bottle was inside).

After my Albert Einstein I enjoyed a David Attenborough served inside a terrarium.

After a fresh haircut, some of us hit Train Street on a food tour. It is wild that this is a thing. People sitting by the tracks as trains come hurdling by.

Egg coffee. Once was enough.

Normally I try to stay out of prison, but on this day I went to prison to learn more about some of the brutal aspects of French colonial rule in Vietnam.

The French brought their guillotine.

Biker gang assembled in Hà Giang.

Ready to ride.

Amazing views for days.

We did our trip with a tour agency called Flipside. One of the great things they do is offer the opportunity to give back to the local Hmong community. We were able to support two families with weeks’ worth of food, including this bagged chicken I strapped on my bike and delivered personally.

They mostly grow and eat corn.

Took a short hike to a quality swimming spot.

First night glamping.

Every meal was so good.

Had a pretty intense storm in the morning.

Rode it out with a cat.

She knew one word in English, “money.”

Probably drank more coffee during this week than in my whole life previously.

This flat tire needed a woman’s touch to fix.

Dinners were always a good time, especially with Chian leading the happy water cheers Một, hai, ba, dzô! Hai, ba, dzô! Hai, ba, uống!

Most of us rode small semi-automatic bikes that were easy to handle and enjoyable to ride.

This cave used to be a hideout for Vietnamese opposition to French Colonial rule. It is now in the process of becoming a tourist attraction. We climbed a fence to get in.