Dong Van back to Ha Giang

Friday 11 November 2011
Today we are travelling back to Ha Giang from Dong Van, 150 km, via a different route.
Left Dong Van about 8.00 in the morning.  The mountains are huge, you might wind your way up for half an hour, and when you go up you gotta come down, just amazing riding up and downw these mountains. The scenery was quite different in this region, very rocky, you would wonder how they ever grow anything here. But everywhere you look, there are food crops growing.

 

 Titanium mine

 

 

 

These are very remote and poor villages, but very happy people.  Stopped and gave these kids some of our small gifts.

 

 

Allot more different types of crops here were obvious. Also when we came down into one valleys, marijuana grows wild and is about 2-3 metres high.  Its just everywhere and all the bottom branches have been eaten off by the animals.

Scott giving the weed a bit of a shake

Hai was in the weed too

Limestone Karst

As Hà Giang is a mountainous region, the population is not large, and the majority of inhabitants are ethnic Vietnamese. The remainder areH'Mông, Tày, Dao, Mán, Nùng, Giấy, Lô Lô and Thổ; the majority engage in ancestor and spirit worship

Đồng Văn

Đồng Văn is a market town 16 kilometres from Sà Phìn and 3 kilometres  from Chinese border is inhabited by the Tày and H'Mông people. It is an altitude of 1,025 metres and experiences freezing temperature of 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and 24 °C (75 °F)in summer months. The highland region is famous for fruits such as Hau plums, peaches and persimmons without seeds. It has such medicinal plants as ginseng, cinnamon and anise.^[6][29]

Mèo Vạc

Mèo Vạc is a mountain pass at about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) elevation which forms the basin boundary of the Nho Que River on the border with China is restricted zone

 

Where we stopped for lunch was right by a stream and this little girl of about 6-7 and her little brother about age 2 were taking the water buffalo out grazing down this little path. Well when the water buffalo saw us white people it took to the rice paddy. The little girl ran and ran after the water buffalo and the little brother ran after her. When we had finished our lunch and carried on our way, here was this little girl walking down the road with her water buffalo, doing her job as they grazed the sides of the road.

 Water buffalo taking off across the rice paddy

 

Some children that were hanging around while we were having lunch were lucky enough to get some left overs, but then we left some coke cans and they ran for those, apparently they can sell them and get money

 

 

Just come down out of the mountains and stopped at this village

digging rocks out the bank by hand to go into the small crushers that was vibrating away

 

 

We are overnighting in Ban Me village which is near Ha Giang in a homestay style thatched stilt house. The families prepare the meal for us and is so much delicious food. The meal is cooked on an open fire, in the downstairs area,  no flash conveniences here.

Stilt house we stayed in

 



the families  dog

The kitchen, all the cooking etc done down here by the bikes

breakfast overlooking the pond, fresh fish in the pond, chickens in a coup by the pond

(Just go and catch them when you need them for dinner)

Dong Van

Thursday 10 November 2011
Today's ride is from Ha  Giang to Dong Van  a ride of 145km.  Another day of riding  up high mountain passes among the colourful flower H'mong hill tribes.  Just such amazing scenery and to think that we are in an area that not many other tourists get to see.  We had a section that some of us went off road to get to the village where we were to see the King's Palace. Allot of this was just single lane track, with heaps of metal, a bank up one and and a huge drop down the other, which they grow rice etc on. Just stunning.
Visited Vuong Palace which was beside a village that had just finished a market day and they were cleaning up.

One of the diversions we made

 

 

Visiting Hmong people’s king palace, Vuong Chinh Duc, once considered to be the king of Hmong ethnic people in Ha Giang Province, ruled a vast area from the province’s Dong Van Plateau to Meo Vac Town in the early 20th century.

Dubbed as Vua Meo (king of H’mong people), he was also the founder of the famous Vuong Dynasty, the largest in Ha Giang Province at the time, where he lived in his unique, luxurious palace shaded with green samu trees.

Named Vuong Palace, it was built in solid stone, fir wood and terra-cotta tiles in ancient Chinese architectural style typical of the Man Qing era in China. Though it seems very much out of place, the palace itself is quite interesting and there are a number of tombstones of the dynasty’s people surrounding it which are also worth a look.

 

 

 

Morning coffee break

 

 

Break of another kind 

 

and they read Kiwi Rider where!!!!

 

 



Karst landscape



This road I think was after Dong Van



All the children do some work-I gave these ones some small gifts

The all have cell phones even in the remotest places

Some of the road between Ha Giang and Dong Van




 

Stayed at Rocky Mountain Platoe Hotel,walked around streets in Dong Van, which is up by the Chinese border.  Bought a traditonal Vietnamese coffee maker when we went walking in the streets.  also Met a couple of the Veitnamese guys that were with us who were out in the street enjoying some street food and rice wine, of which they offered us a shot. Strong stuff that.  There was a concert on in the town which we watched for a short while

 

A well deserved beer for all at the end of the days ride

 

 

 

 

Dong Van district is a high-border region of Ha Giang. 1,000 m above the sea surface, terrain is composed of mostly mountain rocks. The district is only 146 km from Ha Giang town but transportation is very difficult. In winter temperatures sometime drop to 1oC and in summer hottest time is just around 24oC, it is foggy throughout the year

Reaching Dong Van is an opportunity to test your courage with heavenly high passes and deep abyss, sometime one has to walk. But in exchange, you are immersed with the majestic nature, living alongside people still poor but full of joy and happiness in life.