We rode the short 20 km to Ba Be National Park where the protected Ba Be Lake is surrounded by lush, dense jungle. After checking into a lovely Homestay on the Lake (Khanh Toan) we explored some of the backroads before coming across Jun cafe. In the middle of nowhere, kareoke blaring from a pink tent. An odd site, but nothing surprised us much anymore. Ms. Jun rushed out to greet us with a warm smile. “Do you want to eat? This is the first day I’ve been open for the past two days. I was too drunk and tired. Big wedding here. 120 tables of eight people each. And so much rice wine!”
I instantly liked Ms. Jun.
“Such a big bike for a girl. I only see men on big bikes.” She further exclaimed. “What do you want to eat?” All this without taking a breath.
We let Ms. Jun decide what to cook for us. We had a big plate of stir fried noodles with pork and vegetables. It was great.
After lunch Ms. Jun arranged a private boat trip for us. We left Groot and Rambo with Ms. Jun and set out for Dau Dang Waterfall. The highlight of the waterfall was the short walk through lush jungle and gnarled trees to get to it.
What has utterly amazed us is the total lack of wildlife in Vietnam. Even on Cat Ba Island and now Ba Be National Park. Very few birds and no lizards, deer, rodents, wildcats, insects, monkeys. Nothing. Not even a squirrel. The response we got when we asked was simply “cheap protein”. I don’t know if this is factual or if they were being facetious. But it is odd. Lush jungle that is perfectly quiet. No hum of insects or sing song of birds. The only thing we have seen in abundance are beautiful butterflies of all colours and sizes. Some the size of small bats.
After the waterfall was the “fairy pool”. In Canada we would call this a swamp. Vendors sold roasted bananas, dried fish and tiny river shrimp. We bought some interesting looking goodies out of boredom and curiosity. One looked like the treat the border guard gave us in Lao. We bought this out of sentiment. We hoped Jun could tell us what it was once we got back to shore (Bánh Gai or Glutinous Rice Cake). Then it was off to a sad temple on an island. Another stop to sell various unknown goods to tourists and wait on our boat captain to smoke and play cards.
Like all of the tourist attractions we have done in Vietnam, this boat tour was disappointing. And a sign that it was time to leave this beautiful country behind for a new adventure.
The riding has been spectacular. Every day riding through stunning and ever changing scenery. Twisty roads, friendly faces, beautiful villages and a myriad of colourful crops. Mountains and valleys, sunshine and cloud. We’ve loved every minute of it. If motorcycling through Lao and Northern Vietnam wasn’t on your bucket list, it should be.
To do it again we would skip some of the tourist hot spots and do more riding. I would cut out Ba Be National Park and Ban Gioc Waterfall and spend more time riding around Muong Khuong. Cat Ba Island is a toss up. The riding to and from Cat Ba Island was awful freeway driving. Riding around Cat Ba was fun. As far as tourist hot spots, I loved Sa Pa and Tam Coc. Lao was perfect, I wouldn’t change much of that trip. Exploring the backroads of Nong Kiaow and hanging with Sammy are highlights, as are the days of gorgeous riding to get to Luang Prabang.
Live Life Epic 