Day 3 & 4: The Quest for Ba Be

Sleeping in was all part of the plan the day we headed for Ba Be National Park, in nearby Bac Kan Province. We grabbed a late breakfast, throughout which a few local truckers insisted that we eat the various pig organs and body parts they had on their plate, while also attempting to get us as drunk as they were. Though it could've been a good time, we had some highways calling our names, and couldn't afford to get wasted at 10:30 AM. We escaped, having only had 3 small shots of rice wine (not whiskey) and a bit of pigs foot. Bags packed and secured to the bikes, we headed down the road toward the our restful lakeside destination.

Ba Be National Park consists of 3 interconnected lakes, all surrounded by steep limestone peaks and a forested area that has a diverse wildlife population. Relaxing by the lake, swinging in a hammock, with ambient jungle noise in my ears, and not a single automobile in sight sounded like the perfect way to spend a couple days. With this restfulness in mind, we powered on through the once again blazing midday heat (I'm never leaving a place at 11 AM ever again. What were we thinking??) on winding roads, which provided beautiful scenery, but at a much slower pace than expected.

a lot of this. we weren't mad

After making our way through a particularly spectacular valley hosting a particularly rugged stretch of highway (if its made of dirt, do you still call it a highway?), I looked over at the mile marker on the side of the road and realized that we no longer on the road we were supposed to be on. Again, we knew we would be coming to a turn in our route, but without a good map, it was hard to say where exactly our turns would come, and we often depend on highway signs and locals to help us out. Neither could do so this time, and the very kind people we went to for help couldn't actually pinpoint where their town was on the map... Despite it all, they seemed cautiously confident that we should continue in the direction we were heading in the first place, and once we convinced ourselves they were right, we headed off.

Did we get the right directions? Read on to find out the not soo shocking answer, then later: a twist!

  We realized after about an hour of further driving that they were NOT, in fact, right. As it turns out, they were exactly wrong, and sent us the opposite way that we should've gone. We ended up well south, in yet another town that was nowhere near our destination. Needless to say we were disappointed, and further from Ba Be than we had been an hour previously. But we stopped for a snack and a drink, and the folks we talked to seemed much more knowledgeable about the location of their town and the national park. It was around 4 PM by this time though, and it was clear we would not make it all the way to the park, which by most estimations was still about 3 hours off.

We were in good spirits despite it all, and decided to get as far as possible, which meant getting to a small town called Na Hang. Once there, we settled in, watched a local soccer match, ate some food and hit the sack. As we drifted off, visions of Ba Be fluttered through our heads, and at only 50 KM away, we hoped to be there by 11 AM the next day.

Spoiler Alert: the white team won

its hard to make headway in the trip when you have to stop for pictures every 7 minutes

As we headed off in the morning, we knew exactly how far the park was: 57 Km. We were right on the highway that would take us there, with no turning necessary. On an average highway, we could do that in about an hour. But with mountain roads and rainy season conditions, we had to factor based on a much slower speed, and figure it would take us about 2 hours. Locals confirmed that estimation, and things were looking good for at least 1 restful day by the lake, before the 2 day return leg back to Hanoi.

Things looked better every step of the way. We drove on beautiful little winding roads, and while Dan did experience a little difficulty with a bunch of large rocks that had washed onto the road, the drive was still one of the best we'd had. The mountains just kept getting better (and the roads a bit worse) as we as passed through a town called Da Vi, 30 Km from Na Hang, and only 27 Km from our destination.

As we pulled around the corner and into the next valley, what I saw was truly mind-blowing. My words and pictures struggle to describe what a gloriously beautiful place this was. Mountains, waterfalls, villages, rice paddy terraces, snaking cliffside road, this place had it all folks, and I never wanted to leave. I will show you these pictures, but know that me photographing this place is like asking a 5 year old to finger paint a portrait of Helen of Troy: we can't QUITE do it justice.

farms for days

where do the terraces end and the roads begin

Just your average Wednesday morning commute

As we stood taking pictures and admiring the fabulous view, a couple local homies pulled up on their bike and look at us quizzically. They asked Dan where we were going, and we told them Ba Be, just about 25 Km away. They laughed.

Great. Now what.

They told us that the road got much worse just around the bend, and that it would take us at least 3-4 hours to cover the distance on our bikes, as we would be pushing them.

Awesome! Though this was not the first local we'd talked to about our plans in the last 2 days, this WAS the first we'd heard of impassible roads. We found the news a bit difficult to digest, as we were soooo close and had been trying to get to this place for 2 days now. As such, we felt we had to at least go and see for ourselves.

So we went. And we saw for ourselves.

How did we even make it that far??

The End of The Road. Officially.

After brief consultation over tea with our new friend at the end of the line, and some thorough map searching, we found that there was no choice but to head right back where we came from. Sooooooooooooooooooo it was back down the muddy hill, back to Na Hang, back down the exact same route we'd just driven, which, to its credit, was still quite lovely. About 1 PM and we're right where we were at 8 AM...

Horse meat is actually a local delacy in the Na Hang area...

We snacked in Na Hang, and got to our next stop, the town that had the day previously sent us in the right direction. They were happy to see us, and the minute we sat down for a drink, it started pouring, and it's always a good feeling to just beat the rain. We realized at the late hour, we weren't leaving this town tonight. So after a few more drinks with friends, we found a suitable hotel, and got some rest.

On some levels, it might seem like a failure of a trip, and indeed it was to a certain extent. But the journey was a good one, and though the places we rested our heads were not what we were hoping for, the ride was far better than we expected. Shit happens, but we saw some fantastic things and had fun the whole way.

We planned on an early morning, and knocking out the last leg to Hanoi in one go, putting us back in town a day earlier than expected. A day and a half back in the big city awaits, before the train south and the trip to Southern Laos. 

Stay tuned!