Day 47! I want to preface this post by saying I’m okay!! I had a bit of a tumble on my bike which I’ll get into, but I came out of it with just a few scratches and road rashes thankfully. But I’m not in the market of sugarcoating the dangers of riding a motorbike in Vietnam. So I do go into details of what happened in this post.

I woke up this morning at 6am to a beautiful foggy and quiet view (very different to the loud party that went late into the night).

I quickly got ready, packed my backpack, and set out on my 3.5 hour motorbike ride from Ba Be to Cao Bang.

This time around, I left my bike at the top of the hill so I didn’t have to worry about how to get back up.

I set out on a motorbike ride I was never going to forget…

To start it off, I was surrounded by a beautiful mish mash of mountains, clouds, and lakes! I crossed over a bridge and it presented a prime viewing of it all!

I then wound my way through a slow ascent that took me further and further up the mountainside leading me to some spectacular views.

There were staggered fields and rolling hills with lots of lush forests poking out of the mountains.

The road trip started to take a turn when I got very high up into the mountains and hit white out conditions. This lasted for quite some time and it was not fun to drive in.

I could also tell the clouds were covering up some gorgeous views!

But I mustered on and conquered the spooky driving conditions!

As I got low enough out of the clouds I could see the sun peaking out and the reward for getting there was some more absolutely stunning views!

The sun was poking through the clouds at points and it felt angelic! I’m very glad I got to see these crazy sights.

As I made my way down the mountain, I reached a town where they had ribbons up for Tet and it felt like I had reached a finish line for accomplishing the sketchy ride through the fog.

My accomplishment was met with more amazing views after the town. I saw these insane rolling fields of (what I think was) cabbage.

I then had to make my way back up the mountains, but luckily this time around I wasn’t having to brave it through mist.

Unfortunately, I did have to deal with wet roads… and this lead to an issue.

But before the issue arose, I got to experience a couple more gorgeous views!

I then found this awesome place to take a cool photo with my phone propped up on my bike and was taking ample breaks when I could to take cool pictures of the scenery and take in how amazing the nature was around me!

But approximately 25 minutes after I took this picture… my bike slipped and crashed.

A bit earlier on the ride I started having problems with my back tire skidding around… it almost felt like it did when I had a flat tire a few weeks ago.

But this time around I didn’t have a flat tire, so I pressed on.

After this I had another big moment where I skidded around, but didn’t fall, and I realized I needed to take this part of the ride a lot slower. And then at one of the stops where I took a picture I realized that a strap of my backpack was dangling and could have been wrapping/unwrapping around the back wheel to make it stop periodically.

When I fixed this it felt a lot better. And I took one turn after the other feeling okay.

I thought to myself “okay Kilby, we’re back in business.”

But immediately on the next turn my back tire completely slid out and I ended up falling with my bike and skidding a few meters.

I pushed Kilby off of me, a bit rattled but realized I really hadn’t hurt myself and was immediately grateful. But I had no time to reflect yet as I needed to get out of the road.

I got my bike up and pushed it to the side of the road where there was actually a large area for me to be safely and rest for a bit.

A couple locals were nearby and rushed over to make sure I was okay. There wasn’t much they could do or that needed to be done, but I was very glad they were around even if we couldn’t speak the same language.

I’m insanely lucky and fortunate. I walked away from this with a couple bloody knuckles, a scrap on my knee, and two road rashes on my side. Wearing long pants, a sweatshirt, a jacket, and a serious helmet saved me from potentially major injuries.

On top of that, Kilby had no damage! I’m not sure what karma I’ve stacked up to help me through this journey, but I’m not taking this for granted and I’m learning from it.

Turns out, my back tire was more dull than I thought it was so for the rest of the ride to Cao Bang (another 30 kilometers) I took it VERY slow.

I stopped at a gas station on my way back and cleaned up my cuts. This was the aftermath of my clothes. Didn’t even tear them but they did what I hoped they would do!

Once I finally made it to Cao Bang I stopped at the first mechanic I could find. I told him what happened, asked him to do a full check on it, and he came back after a test ride with that the back tire was the problem.

320,000 Dong later, he replaced the wheel and tightened up the back brake and the bike instantly felt so much better.

When I get to Ha Giang I’ll do one more mechanic check just to make sure everything is good to go!

I got to my hostel and took a shower then a power nap.

When I awoke, the worker at the hostel told me it wasn’t going to be possible for me to make it to the waterfall and back before the sun went down. So after a bit of disappointment, I heeded his advice.

I think this all was a big sign from the universe to slow down and take my time. I’m traveling for a while and I don’t need to rush through things!

So I changed out of my biking clothes and into my casual city driving clothes and set out on the quiet streets to find lunch.

I went to the cities river front for some food at the hostels sister cafe (owned by the same people). The food was good, but felt very westernized, but it was still cheap.

I then took a walk on the riverfront and explored parts of the downtown. It was a nice, hot, and sunny afternoon!

I then went on the hunt for some antibacterial ointment and showed up to a place that allegedly had some… they did not. But the lady working there pointed me across the street to a pharmacy… with no one at the counter.

So I asked the lady working in the shop next door if she knew where they went and she didn’t. But she then walked me to another pharmacy a minute away and they had it! The locals here are just so friendly and helpful!

I ended up heading back to my hostel and enjoying more alone time with reading the book I’ve been devouring!

I spent time in a chair in front of my hostel and then spent some time in the AC of my hostel dorm room where there’s actually a couch to relax on!

I then heard a westerners voice in the lobby of my hostel so I went down to investigate.

There was a lady from the Netherlands working with the hostel staff to figure out her bus ride to Ha Giang. So I didn’t interrupt and just started reading again.

Then a bit later, two guys from Australia arrived on the bus she was thinking about taking in the other direction. So we all started chatting about how horrible their journey was. Apparently the bus was super cramped and people were literally sitting on top of them and sleeping on them!

After a bit of chatting, we all decided to go get dinner together at a place recommended to one of them!

The restaurant was a broken down Banh Mi and it was super delicious. The women working there were super lovely and when we were leaving I saw a dessert sitting on the counter and asked what it was.

Instead of telling me, they just handed me a little slice of it and also gave some to the other three travelers I was with! I’m not sure what it was, something sugary with nuts, but it was very kind of her to share.

The workers also couldn’t get over how tall we were and were giggling themselves silly over it.

We then of course had to get the ritual sweet treat after dinner and I treated myself to a Toblerone.

Tomorrow I’ll be driving to the Ban Gioc waterfall with the two Australian guys I met!

It was a long day and as I reflect on it I realize just how lucky I am. I’m grateful for this unique opportunity to be seeing Vietnam on a motorbike. But I always need to remember the inherent risks that come with it. I’m very fortunate to have come out of today relatively unscathed and need to continue to take precautions and make sure my bike is in proper shape!

Along with that, I was reminded to take my time! Just because other travelers have deadlines, doesn’t mean I have to rush! Taking my time today led me to meeting two awesome guys to ride with to the waterfall tomorrow! And I’m sure it will continue to lead me to very unique opportunities.

I unfortunately found out today, that while Valentin was on the Ha Giang loop, his engine completely stopped working. So he got stranded in a small town, sold his bike to a mechanic, was waiting for a car to come pick him up, and ended his time on the loop early and will be heading off to Thailand very soon.

I’m fairly certain I’ll see him soon, but if not, I’ll definitely be seeing him in Australia!

I love you all and I know writing about a crash is unsettling, especially to my family and friends. But I don’t want to sugar coat this and give people the wrong impression of what motorbiking in Vietnam entails.

I’m not going to let this experience be a negative and I will learn, reflect, and continue to be as safe as possible as I go further on my journeys!

– Elie