Day 53! With unfortunate weather coming through it’s time for a change of plans! Where to next? Well, I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

I woke up this morning with excitement for a nice hike and plenty of outdoors time off of my motorbike. However, the weather had other plans.

Yesterday’s mist decided to stick around but at least yesterday was warm…

Today’s mist was very chilly and with no sunshine it was not enjoyable to be in (not like last nights misty ride was enjoyable either).

After having a free breakfast of banana pancakes with chocolate syrup, Lea and I decided that today was not a day for hiking.

But instead a day of relaxing, and shivering.

I read more of my book, which I’m getting close to finishing! It’s very gripping and I’ve really enjoyed reading it.

I then had some lunch to help warm me up.

It’s always nice being at a homestay or hostel that has good cheap food! Especially on days that aren’t inviting to go out and about in.

This is around the time Lea and I decided to change both of our plans.

Since I was wanting to head south again and she was planning on heading that direction as well, we decided to not stay another night in sapa. The weather was going to be like this for the foreseeable future.

Lea’s plan was to go to Ninh Binh and then Hoi An and I didn’t get to explore Ninh Binh, and want to go to Hoi An again, so I decided to tag along!

Now the problem lied with my motorbike. I still wasn’t 100% sure I could easily get it on a bus and did some digging into how to transport it south.

I found out you could put it on a train and then collect it at another train station later… but Sa Pa doesn’t have a train station. But good to know for the future!

So I asked the homestay staff and they told me they had a sleeper bus I could get my motorbike on (most hostels and homestays will help you book transportation)!

It wasn’t the cheapest bus ride I’ve ever purchased. But it saves me a lot of time and riding parts of the country I’ve already seen! Also, now I’ll get to try out one of Vietnam’s sleeper busses which I’ve heard a lot about (most things are negative but I’m in for the adventure at least once)!

We were both excited to solidify our plans and to have an escape from the cold weather that we were experiencing.

I will say, I’m so happy I had the weather I did for the Ha Giang loop. I have friends doing it now and they’re experiencing very similar weather. It makes for a different experience and some cool views but not as spectacular as they could be!

We then spent the afternoon playing cards! I taught Lea and two new friends, Marie and Juliet from France, how to play Shithead and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza!

Eventually though, I was starting to feel a little under the weather from shivering all morning and a bit tired too. So Lea and I set off into Sa Pa town again to find a warm cafe and a change of scenery as we continued to wait for our night bus.

Unfortunately, the weather and road conditions didn’t make me feel comfortable having Lea on the back of my bike with her bags too. So she got a cab and I slowly ride myself through the dense fog for 20 minutes.

By the time I got into town, I was wet, cold, and shivering. But I sang songs about sunshine and blue skies the whole way and that helped a bit!

But all of this was nothing a nice, warm, and rich hot chocolate couldn’t fix!

We sat at the cafe a while chatting and relaxing. It was nice to be on a comfy chair in the warmth too.

Our bus was at 9:30pm so around 7pm we set out to find dinner near our pickup spot.

At this point the roads were flat and traffic was fine, so I turned my bag sideways, Lea strapped both of her bags on her back, and we road a few minutes to our destination!

It actually was really easy and will be very helpful when we get dropped off in the morning and need to get to our next homestay or hostel (and it’ll help Lea save some money).

We found a cheap restaurant and I got a nice tray of Com! This has to be my favorite meal in Vietnam. I love walking up and just pointing at foods and experience eating like a local.

As most nights go, the sweet tooth was winning so we set out to find some dessert!

Right next to our dinner spot happened to be a night market! So we wandered through it for a bit but didn’t find what we were in the mood for.

So we went to another cafe and got some delicious treats and made a furry friend!

Our timing was perfect and we finished our deserts just before 9pm and walked to the bus stop.

We waited around for a bit and the bus ended up being 10 minutes late. But it pulled up and the workers loaded up my motorbike!

They had to take the mirrors off and needed the key, so hopefully I remember that when they drop us off early in the morning.

They also wanted Lea and I to get on first and gave us the two bed seats in the back row of the bus which Lea had told me before we got on were the best spots to be in (less noise from people getting on and off).

Do I full fit in this bed? No. But people make these busses sound a lot worse than they are! Maybe my perspective will change after 10 hours on one. But as of now, this feels like luxury after over a month of riding on a motorbike!

We’ll arrive in Ninh Binh early in the morning, where I’m looking forward to exploring the pagodas I missed out on my previous visit to the city!

It was another day with last minute changes to the plans. But I’m excited to head back down south and enjoy the warmth and I’m VERY excited to get back to Hoi An!

Let’s hope the ride is as enjoyable as I hope and I can get some sleep!

– Elie