How do you do these days? We are on the last days of the year 2021, one year in which a lot of things happened out of plan. No matter how hard this year you have, I hope that we all have happy moments at the end of the year.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the movement is limited in our country. This means I don't have many journeys. We were unable to travel for more than six months (from May till October).
I had such a hard time in August and September under lockdown period. The residents absolutely must have stayed home. Officers changed into working from home, workers had to stay at the workplaces all the time, students studied and did their tests online. You know, if you get stuck in one small area, I think soon we will become depressed. During this time, the Vietnam government promoted vaccination to all people over 18 years old. Eventually, we could go outside through provinces in the middle of October but still under limitation.
At the beginning of December, I had a business trip to Ha Noi, the capital of Vietnam. I work as a Timer in some marathon events. But based on the actual situation at that time, the event was canceled. I'd already booked a flight and couldn't cancel easily like the event, I decided to take the last trip in 2021. And I did a solo trip to Ha Giang – the best place to see fields of buckwheat in Vietnam.

For someone who doesn't know about buckwheat, it is the specialty of the northernmost land. There are two types of buckwheat flowers, white and purple type. You can find the white type in Cao Bang, meanwhile, people often plant the purple one in Ha Giang. Due to the lower yield than rice and corn, it is mainly grown for upland people as a food reserve, brewing yeast, making wine, making food, cookies, medicines, etc. The greatest time to visit and take great views of this flower is from the middle of October to early December when the first monsoon starts blowing, the tiny flowers simultaneously flourish, and cover the whole rocky plateau. Are you ready? Now, backpack your stuff, travel with Rem, and have a great time together.

Day 1: Ha Giang city – Milestones Km0 – Quan Ba – Yen Minh

From Da Nang, I took a flight to Noi Bai airport. I got this flight for a business trip but then turned it into traveling. The weather was colder than I'd thought. I live in the middle of Vietnam where the weather is milder and more pleasant. I had a heat stroke right after getting off the plane. It was 4 hours outside until I got on Bang Phan sleeping bus to Ha Giang city. The bus runs at night so it helped me save lots of time.

Before sleeping, I think you should remind the driver to drop you off in front of Giang Son hostel and motorbike for rent shop. I recommend you should rent a motorbike here because of lots of surprising benefits. You will arrive in Ha Giang city at 4:30 a.m, too soon to start a journey and maybe you are still tired due to sleeping on a bus. If you contact Mrs. Giang – the owner of the hostel before, she will pick you right after you get off the sleeping bus, give you free beds in the dorm room to recharge energy.
Rem turned off the light and goes to sleep. It was 4:40 a.m
"Rem, wake up. It's 6:30"
After being given some tips carefully by Mrs. Giang, I started my journey.
I bought a Viettel sim to use data. Because the places I will visit are far from the residential area, only Viettel can give you a stable internet connection.
After that, I had sticky rice for my breakfast, I don't like to eat meat so I chose egg instead. Then I bought another to bring with me, it's my lunch. I thought that I might have some difficulties in finding somewhere to eat, we should be proactive about food and drink on the ways, you know.
The first destination I visited was Quan Ba heaven gate. Almost all traveler start their trips discovering Ha Giang with this. The weather is sunny but it's so cold here. You have to wear many clothes to keep your body warm. I got a big problem here. When I finished taking some photos, I went down and drank some water, got ready for the next point. Suddenly, I found out that I had lost my key. I looked around to find it but I couldn't see it. I immediately moved fast to the viewpoint. I thought that I had dropped there. But I didn't see it. When I went down with sadness, a man called me and asked me if I had dropped the key. Luckily the one he was keeping is mine. I said thanks to him then continue to the next place.

Next, I went down the road leading to Lung Khuy cave. It is considered the best cave in Dong Van rock plateau and it is associated with the spiritual life of the local people. I second times had bad luck. After 40 mins hiking, the cave was closed. No one was here, it's just me with trees and rock. I felt a bit disappointed. I came back to my motorbike.
I rode to Yen Minh town. I would stay there for the first day. On the way there, I realized a small path leading up to a viewpoint deep in the pipe forest. That's such a fantastic place where you can have a great view of the valley. This is called Yen Minh pine forest.

Then I left the forest. It's about 5:10 p.m and getting dark quickly. Everything became foggy and cold by the mist. I ended my first day in Yen Minh town. I stayed at Milk Milk homestay and had an interesting conversation with a local man here.

Day 2: Yen Minh – Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark – H'Mong King - Nho Que river – Dong Van Ancient town

To save money, I chose instant noodles for breakfast and sticky rice for lunch. I would like to send my thanks to Mrs. Ha – the owner of Honey Homestay in Dong Van. She allowed me to stay in a double room but I only had to pay the fee of a bed in a dorm room. There was only me in the homestay that day but I didn't feel sad. She invited me to have dinner with her family. I was surprised by that. I think I was so lucky to meet her.

Day 3: Dong Van – Lung Cu Flag Tower – The Northernmost Point – Ma Pi Leng Pass – Meo Vac

I spent the third-morning visiting Lung Cu Flag Tower. The road there was under construction so it's pretty bad. It's not the whole, just a couple of kilometers. The flag is 54 meters square representing 54 ethnicities in Vietnam. Lung Cu mountain is known as the place where the Dragon lived, Ha Noi (formerly called Thang Long) for the Dragon took off and Ha Long is where he landed. When I was standing at the peak of the mountain, I could see two lakes that people believe are the Dragon's eyes. The localities say that the water in the lakes never runs dry.

I made a new friend when I was visiting Lung Cu Flag Tower. He was traveling alone like me. First, I asked him to take some pictures for me. After having talked to each other, I got along with him. We decided to visit the Northernmost point of Vietnam. Not like most people think and checked in, the Northernmost point is just a milestone and it's next to the Vietnam-China border. I got lost three times on the way there. The way is quite difficult to ride because it's small and full of stones. I don't think it's not a good choice. But you can visit Lung Cu milestone, which is easier and more suitable for a group.
There is no signpost showing you how to approach the Northernmost point, I had to ask a kid living there to lead the way there so that we didn't get lost anymore. Then I donated him a little money for having helped us.

At noon, I returned to Dong Van town and had lunch there, checked out, and moved to the next destination. It was the high cliff widely known as "the Death Cliff", at Ma Pi Leng Pass in Lai Lung Commune.
The Death Cliff – the most dangerous check-in place in Ha Giang
It did not gain its name for no reason. I was absolutely sacred when I standing on the cliff. It's really hard to put into words how I felt. I just tried to stay back a bit, then I sat down immediately. If you are an adventurous person, don't miss this destination – The Death Cliff.

I ended my last day in Meo Vac town. I spent my evening beside the fireplace on the ground floor with some friends I met. We drank craft beer and shared some stories we had had on our trip. It's the warmest night of this trip.

Day 4: Meo Vac town – M-shaped slope – Duong Thuong – Ha Giang City

Not like the way the others often choose, I chose a small road to return to Ha Giang City. It's harder, worse, and more narrow. But on the way, I met fantastic sightseeing. Clouds were floating on the mountain tops far away.

I arrived in Ha Giang city at 3:00 p.m. Then I took a short rest and took a shower. At 4:30 pm, I rode around to discover Ha Giang city. I suppose that the market is the place where we could see how the local people live and eat daily. I bought 1 kg of dried tea and 1 kg of dried apples as a souvenir.

Why do I say it is my fully emotional journey?

Disappointed😞
I felt disappointed when I saw Lung Khuy cave closed after having hiked so long.
I felt disappointed when my tripod broke
I felt disappointed
Scared😱
I felt scared when I was standing on "The Death Cliff"
I felt scared when I took some small path out of the main road. Sometimes I could only put one of my legs on the ground. If I had put them two, I would have fallen into the valley.
I felt scared when I dropped my key at Quan Ba Heaven Gate
Bored🙁
Sometimes I was bored because this trip I traveled alone
I wasted my money on some unnecessary things which made me bored
Lucky😘
I was lucky every time I got into trouble. I got helped or I could solve the problem.
I was lucky because two local guys helped me to pull my motorbike back when I crazily rode into a walking path and couldn't move forward even backward.
I was lucky because I was invited to have a warm-closed dinner with Mrs. Ha
I was lucky because Mr. Dung gave me a ride back to Ha Noi on the last day.
I was lucky because I reached Noi Bai airport in time.
Happy😍
I was happy to make many new friends on my trip
I was happy because my friends didn't hesitate to lend me their devices (camera from Tuyen, hanging bag from Dang, backup charger from Huy, Tripod from Ha, etc.)
Regretful😧
I regretted not having more time in Ha Giang.
From the bottom of my heart, it is the trip I will never forget. People say that we shouldn't visit Ha Giang because we will be addicted to the beauty there. I didn't believe it at first, but I changed my mind at the end of the trip. I definitely return many times later. If you guys want to discover nature in Vietnam, don't miss Ha Giang, please. I'm willing to answer all your questions, don't hesitate to ask me.
Happy New Year, 2022!
From Rem in Vietnam with love💖.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and Happy New Year!