After a long, rainy day on the road, we arrived at the Du Gìa Homestay as dusk was settling in. This town is a popular stop during tours of Ha Giang, and we met a few other travelers, and heard their tales of woe. The next morning, we arose early for a walk through the sleepy town.
Halfway between the Thấm Mã Pass and the Lũng Cú Flagpole, we made a stop at the Opium Palace of the H'mong. We were pretty excited about this. Of all the places which we've visited in our years of travel, almost none of them have had a name as intriguing as the "Opium Palace of the H'mong".
After having visited the Tam Sơn market on Sunday morning, we got back on our motorbikes and set off toward the north... to the very north. Today, Chu Chu would be taking us to Vietnam's border with China, marked by the Lũng Cú Flagpole. Along the way, we'd see some incredible scenery, especially at the Thấm Mã Pass.
After arriving in Tam Sơn on the first day of our tour around Ha Giang, and before settling into our homestay, we took a trip to a nearby village famed for its linen making. Along the way, we traveled through a valley of stunning beauty, past a pair of hills known as the Twin Mountains.
Our final adventure in Vietnam would be a four-day loop around the northern province of Ha Giang. This is one of the least-populated and least-visited areas in the country, so we thought it would be best to hire a guide. After doing a ton of research, we decided upon a Ha Giang local named Chu Chu ... and we couldn't have made a better choice.
