A day in Dong Van

The road climbs and the rock begins. An hour out of Ha Giang the valley opens at Quan Ba pass and the grey karst starts. This is the moment the trip stops being a city trip.

Morning

Out of Ha Giang city after breakfast in a small van, not a coach. Smaller vehicles take the switchbacks better, fewer people get carsick, and the driver can pull over when someone needs a break. Nora asked for this road before anyone else did, so she gets the front seat.

At Quan Ba the van stops and everyone gets out. The air is colder and thinner than in the valley, and once the engine is off the quiet is total. It is worth ten minutes of standing still.

On the road toward Yen Minh, a weaving house in a Hmong village. Elena asked for one real textile stop, not a shop. This is a loom in a stone room with the weaver at it, the clack of the shuttle, the smell of hemp, and a room cool enough that Elena stays longer than planned. We arrange it so the family is welcome rather than passing through.

Afternoon

Lunch in Yen Minh, then the long stretch onto the plateau. Grey rock, terraced fields cut into it, villages with tin roofs in the folds.

We rode these roads on motorbikes ourselves. That is exactly why the family is in a van with a driver who does them every week.

Dong Van by late afternoon. A walk through the old stone quarter while the light goes, smoke from the dinner grills drifting down the street and lanterns coming on over the stone houses.

Evening

Dinner in town, early. Mountain roads are daylight roads, so the van is parked by five and the evening is short on purpose. We made sure there are Western options for the picky eater.

Where you sleep

Dong Van Cliffside House, on the slope above the old quarter. Family bungalows with a balcony looking out over the karst, a host family who cooks a large dinner from the garden, and a short walk down to town. It is up steps and is not built for reduced mobility. We tell Mark that before booking, and he takes the view. Clean, simple, a real bed and a hot shower, which is the standard up here and we say so before anyone pictures a resort.