Hitchhiking in Vietnam: Quan Ba Twin Mountains
15th of October, 2024.
It rains a lot during the night. It’s not the best weather to be here, neither to visit “the loop”. What to do…?
I wake up early but wait for a while until my tent is at least a bit dryer.
A very fancy lady, in a nice car, stops for me. My sign simply say the name of a popular viewpoint on the loop but she is confused, I guess. But as she’s on the phone, she tells me to get in. She is only going slightly outside the town, to check on her ongoing new restaurant. A huge and fancy one. She doesn’t understand that I’m hitchhiking (what is with this people?) and try to stop a bus for me. Then she try to pay it for me. Finally she “understands” e go to check on her business.
As I stand in the road for a few minutes, it starts. The wave of dozens, and most likely hundreds, of tourists in motorbike tours for the loop. I’ve heard that a lot of people do it, that it’s very popular, but I was not expecting to be so many people. And in such bad weather! The many companies which offer this tour keep on coming, and with them, hundreds of Western tourists. They look like sheep. Some of them notice me and express a face of surprise.
In a few minutes two guys pick me up.
The view point is called Quan Ba Twin Mountains. You have to keep an eye on the road to no miss the entrance, as it is right between two curves, and not very visible.
In a clear blue sky day, the view must be even nicer, but for now this will to. It’s lovely but there’s a lot of fog around. I get lucky as I stay some time on the top of the view point (which is for free), so when the fog dissipates a little bit I can take an OK shot and admire the view for a while. I don’t really think that the mountains look like twin, but hey! It’s a nice landscape.
Down to the entrance, I spend sometime sitting with the lady who charges for the toilet. I left my backpack under her care and now she offers me some boiled peanuts, which are even more yummy when you are as hungry as I am.
I have a vague memory of a man taking me to Dong Van, a strategic point on the loop, where many tourists stop by to rest for the night.
Dong Van has a historical old town but I don’t visit it. As it’s after four already, and it will get dark soon, I also decide to stay here for the night.
I really want some fried banana, as I’ve seen them on the way here, in a few different villages which we passed through. What isn’t my surprise when, right at the spot where the guy drops me off, there are some ladies selling them. Yay! I go crazy and have four of them. Yummy! Off course, they are not as delicious as the ones I’ve had in Cambodia, but they are good enough. And they are cheap!
On my way outside town, I’ve notice on the map that there is a homestay which seems to have lots of outside space for camping, so I decide to go there and ask. By the time I arrive, the owner is around and he hears me out when I am talking with the receptionist. Immediately he says I can put my tent anywhere I want. Yay!
The place is called Ngai Lung Homestay and I really like it here, even though is going under construction, with a new building being added to it. The restaurant building is massive and gorgeous, as all the structures are made with big wooden beams and logs. The dorms and bungalows, in the South of the property, have a gorgeous view! I had seen the view already when I was leaving Dong Van, and I thought it was really nice. There are many different mountains range, all extremely beautiful and unique! By the bungalows they also have some fresh vegetables and herbs, which look awesome! I just wish they had managed the whole distribution of the space better, as there are some areas which you really don’t know if belong to the homestay or not. Plus, they could have an optimization of the whole place, as even though the views are gorgeous, there aren’t spots where you can just sit and chill to enjoy it. Some areas actually edge the abandonment.
When I am thinking that I am about to have the place just for myself, another one of those tour groups arrive. They are all the same type of sheep: really young Europeans. Laugh.
I notice that they will have dinner here, and actually I can even see the food already, as it will be all served to them soon. So I ask the lovely receptionist girl if I can have whatever is left overs from their food. She is really surprised about my request and instantly tells me I can just join them to eat, to what I kindly say no. She calls someone and then come to ask me if I have any allergies or special diet requests. I explain to her that I am a vegetarian, who eat eggs and has no allergies. In a few minutes, she brings me a plate with an enormous variety of delicious food, some rice and soup. I cannot believe it! It is really a feast! It’s the same food that the travelers are having it, but all combined in one plate. I say thank you to her and to the girls who cooked many times. And I finish it all, of course!
I take a quick shower and wash some socks.
When I go to sleep, some of the foreigners and the local guides are singing on the karaoke.
10 Years Around the World 