After our short stay in Da Nang, we flew to Hanoi to embark on a self-guided road trip touring this region of North Vietnam. Our trip companions did a remarkable and time-consuming research of the destinations beforehand. Since it was a self-guided tour, we rented a minivan with a driver from a tour agency in Hanoi for this leg of the trip. From Hanoi, we headed northeast visiting two provinces (out of nine in this region), Ha Giang and Cao Bang. The points of interest are the Tham Ma Pass, Hua Ma cave, Nho Que River cruise, Ban Gioc waterfalls, Nguom Ngao cave, Ba Be River cruise, Diem Cuc Bac (Northern-most Point of Vietnam) at Lung Cu, and last but not least the famous Fan Si Pan Peak (3,143 meters or 9,429 feet elevation) located on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. To reach the peak of Fan Si Pan, visitors first ride the cable car up to the 1500-meter elevation base station. From there, one has a choice of riding the train to another 1000 meters or walk up to the second base. From here, the only choice to reach the peak is walking another 670 stair steps. The pathway is very well paved with ceramic tiles which can be slippery in wet condition (rain, heavy fog). It can be quite a challenge to hike up such an elevation if health is a concern. However, the scenery around can be a nice distraction and to slow down the hikers on the way to the summit. It was quite foggy with occasional misty rain when we were there. However, we did anticipate such inclement weather at that time of year. From May to November, the weather can be unbearably hot, humid and heavy rain in the north. We enjoyed the lodging facility at the rustic Ma Pi Leng Pass Ecolodge (Meo Vac town) built on the mountain hillsides overlooking the Nho Que River, the Khuoi Han Ecolodge at Cao Bang, and the Ba Be Jungle House at Ba Be town. After one week in this region, we returned to Hanoi for a two-night stay before heading to the northwestern region... To learn more about this northeastern region of Vietnam, click on the link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_(Vietnam)

Link to Ninh Binh photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/ninhbinhvnfeb2025
Link to Northwestern Vietnam photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/northwesternvnfeb2025
Link to Hanoi photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/hanoivnfeb2025
Links to Thanh Huong's photo galleries...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WAR3j98YBPtpLJNDA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RELb4upQkB7kNfFE7