By Lucie Charpentier

Backpacking through North Vietnam was an experience I will never forget. The landscapes are breathtaking, and the Vietnamese people are so kind. This country has something special, an incredible soul that transported me and changed my way of seeing the world.

I visited Vietnam with my friend Kwelan in 2018. This country was unknown to me before, but Kwelan has family from there and wanted to know more about where her grandmother came from, so I joined her.

We didn't plan much before the trip but decided to take it a day at a time. We still knew that we wanted to focus on the North, as Vietnam is a large country, and it takes a long time to see it all. We mostly travelled by buses and motorbikes, as there is no better way to discover the country. Throughout this journey, I always felt safe and free.

Our itinerary included Hanoi, Sapa, Bắc Hà, Ha Giang, Ninh Bình, and finally, the beautiful Hội An. I was amazed to see how these places were very different from one another, especially their landscapes and climates. Each was unique, and wandering on the road between them led us to incredible surprises. The Ha Giang Loop was one of them.

The Ha Giang Loop is a road along the Vietnamese border with China. It was there that we saw green mountains stretching as far as the horizon and travelled through the most incredible and wild landscapes that will forever remain in my memory.

Vietnam was such a wonderful country, with a beautiful culture and lovely people. Their way of living was very different from what I was used to, and it felt so good and inspiring. I returned home with a warm heart and a head full of memories. I will forever cherish the feeling of peace I experienced through this journey.

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