Back to chaotic Hanoi

When I woke up the next morning after a short night’s sleep, I first looked for a bus that went to Cao Bang. Cao Bang is not on the typical backpacker route, which is why the hostels do not offer buses. However, I really wanted to see the Ban Gioc Waterfall. I had been looking for buses going to Cao Bang for quite a while. Finally I found a mini van company that goes to Cao Bang daily for 380K Dong.

I then contacted them and booked a van for the afternoon. Since the driver didn’t speak English, the whole conversation on Facebook Messenger was in Vietnamese. Of course I had to translate everything with Google translator.

After organizing the van to Cao Bang, I first got ready and checked out of the hostel. After that I went back to Train Street because it was Saturday and the trains run more frequently on the weekends. I was then led by one of the locals to a cafe where I just ordered water and then waited for the train with some other tourists. The train finally came with a delay of 15 minutes.

I was really impressed how long the train was. I’m also glad I was able to come back to Hanoi to see the train.

The Note Coffee

Then I made my way to the famous Note Coffee Shop. This is a cafe where visitors can leave small messages on post-its and stick them on the wall, tables or lamps.

There I ordered a Vietnamese baguette and a coconut coffee. After I finished my breakfast, two people who were in my group on the Ha Giang Loop also came to the cafe. I then sat down with them and we talked a little. Finally, of course, I left a note and stuck it on the door. The note I wrote says: Of all the books in the world, the best storys are found between the pages of a passport.

Waiting for the bus to Cao Bang

From The Note Coffee I then made my way back to the hostel. There I ordered a Grab Taxi, which was supposed to take me to the pick up point, from where I drove to Cao Bang. When I got to the meeting point ten minutes to three, I was a bit confused. I was expecting the company office or a bus stop. However, it was a normal street corner with nothing but a few houses.

I showed a few locals the van company’s logo on my phone, but nobody knew what I meant. I then wrote to the driver and he said I should just wait there, he would pick me up there at three o’clock. At ten past three he was still not there. He then wrote me that he was on his way and would be right back.

I finally had to wait until three thirty until the driver picked me up on the street corner. The morning before, however, he had written to me that it was important for me to be at the meeting point by three o’clock. But I think reliability is just something that is highly valued in Germany.

On the way to Cao Bang

I was the first person he picked up. So we drove through Hanoi for over an hour until we finally made our way out of the city towards Cao Bang. The van I traveled to Cao Bang with was very comfortable. Everone a real seat with armrests, and you could also recline the seat far enough to lie down.

At half past ten in the evening we arrived in Cao Bang. I was kindly dropped off at my hostel. The owner oft he hostel didn’t speak English very well, so he first typed something into Google translator. The translation then told me that there were 5 Vietnamese in the room I had booked, and they were very loud. He would therefore offer me to stay at his sister’s homestay, which was not far away.

I agreed and together with my luggage he took me on the motorbike to his sister’s homestay. Luckily, she also spoke very good English. After greeting me, she showed me to my room. I had an eight-bed room all to myself that night.

Heading to the Ban Gioc Waterfall

The next morning I got ready and packed my things for the day. On this day I wanted to visit the Ban Gioc Waterfall. The owner of the homestay explained to me which bus I had to take and what the times were. Her husband then kindly brought me to the bus stop on the motorbike. There I first went to the shops and bought breakfast and snacks for the day.

Then I took the local bus that went directly to the Ban Gioc Waterfall. The journey there took over two hours and cost 85K Dong / 3.30€. During the journey, I first sat next to a lady with a child on her lap, who spread herself quite a bit. When she finally got out, an approximately 8-10 year old girl sat down next to me, who then fell asleep on my shoulder. As long as it’s just a kid, I don’t think it’s that bad.

During the whole ride I had a really nice view of nature. After two and a half hours we finally arrived directly at the waterfall.

Exploring the Ban Gioc Waterfall

There I first had to pay an entry fee of 40K Dong. Then it went through a gate onto the grounds of the waterfall. To get to the waterfall, I had to walk another 100 meters until I could finally see the waterfall in the distance.

This one was really quite impressive and I was not disappointed at all. I would have loved to take pictures with my drone, but drones were not allowed there.

The Ban Gioc Waterfall is right on the border to China. The border goes right through the middle of the waterfall, which is why it belongs to Vietnam and China. It can be visited from both countries. Therefore, on the other side of the river, you could see the Chinese tourists visiting the waterfall. In both countries you could take a bamboo boat across the water directly to the waterfall. The Chinese tourists started on their side while the Vietnamese tourists started the tour in Vietnam. I had decided not to do this bamboo boat tour.

I spent a total of two and a half hours at the waterfall. There were some Asian tourists there, but I didn’t see any Europeans. That’s why I was once asked with Google translator if they could take a picture with me.

It was cloudy the whole time I was at the waterfall. However, just as I was about to leave, the sun came out. So I stayed a little longer.

Heading back to Cao Bang

When I finally got back to the bus station, I was lucky, because at that very moment a bus drove back to Cao Bang, which I could board directly. This time I took a single seat so no one could fall asleep on my shoulder. The journey only took two hours and I was dropped off right in front of my homestay.

There was still no one else in my room, so I was all alone again that night. In general, I didn’t see any tourists in Cao Bang either. The city is also not really designed for tourists. Nobody keeps talking to you and trying to sell you a taxi ride or anything else. Of course, hardly anyone speaks English, even if only a few sentences. Therefore, communication is mainly via Google translator.

A relaxed day in Cao Bang

Back at the hostel, I booked a night bus to Ninh Binh for the following evening with the owner. Since there is not really much to see apart from the waterfall around Cao Bang, I decided to take a break the next day and stay in the homestay.

It was really nice to experience something different than most backpackers for two days and to get to know a bit of the more traditional life in Vietnam, which is not designed for tourists. Nevertheless, the two days were enough for me and I was looking forward to my time in Ninh Binh, where I was able to meet backpackers my age again.

If you want to know what I experienced during my time in Ninh Binh, please have a look at my next post The beautiful nature in Ninh Binh – Vietnam Travel Diary.