Ha Giang motorbike loop in 4 days | Review

A two-wheeled adventure through the rugged landscapes of northern Vietnam is a journey like no other. Nestled within the majestic mountains of the region lies the Ha Giang Loop, a scenic route renowned for its breathtaking vistas, winding roads, and encounters with vibrant ethnic minority communities. This was our road trip by bicycle through this captivating region, where every twist and turn unveils a new story and leaves an indelible mark on the soul.

The Ha Giang loop

  • Itinerary : Ha Giang – Tam Son – Du Già – Meo Vac – Dong Van – Yên Minh – Tam Son – Ha Giang
  • Distance : 370 km
  • Road conditions : from very good to hard in few short sections.
  • Duration : 4 days (3 nights)

In November 2018 a friend and I did the Ha Giang loop in 4 days. The journey begins in the city of Ha Giang where you can rent motorbikes in several places. I recommend you QT motorbikes rent & tours for several reasons :

  1. They provide very well maintained motorbikes and scooters.
  2. They can suggest you loop itineraries according to the time you have and they also provides you a detailed map of your itinerary with all the highlights along the way. Angela from QT arranged us the itinerary above implemented in Google Maps (Below you can have a glance to the map provided by QT).
  3. They also have a guesthouse in case you need to stay one night in Ha Giang before or after your journey.
  4. You can leave luggages at and bring with you only necessary stuff for your motorbike tour.
  5. They are very professional and friendly.

We arrived in Ha Giang very early in the morning (4h30 am) after an awful bus trip from Hanoi. We didn’t sleep a wink and arrived completely exhausted. One of the QT motorbike & tours staff managed us to sleep for at least 2 hours in one of their rooms free of charge so we had a little rest before the long first day of our trip. But unlike us, if you have more time I recommend you to sleep one night in Ha Giang prior to your departure in order prepare for your trip and at the end of your journey to relax!

Day 1 – Hà Giang to Du Già

  • Itinerary : Hà Giang – Quan Ba Heaven Gate – Tam Son – Can Ty – Thin Lo – Du Già
  • Distance : 109 km
  • Road conditions : QL4C road is in fine conditions, however there was some maintenance taking place in some areas. The DT181 road has long portions not yet paved, be cautious with the stony portions of it, to avoid any problems just drive slow and be patient, the good thing about the DT181 is that there is almost no trafic… other than that it’s in good conditions. The last portion of this leg uses the DT176 road which is in good conditions. If you have any update regarding the conditions of this leg don’t hesitate to leave a comment below this article.
  • Highlights : Quan Ba Heaven Gate view point, Nam Dam rural village in Tam Son, the waterfalls along the DT181 and the scenery all the way to Du Già!

The first leg took us from Ha Giang (our starting point) to the rural village of Du Già. We had to take the QL4C road to Tam Son and continued to Can Ty bridge (crosses the Song Lo river) at km 62 where you leave the QL4C to take the DT181 heading south. I recommend you to leave early (and the other days as well) but 10 am max. for this trip, otherwise you will end up riding in the night upon arrival in Du Già. As soon as we exited Ha Giang city via the QL4C road heading north we dove into the fantastic scenery of the extreme north Vietnam, this marked the start of a non-stop amazing landscapes journey I ever witnessed. Below some pictures of the highlights of the day :

We stopped in several places to take pictures, drink a coffee or simply to enjoy the amazing sceneries.

Internet service works very well all along the Ha Giang loop. Make sure to have data roaming available for Google maps (By the way… use map view only and no satellite view if you are running short of data)

Day 1 – Du Già to Dong Van

Itinerary : Du Già – Làng Khác – Mậu Duệ – Lũng Phìn – Sủng Trà – Mèo Vạc – Đồng Văn)
Distance : 92.3 Km
Road conditions : Very good

Dong Van to Tam Son (Day 3)

Itinerary : Dong Van – Lũng Hòa – Sủng Là – Phố Cáo – Yên Minh –  Tam Son
Distance : 95.9 Km
Road conditions : Good.

Tam Son to Ha Giang (Day 4)

Itinerary : Tam Son – Tùng Vài – Tân Sơn – Ha Giang
Distance : 64.8 Km
Road conditions : From very good to hard

The shortest leg of this trip but by far the most difficult from a road standpoint.

Music Video Clip | Grungehog

Recently, I edited a video clip featuring a compilation of famous dancing movie scenes set to the music of my grunge cover band, using songs from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, and Pearl Jam. The result was a mesmerizing and energizing combination of iconic visuals and hard-hitting music. The combination of famous dancing movie scenes with the music of my grunge cover band was a fun and exciting experience.

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Startrails photography video | How it was done

Personal project
Alejandro Pérez: Photography, video editing, subtitles

Startrail photography assembly of 400 photos using StarStax. The video is a screenrecording while Startax was blending the images in lighten mode (with and without comet-like mode). I have separated the image in two:

  1. The startrail
  2. The motorway and buildings.

I would have obtained an overexposed result of the motorway if I had used all pictures to blend the motorway and the buildings (as I used it to blend the startrails). That’s why I only used 15-20 significant pictures (I chose the ones with the best car light trails) to compose the lower part of the image. Then using a video editing software (like Premiere Pro) to assemble the two parts of the picture and to reverse the shots.

Gear: Canon ESO 5D Mark III + EF 16-35 f/2.8 + Tripod + automated remote control
Software: Starstax, Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro.

Star trails and the motorway with Mövenpick Hôtel & Casino Geneva
Photography result of the star trails over the motorway – Geneva

Graphic design | Geneva International new runway and terminal

The project history

Poorly done calculations predicted that Cointrin would be jammed by 1985. Faced with this threat, a radical solution was taken: adding a second runway on the territories of Collex-Bossy and Versoix by connecting it to the one of Cointrin. This was the project called “La piste en baïonnette” (bayonet runway) of 1969. If the public discovered the project by that year, the plans date in fact from 1953, when Meyrin or Ferney-Voltaire were only modest villages, and when airliners were not even yet equipped with jet engines.

Geneva International Airport new runway and terminal project from 1969
Doubling the Geneva International Airport capacity with a second “bayonet” runway and a new terminal. In blue, the actual airport. In red, the new runway and terminal from the 1969 crazy project.

Personal project by Alejandro Pérez
Work done: Layout design
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Info source: Pionnair.ch

Editorial Graphic Design | Le Temps

Double page Grande interview for Le Temps

Newspaper: Le Temps (Swiss French-language daily newspaper)
Work done: Graphic design and page layout of the double page “Grande interview” (July 23 2022) of the week-end issue of Le Temps following to the newspaper graphical charter.
Author: Alejandro Pérez
Software: Adobe Indesign avec plugin Woodwing, Adobe Photoshop

Double page Débats for Le Temps

Newspaper: Le Temps (Swiss French-language daily newspaper)
Work done: Graphic design & page layout of the double page “Débats” (August 2nd
2022) of the week-end issue of Le Temps following to the newspaper graphical charter.
Author: Alejandro Pérez
Software: Indesign avec plugin Woodwing, Photoshop.

Lundi Finance for Le Temps

Newspaper: Le Temps (Swiss French-language daily newspaper)
Work done:: Page layout of the “Lundi finance” (August 8th 2022)du 8 août 2022 following to the newspaper graphical charter.
Author: Alejandro Pérez
Software: Adobe Indesign avec plugin Woodwing, Adobe Photoshop.

Main visual with infographic for Le Temps of August 30th 2022

Newspaper: Le Temps (Swiss French-language daily newspaper)
Work done: Illustration with infographics of the “spéciale prévoyance” issue from Le Temps of August 30th 2022.
Author: Alejandro Pérez
Software: Datawrapper, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, MS Excel.

Infographics for Le Temps of August 30th 2022

Newspaper: Le Temps (Swiss French-language daily newspaper)
Work done : 11 infographics (graphs) of the double page “Spéciale prévoyance” of August 30th 2022.
Author: Alejandro Pérez
Software: Datawrapper, Adobe Illustrator, MS Excel.

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KLM Embraer 195 Amsterdam to Inverness | Scenic flight

A scenic window seat flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Inverness (INV) onboard the Embraer 195 (registration: PH-NXC). Flying over the Netherlands and approach over Inverness and Culloden Battlefield.

Airplane Spotting in Las Vegas from the Signature Hotel

This is a very short video to give you an idea of what it is to spot airplanes in Las Vegas from the Signature at MGM Grand Hotel and has no intention to show you a long airplane spotting video. This hotel have 3 towers and I took this video from Tower B. The hotel is not far from the Harry Reid International Airport (McCarran International Airport) and gives you a beautiful view over the airport’s activity. Note: Sorry about the stabilisation noise.

LAN Airlines A320 Puerto Montt to Santiago de Chile | Scenic flight with volcanoes

A domestic flight from Puerto Montt to Santiago with Lan Airlines Airbus A320. A very scenic flight with views over 7 regions of Chile, the Andes, volcanoes, lakes and cities, all with descriptions.

British Airways A380 London to Los Angeles | Upper Deck Economy

A flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles International Airport. This flight took place in July 2015 when the A380 was quite new to the British Airways fleet.