Cao Bang, you were amazing! 3 days in Vietnam’s remote northeast frontier.

Went to Cao Bang, a relatively small province in Vietnam’s Northeast bordering China and was blown away by the landscapes! It has no real tourist attractions in the traditional sense of the word, except for the famous Ban Gioc waterfalls (which it shares with China, often lauded as the “longest transnational waterfall in the world”, whatever that means). This may sound disappointing but totally isn’t since the real “attraction” lies in exploring its countryside, with rustic villages and breathtaking landscapes succeeding each other at a high pace. The local tourist organisation developed a so-called “Cao bang loop” as an alternative for the much more popular and developed Ha Giang-loop in the province nextdoor, taking you through the province and all its modest attractions following a circular route by scooter. It mainly sticks to the main road though (which still ain’t a super-highway in this mountainous part of Vietnam), leading to the decision to not follow it for its entire length. In fact we only followed it for half a day (it takes three days to complete the full loop), which was honestly the best choice since it allowed us to discover villages tucked away in even more remote valleys that we would have skipped otherwise. There ain’t much to do then drive, admire the landscape, getting invited by the locals for lunch,… but that’s exactly what made this place feel so authentic and worthy of our time. It felt great to escape the feeling that everything around you explicitly caters towards foreign visitors , a long stretch from the crowded beaches of Ha Long, Hanoi’s ancient town and Nin Binh’s scenic areas. So: is Cao Bang worth the 8-hour bus drive up north from Hanoi? Definitely! Even more so if you dare to deviate from the loop.