Concerns raised about motorbike tourist trail after death of British teenager in Vietnam | Vietnam
The recent death of a British gap-year student on the Ha Giang loop, a popular motorcycle tour through the mountains of northern Vietnam, has raised concerns about the trail, known as one of the most dangerous in the country.
Orla Wates, 19, from Surrey, was traveling as a pillion passenger. fell and hit an oncoming truckAccording to local media. He was taken to hospital in Hanoi last week and died from his injuries.
Wates was traveling to Vietnam before starting an undergraduate course at Durham University this autumn and has likely seen some of the many social media posts about “coming full circle”.
Along narrow mountain roads, through jungle and rice terraces near the Chinese border, the Ha Giang loop has become a must-do adventure for young, thrill-seeking backpackers in Southeast Asia.
Online reviews describe it with terms like “the best four days of my life.” However, looping, especially on a motorcycle, is not without risks. People living and working in Ha Giang cite rough road conditions, unpredictable weather, rockslides and the occasional stray animal.
Travelers leave Ha Giang city on motorcycles driven by local guides employed by tour companies. Foreign visitors traveling alone must have a full motorcycle license to ride the route and will face fines if caught without one.
The loop, previously a network of dirt roads for farmers and draft horses before being rebuilt in the 1960s, is more than 220 miles (350 km) long and takes three to four days to complete. A day trip usually ends with a visit to a waterfall to cool off, followed by dinner and corn wine at the homestay.
Ha Giang is one of Vietnam’s poorest provinces, and an estimated 200,000 tourists go there every year, mostly to tour the area.
Elle, who requested that her surname be withheld, is a 23-year-old Australian who splits her time between Australia and Vietnam and has done the Ha Giang loop 16 times. He said its popularity had led to “levels of congestion for which the roads were not ready.”
He added that he has seen tourists ask their guides “to go faster to beat slow groups or so they can film more exciting social media content.” He advised visitors to “choose tour companies carefully, some truly prioritize safety, while others simply prioritize numbers.”
In recent years, there have been local reports of a tourist dying after falling 100 meters from a mountain pass, and of two visitors having a fatal head-on collision with a truck. Local people who know the roads also become victims of accidents; The lack of medical facilities in the secluded mountains also increases the danger.
Matt Struthers, co-owner of Road Kings, a tour company that has been offering Ha Giang loop tours for several years, said: “Yes, we try to provide the trip of a lifetime, but more importantly, people trust us to do the right thing. There are ways to make the trip safer, [for example] Having appropriate safety equipment and a team that drives carefully.”
Asked whether Wates’ death should be seen as a wake-up call for Ha Giang, Struthers said: “I really hope so. Safety has always been our main focus. When something like this happens it affects the industry as a whole. I hope it encourages everyone to raise their standards.”
