Meo Vac sits at the edge of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, near the Chinese border in the far north of Vietnam, and it feels like the end of the map. The town is built on a ridge of grey limestone, among peaks that look like broken teeth, and the road in from the west is the famous Ma Pi Leng Pass, a narrow shelf cut into a cliff above a gorge so deep that the Nho Que River at the bottom is a thin green thread. The pass was part of the Happiness Road, built by thousands of volunteers and local Hmong people over some six years starting in 1959.
The town is known for its Sunday market, when people from the surrounding hills, in the colours of many different ethnic groups, gather to trade livestock, corn spirit, herbs and cloth. Hmong families walk down from villages that are hours away, and the market fills the main street and the old square. It is lively, crowded and generous with samples. Maize and buckwheat are staples of this high country, and in autumn the buckwheat fields burst into pink and white flowers that cover terraces among the rocks.
For a rider, the roads here are as demanding as they are beautiful. Corners are tight and often blind, the surface can be broken, and mist rolls in at any hour. Trucks and buses take the middle of the road, and animals wander freely. Take your time, use the horn on blind bends, and do not ride after dark. The best seasons are autumn, from September to November, when the air is clear, and spring, though the cold and fog of winter can be harsh.
Fuel is available in town, but fill up whenever you can, because pumps in the mountains are far apart and sometimes sell in bottles. Simple eateries serve noodle soup, grilled pork, sticky rice and corn wine, and a bowl of pho in the cold air tastes remarkable. Local guesthouses are friendly, and the evenings are cool and quiet.