Chien and his driver, Vu, provided us with a road trip around the northern loop. We stayed one night each in Ha Giang and Dong Van and a further night in a Red Dzao homestay. We visited two other traditional villages close to the road, as we had requested no trekking. Chien amended our schedule to take in the Buckwheat Festival in Dong Van. They were happy to stop for photographs and explained all that we asked. He ate with us and ordered all the food giving us a good variety of local dishes at each meal