Before I even arrived in Vietnam, I was following a Facebook page broadcasting out of this world places in Vietnam. While they all revved me up for my move to Vietnam, one place stood out: Dinosaur Spine Mountain. After looking into it more, I learned an entirely new form of adventure – cloud hunting. When my buddy – whom I hadn’t seen for two years – told me that he and his friend were coming to Vietnam, I knew exactly where to take them. But I quickly realized that there wasn’t much information on how to get there. So after finding some minimal information, and listening to my gut, I made an itinerary for the absolutely most epic adventure in Vietnam.

If you’re looking for a completely out of the ordinary experience and if you want to see the real Vietnam – no foreigners, and lots of charades for communication – then check out what we did:

Moc Chau

We had a solid five days to spare and, finding that there weren’t many buses available from Hanoi to Phu Yen (from which you take a bus to Bac Yen, and then a motorbike to Ta Xua for Dinosaur Spine Mountain), I decided we should check out Moc Chau first, then make our way to Ta Xua. It was a great choice.

Plenty of buses leave from My Dinh bus station (Vexere gives you some company names, times, and prices) to Moc Chau. I was actually shocked how easy it was to catch a bus. As we stepped out of our cab, someone asked us what our destination was, and directed us inside. Then another person directed us outside, straight to a bus that was just about to depart. We didn’t even have to go up to a window – they took care of us so fast.

The bus was an adventure in itself. As we stepped onto the bus, we were given plastic bags for our shoes, and I found rows and rows of, not seats, but beds. With fuzzy blankets. There were three rows of bunk beds, which meant we would spend the next five hours laying down. I was stoked! (Although, if you’re claustrophobic, you want to avoid the very back row.) For 160k dong (about $7), I had the most comfortable bus ride I’ve ever experienced. [Due to the business card being in Vietnamese, I’m not quite sure what the bus company is called, but it can be Manh Nung. The phone numbers on their card are 0966-800-619 and 0961-999-203. Otherwise, look for a sleeper bus.]

I knew we had made the right choice when I noticed we were the only foreigners on the bus. At our pit stop, we were already being welcomed like celebrities. A table of men drinking and eating invited the three of us to take rice wine shots and began filling bowls for us to eat. We were having a blast and we hadn’t even made our destination yet.

I hit the jackpot when finding our hostel. Fairly new and probably the cutest hostel you’ll ever stay at, Mama’s House Hostel will make you never want to leave. To book, I sent over a Facebook message, receiving a rapid response. The hostel has a dorm, cute private wooden houses, and camping available. There’s good food to choose from, such as BBQ, and much of the vegetables and lettuce served will come from the garden patches decorating the hostel. Make sure to tell the bus driver where you are staying and you will dropped off at the closest stopping point. Upon arriving in the little town of Moc Chau, take a cab (it’s a small town so everyone knows of the hostel) and pay a small price of 50k dong to arrive at heaven. If Mama’s House is full, another great place to stay is Nha Ta Homestay, which is right in town.

Sightseeing in Moc Chau is easy, as everything is nearby. Mama’s House has motorbikes for rental and Thai, the owner, can give you a few tips for what to do. Pine Forest is the closest stop, about five minutes away. There’s a pretty little lake and beautiful views of the surrounding green mountains. The best part of the forest is following a dirt path to Chimi Farm. To our delight, we discovered it was a mini strawberry farm where you can pick strawberries or enjoy strawberry anything – juice, jam, smoothies, yogurt, pastries, cookies. I was in strawberry heaven. The day was beautiful and warm, so our next destination was the Dai Yem Waterfall. Even in the dry season, the waterfall was beautiful, and taking a dip in the cool water was perfect. At the time of our visit, construction was taking place, and it looked like the facilities were only going to get nicer. There are a few more sites in Moc Chau that we didn’t take the time to see, such as the Bat Cave, Happy Land, and Love Garden. Happy Land and Love Garden are both little parks to visit for pretty pictures and walking among flowers. Make sure to look up what’s in store for the season you’re visiting – sometimes certain flowers are in bloom, which means there is more to see. If you’re just learning how to ride a motorbike, don’t let that stop you from visiting. Moc Chau is an easy place to learn due to its laid back atmosphere and few roads.

Ta Xua

While we absolutely loved Moc Chau, that was only the cherry on top of our real destination: Dinosaur Spine Mountain. Since there were no buses running from Moc Chau to Ta Xua, we were prepared for a motorbike trip. Thankfully ,Mama’s House has such an awesome owner. Thai called us a taxi to take us to a motorbike rental in town for bikes that had more power for the mountains. We left our excess luggage at the hostel, made some peanut butter, banana and strawberry jelly sandwiches for the ride (yes, I had to put in that detail), and prepared for the unknown road ahead. We got lucky and met two awesome Vietnamese girls who were on the same itinerary, so we left together as a team.

The route from Moc Chau to Ta Xua is pretty simple. You take the AH13 straight out of town, and then take a right onto the QL37. This route is by far the most beautiful drive I’ve ever taken. We drove along lush green mountains that swept into steep valleys, passed huts and towns, drove by children on bikes waving hello, cruised along rice fields, sped by water buffalo led by rope, crossed a bright blue river, and then trekked our way up above it all. The last leg of the drive was the toughest, going straight up and along a rocky, curve-y, dirt road. My friend was able to drive it besides the fact it was only his second day driving a motorbike, but I wouldn’t suggest it unless you’ve got the confidence. You’re on the open edge of a mountain, so keep that in mind.

After driving four hours, we made it to Ta Xua. Ta Xua is as village as you can get. There are a few hostels available (once again, they can be contacted on Facebook). I stayed at Cloud Paradise Hostel. (Another place to stay at is Tra May Hostel.) I’m not sure if this is a regular circumstance, but the huge dorm room was full of young Vietnamese travelers and a family, and no one slept the whole night. Which means we didn’t either. Since the town is small, there are few places to choose from to eat, but the hostels serve meals. Also, don’t be surprised if there is a power outage. We had one in the middle of dinner that lasted until the following afternoon. Bring your headlamp!

Despite the lack of sleep and power outage, visiting Ta Xua was surreal. Many women wore beautifully embroidered colorful skirts, and we even saw a wedding take place in town, which meant everyone was fully dressed in this native garb, along with incredible hair-do’s that reminded me of Princess Leia. It was wild knowing that I was just as foreign to them, as they were to me.

Now, for the drumroll. To get to Dinosaur Mountain, you have to drive another 12km (I know, will we ever arrive??) But honestly, this last stretch was the most beautiful part of our drive. Plan to sleep overnight and wake up early in the morning to visit the mountain. We left at 7am, but many others left earlier to catch the sunrise. Be careful, because the drive is mostly dirt, broken up road, and mud. As the orange sun rose, clouds creeped along the mountains, which was nothing but extraordinary. As we curved along the mountain, we seemed to drive within the heavens. You will know you have arrived when you see all the parked motorbikes and little huts selling food and coffee. I couldn’t believe it when we made it. Some people take their motorbikes (I really don’t suggest this), while others walk along the trail on the spine of the mountain. Clouds surround the sides, like the ocean along cliffs. I could’ve stayed there for an eternity, just watching the clouds swirl up and down, creating a wide blanket that you wish you could jump into. That is cloud hunting.

If you’re looking for an experience unlike anything else in this world, this hidden gem of Vietnam is a trip of a lifetime. You can follow my itinerary, or take a bus from Hanoi to Phu Yen, then to Bac Yen, then motorbike up to Ta Xua. In Bac Yen, you can rent a motorbike from Mr. Dung (his phone number 0988 77 31 38). Or you can ride a motorbike all the way from Hanoi to Ta Xua (I know this has been done before, but you will probably need to take a break along the way).

This is the real Vietnam. Go for it.

Check out this video to get an idea of why this drive is amazing: