Why do you travel? To relax, find new food, learn about the world, or maybe just for the discounts?

For me, it's all about exploration — finding those little out-of-the-way places yet to be polluted by hordes of tourists.

So when I found a little dirt road winding its way through the hills of Ha Giang, Vietnam, I just knew I had to take it.

A few motorcycle blogs had warned of the route, but I wasn't too concerned. After all, I was riding my trusty Chinese-knock-off Honda Winn. (Haha).

Later, navigating steep drops on muddy paths, I (and one American I was with) would curse my stupidity.

Looking back now, it's been a highlight of my life.

First we'll set the scene. If you haven't been Ha Giang is one of the few places in the world that rival British Columbia in terms of natural beauty. Twisting mountain roads, serene green rivers, and some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet.

Most of the province is paved (better than a lot of Canadian roads for that matter). But for the truly adventurous sort, you have the Bamboo Ferry trail.

Spirits were high at the start of the trail - which isn't really listed on any maps, but you can find your way there by looking at Google maps. These four brave souls opted, against their better judgment, to join me on the route. I'm behind the camera, but you'll see my smiling mug later. About 10 minutes after this shot, the guy in blue would be cursing me up and down for bringing him this way.

Ironically, he was on the best bike out of all of us. But I can't blame him. The sky was threatening to rain, and those roads would have gotten dangerous, fast.

Things got especially tense when we came around the hills expecting to find a bridge that would get us across this giant river. Nope - the "bridge" was actually a bamboo ferry. There were a few locals crossing. None of them spoke English, but they didn't need to. We could see the looks of disbelief on their faces, as they wondered what in the hell a bunch of foreigners were doing way out there.

The crossing was mostly uneventful - except for this moment, when one of my travel companions can be seen falling over, almost going into the river!

Nothing a little cathartic yelling couldn't fix. Thanks to the boatman's quick work, he even managed to fish her helmet out of the water.

Yours truly, showcasing another of my poor decisions (smoking is lame).

Shortly after the ferry, we hit blessed pavement again. After a short drive, we were greeted by this wonderful, flabbergasted woman at the Khau Vai Love Market - where a lot of local ethnic minority groups come to party and get hooked up a few times a year.

Unfortunately, we came at the wrong time for any festivities, but we were just happy to be back on the roads.

Thanks for looking! Have you ever been this way? Would you?