She Came to Vietnam to Ride the Ha Giang Loop. She Left With a Reason to Stay

Karin Di Paola came to northern Vietnam in April 2025 with a simple plan: spend a night in Ha Giang, ride the famous Ha Giang Loop and continue her journey.

Instead, the 21 year old Italian traveler became sick at her homestay, where the young owner took care of her. What began as a chance encounter between two strangers eventually became a relationship that led Karin to make an unexpected decision: to stay in Vietnam and build a life with him.

Today, Karin lives in Ha Giang with Lục Thế Khải, a 26 year old member of the Giáy ethnic community. The couple are developing their homestay business, creating online content about their relationship and Vietnamese life, and saving for their wedding.

A chance meeting in Ha Giang

Karin grew up in Italy’s Veneto region, near the Alps. From childhood, she heard stories about Vietnam from her mother, Daniela, who had worked as a volunteer in the country during the 1990s.

The country had therefore long been on Karin’s travel list. Her love of mountains made Ha Giang, with its dramatic karst landscapes and winding roads, an obvious destination.

In April 2025, she arrived to explore the Ha Giang Loop and booked one night at a family run homestay about 5 kilometres from Ha Giang city centre.

On her first afternoon, Karin asked the young man in front of her how far the city centre was.

Khải, who had recently returned from Hanoi to start a business at home, struggled to answer in English. After about 15 seconds, he simply held up five fingers.

“He was shy but very cute,” Karin recalls of their first meeting.

Khải remembers being equally intrigued.

“My English was very limited, so I was nervous when she started talking to me,” he says. “But her eyes and her energy attracted me.”

Unable to communicate easily in English, the two began using a translation app.

That evening, Khải invited Karin to eat bánh cuốn, a popular Vietnamese steamed rice roll dish, before she planned to check out the following morning.

Then Karin got sick

When Khải returned to the homestay the next afternoon, he was surprised to find that Karin was still there.

She had developed severe stomach pain and cancelled her planned trip.

Khải wondered whether the previous night’s meal might have caused the problem and felt responsible. He stayed nearby, checked on her, bought food and looked after her while she recovered.

Once Karin felt better, Khải took her around Ha Giang to make up for the trip she had missed.

The two spent hours talking about their families, work and life in Vietnam and Italy. The care she received from someone she had only just met deeply affected Karin.

Before long, the two shared their first kiss and admitted that they had developed feelings for each other, even though both knew their time together might initially be temporary.

But the story did not end there.

Five days apart changed everything

About a week after meeting Khải, Karin travelled to nearby Cao Bang.

She invited him to join her, but he declined.

As soon as Karin’s bus left, Khải realised he had made a mistake.

Back at the homestay, he struggled to concentrate on work because he kept thinking about her.

Karin, meanwhile, found herself thinking about Khải while travelling in Cao Bang.

After five days apart, she sent him a message asking:

“Should I come back?”

Khải replied that his heart had already decided she was the woman he wanted to spend his life with.

Karin returned to Ha Giang.

This time, she decided to stay in Vietnam and continue the relationship.

From a chance encounter to a life together

Khải introduced Karin to his relatives and friends and took her to places around Ha Giang that were familiar to him but new to her.

Over the following year, the couple travelled to different parts of Vietnam together.

Karin also began helping Khải improve his English, giving him more confidence when communicating with international guests at the homestay.

Their relationship, however, was not without challenges.

The couple had to navigate differences in how Vietnamese and Italian people express affection.

Karin says that Italians often communicate their feelings directly through words, while Vietnamese people may be more likely to show affection through practical acts of care.

At first, she sometimes struggled to understand Khải’s quieter way of expressing himself.

That changed during a difficult period earlier this year, when Karin experienced the loss of a family member.

Khải stayed by her side and cared for her much as he had when they first met.

The experience helped Karin see him as a dependable source of support and gave her a deeper understanding of how affection can be expressed through actions rather than words.

Their families support the relationship

Both families have welcomed the relationship.

Khải’s parents have been open and affectionate toward Karin.

In Italy, Karin’s mother was initially concerned about her daughter’s decision but respected her choice.

In June this year, Daniela and her husband travelled to Vietnam to visit their daughter and meet Khải for the first time.

“At first, Khải was a little shy, but I realised that he was very open, thoughtful and kind,” Daniela says.

After returning to Italy, Karin’s parents were already asking when they could visit Vietnam again.

Building a future in Ha Giang

Karin now lives with Khải in Ha Giang, where they are working together to develop the family homestay and save for their wedding.

They have also started creating digital content about their relationship, everyday life in Ha Giang and the cultural differences they experience as an Italian Vietnamese couple.

They occasionally travel to Hanoi, where Karin continues her studies and looks for new creative ideas for their content.

For Karin, what began as a trip to explore one of Vietnam’s most famous motorcycle routes has become something much bigger.

She came to Ha Giang because she loved mountains and wanted to experience the landscape she had seen in photographs.

She stayed because of the person she met there.

Khải says he remains grateful that she made the decision to return.

“I will always be grateful to Karin for being brave enough to come back, so that we would not miss each other in this life,” he says.