After tragic death of British teenager in Vietnam, backpackers reveal the dangerous underworld of the Ha Giang loop - with easy riders 'drinking until 2am and falling asleep at the handlebars'

By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:05, 13 April 2026 | Updated: 00:05, 13 April 2026 Backpackers have today revealed the dangerous underworld of Vietnam motorbike tours, after a British teenager was killed on a 'notorious' mountain route. Tourists who survived the Ha Giang loop have spoken out to warn travellers flocking to South East Asia this summer, following the tragic death of Orla Wates. The 19-year-old, from London, was riding on the back of a bike with a local guide when they crashed, and she was run over by an oncoming truck. Her parents, construction tycoon Andrew Wates and his wife Harriet, made the selfless decision to donate her organs to patients in Vietnam, saving the lives of three others. They told how Orla had loved her time there, and did not cast any blame for the accident. Jasmine, the company Orla was travelling with, has insisted that her driver was examined by police after the crash, with no sign of alcohol or drugs in his system.  However, the Daily Mail has spoken to tourists who have revealed that Vietnam has become a sea of bandaged-up Westerners, where injuries are seen as 'normal' - along with a culture of excessive drinking, dangerous driving, and overworked local guides. They have witnessed drivers from various companies fall asleep at the wheel, get into drunken fights, fail breathalyser tests, and divert their routes to avoid police catching tourists without a licence. Orla Wates, 19, was riding on the back of a bike with a local guide when they crashed, and she was run over by an oncoming truck  Anna Machale, 22, had never ridden a motorbike and had no international licence, but was waved through by Jasmine to ride the perilous 250-mile route after a ten-minute lesson in a car park. 'You're pressured to set off immediately,' she said. 'They told us they had people who go ahead to check for police so that you wouldn't get caught without a licence. If they spotted any officers, they would change the route.' Jasmine denies this, and says : 'We do not instruct, encourage, or allow staff to avoid police or roadside checks. 'We strongly recommend the use of an easy rider for those without appropriate experience or licensing.' Anna and her friend decided to share one 'easy rider' - a local driver - between them. It meant they took it in turns driving the other bike alone through the lethal mountain passes with sheer drops either side, and on day three Anna crashed. 'The bike flew out from underneath me and I was launched into the air,' she said. 'There are next to no guard rails, so if you fall in the wrong place, you're skidding off the side of a mountain. Luckily, I came away with only a scrape.' Anna Machale crashed while self-driving a bike on the Ha Giang loop, and says she was lucky to get away with just a scrape given the sheer drops and lack of guard rails She had never ridden a motorbike and had no licence, but was waved through by a tour company to ride the 250-mile route after a 10-minute lesson in a car park She managed to patch herself up, with the nearest hospital hours away, but Anna heard horror stories of others who were not so lucky during her 2023 trip. 'We met a girl who had an enormous third-degree burn on her leg that had become infected,' she recalls. 'The exhaust pipe on her bike didn't have a safety guard, and she didn't realise. 'It was so common to see people with bandages all over the country, and you knew immediately that they had done the loop. 'It was only a year or so later that I started to think "God, I genuinely could have died doing that".' Several deaths on the route have been reported in recent years. In 2017 a Spanish tourist died after falling 100m off a mountain pass, and the following year another Spanish tourist and a French traveller were killed in a head-on crash with a truck. However, there are fears the true number of crashes is far higher than is publicly known, with many more harrowing incidents spoken about in online forums, local Facebook pages, and riders' group chats. Vietnamese police don't publish figures on deaths and accidents, and authorities are keen to protect the tourism industry, which brings in around £28billion to the country each year. Elle witnessed drivers failing breathalyser tests while working as a tour guide on the loop She says drivers are often expected to spend every meal with their guests and to then socialise with them in the evenings Elle, 23, from Australia, who spent several months volunteering as a tour guide for another big company on the loop, says: 'The drivers were up from 8am and would have breakfast, lunch and dinner with their guests. They are expected to go out at night too. 'I've seen drivers breathalysed the next day. They would be fined and the company would just get a replacement in. She says the roads have got much busier in recent months, with a group chat for riders in the area now having thousands of members. And while some companies limit groups to around 10 bikes for safety, others allow packs of up to 50 to take to the hairpin bends at a time. 'If people knew how many incidents happen, they would wear the protective gear,' she says. 'I used to do it in a bikini, which I would never do now.' Katrina Audet, 25, from Canada, also volunteered with a tour company. She is now in a relationship with an easy rider, and says the conditions some face are appalling. 'A lot of drivers don't want to participate in the drinking, but tips form a big part of their income. And if a passenger feels closer to their driver, they will often tip more. During one of her own trips, Katrina's driver told her he was tired and going to bed, only to emerge half an hour later. 'I asked him why, and he had been told he needed to stay with us,' she recalls. A British traveller, who now works for a smaller operator and wished to stay anonymous, confirms this happens often. She has befriended drivers at one of Jasmine's largest competitors, who have been explicitly told that they may not go to bed until every guest is asleep - sometimes in the early hours of the morning. Many easy riders do back-to-back tours for weeks without seeing their families, and this, coupled with the heavy drinking, surely takes a toll. One easy rider told the Daily Mail he only gets three days off in two months. Another British tourist, who posted on TikTok last week under the username @beccazillaa, said that a driver in her group fell asleep at the handlebars, crashing into the bike in front. Though no one was injured, she says: 'We were going up steep hills, sharp kerbs. Do you know how tired you have to be to have someone on the back and fall asleep? 'The riders are exhausted and when the evening comes and they get drunk, that coupled with a hangover is no good.' The views are undeniably beautiful, with zigzagging mountain passes, dramatic waterfalls and the Dong Van Karst plateau, a Unesco site Your browser does not support iframes. During the evenings, easy riders often party with their customers, taking shots of the local 'happy water' - or rice wine. Katriona, 25, from Hertfordshire, remembers her driver - from Jasmine - apologising profusely one morning after he chose to go to bed, exhausted, rather than stay up. 'I didn't think anything of it at the time,' she says. 'But I realised afterwards there's a culture where they are expected to give guests a good time. 'Sometimes it got to the point where they were drinking so much it got violent.' On the final night, one of the easy riders in her group started picking fights. Katriona says the police were called, and the driver was fired. A Jasmine spokesman said: 'Our drivers and leaders are not permitted to consume alcohol while on duty, or in any way that could affect safety or professional conduct.' Despite the horror stories, the Ha Giang province is expected to receive 3.5million visitors this year. And it's easy to see why. The views are stunning, with zigzagging mountain passes, dramatic waterfalls and the Dong Van Karst plateau, a Unesco site. It is why the region is still popular with travellers like Leah Baker, 24, from Suffolk, who visited on a gap year. 'I had the time of my life, it was absolutely amazing,' she says. Leah says she had the time of her life in Vietnam, though her tour unfortunately ended in a crash When Leah travelled with Jasmine, she was somewhat alarmed to see her easy rider - who 'could only have been about 18' - setting off in sandals and linen trousers. 'It's normalised there though, and you accept it. I felt very safe until we crashed at the last moment,' she says. Leah scraped her elbow, arm and badly bruised her knee. 'I was bleeding and shaken up, but I had to get back on the bike.' Before the group had started their journey, they were told a cautionary tale about a tourist falling off a cliff on the loop. This, she says, was aimed at those who had - perhaps overconfidently - signed up to drive themselves. They were encouraged to get an easy rider, who should be more familiar with the roads. But countless experiences published online, and Orla's tragic death, suggest there may be little tourists can do to truly stay safe. As Anna says: 'You just hope and pray that nothing comes around the bend.' A spokesman for Jasmine said: 'Compliance with Vietnamese traffic regulations is required at all times. 'Before departure, guests are informed of local legal requirements, route conditions, and riding considerations. 'All tours begin with a safety briefing. Each group is led by a designated leader responsible for pace and overall coordination, with the authority to adjust arrangements if safety expectations are not met. 'Travel on mountainous roads requires a high level of awareness and caution, and any road incident is treated with seriousness. We continue to review our operating practices as part of our ongoing commitment to safety.' An investigation was opened into Orla's death last week.  The company added: 'We remain in contact with relevant authorities and will provide updates where appropriate.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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