October 23 to 25, 2019
150km of Hanoi
Population: a few 100s
Visiting the terraced rice fields is inescapable if you are visiting Vietnam. We had done some research before the trip and two options were available.
The first option, and the most popular, is a trek around Sapa, in North Vietnam. It looked breathtaking when seeing the pictures but it is 9 hours away by bus and hiking is difficult there. It would not have been appropriate for Naema and Lana.
The second option is Mai Chau in the Pu Luong Natural Park, 4 hours south-west of Hanoi, less mountainous but as beautiful and far less touristy!
I also found out from other travelers, that some villages were actually made up to look traditional around Sapa (for ex, Cat Ca), the population pretends to dress traditionally for the tourists. Travel agencies sell this as an authentic experience but it does not sound like one really...
We found a homestay in the village of Pu Luong close to Mai Chau. To get there, we hired a private driver and car recommended by the homestay owner. He will tag longhand get us back to Hanoi 2 days later.
The homestay is really nice, consisting of 5 bungalows made of bamboo from ground to ceiling, located in the woods and with a spectacular view on the mountains. The owner, Mr Ta, native of the area, is a former tour guide and speaks some English (and German). He offered to show us around.
The magnificent homestay
After the intensive urban beat of Hanoi (and Hong Kong) , a get-away in the mountains is a breath of fresh air. For the girls to play outside freely and without any risk is much appreciated. Mr Ta even put up a bamboo swing for them.
The girls' swings
Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of rain. But something we will learn later in Vietnam, (mainly in Hot An and and Hue), rain is an integral part of the scenery in Vietnam. Had we not gone out in the rain, we would not have done much. So we put our raincoats on and out we went on hikes (rather short and sweet).
Landscapes are breathtaking, as you can appreciate in the pictures below.
Some rice and the irrigation system
Meals were provided at the homestay and cooked by Mr Ta (he was a former cook in Hanoi many years ago). We had nems, lemongrass chicken, fried rice, and homemade banana-infused liquor. For breakfast, we enjoyed banana pancakes (greasy but good!).
After this lovely stay outside the city, we went back to Hanoi before heading to Cat Ba and the Halong and Lan Ha bays.
Salah
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