Ahoy Hanoi: Mornings in Mai Châu

To take a rest from the hustle bustle of the city, I took a trip to the countryside a few days ago. Together with a class of some new-found Vietnamese friends, I sat on the bus for more than four hours on the high and winding road to Mai Châu. Don't worry though, if you are, because the pain in the ass will pay off. Look!


Upon arriving at Mai Châu proper, we traveled on a little further to get to our accommodation which was in a local farm village. We settled in a traditional stilt house, which in Vietnamese is called nhà sàn (/nya san/), got our bags and stuff unpacked, ate the welcoming lunch set underneath the house, and then proceeded to trek our way up a mountain to check out a cave that is just nearby. Amazingly, the way up there is paved with stone stair-steps. So if you're not the hiking-type of person, there is still actually nothing much to worry about. ... Besides, the number of steps (because more or less, the number of steps going up round up to at least a thousand or two). But again, hard work in Mai Châu pays off. All the locals there know that.


Getting inside the cave was definitely a treat! It was as cold and as refreshing as an opened fridge. You must not miss it. 

On our bikes, on the way back to the village, I steered away and decided to make a quick turn to some place else to explore the fields... and explore I did. I definitely got lost in the plain's wilderness. I had to cross a rushing stream (that came out of nowhere), carrying my 30-kilogram bike and all my electronics inside a plastic bag. I circled around two different villages, one village after the other. Twice. I ended up getting stranded in the middle of the rice fields because some the farmers were milling their newly-harvested rice.. in the middle of the road. So, I just took the time to snap some pictures and watch the sun as it sets.


I arrived back to the village just in time for dinner. Before the night capped, there was a little campfire prepared for us, and it kind of became the local folks' send-off party to us as we head back to Hanoi the next morning. The night was hot!

About 135 kilometers out of Hanoi lies the rural valley of Mai Châu. The place is inhabited by different ethnic groups of the northern province of Hòa Bình. Out there are endless vistas of lush mountains and golden rice plains. The local culture is rich and is kept intact in long threads of tradition; their spirit, a warm haven and in tune with the rhythm of their vast fertile land.
If you want to check out more photos of the trip, you can click here.
Reading Suggestion: "A Letter to Mai Châu" by Andy Engelson