Vietnam, Part 4: Mai Chau Valley

I had been hoping to take a train up to Sapa in the mountains near the Chinese border to spend some time in rural Vietnam. I wanted to see hill tribes and hike in beautiful mountains and along rice paddies... but unfortunately a seven day trip doesn't really leave enough time for that sort of thing. My roommates wanted to go to Ho Chi Minh, so we parted ways and I teamed up with a friend I met in Halong Bay to explore the North. I ultimately decided to go to a valley populated by hill tribes much closer to Hanoi-- only 135 km away. Though honestly, when 135km takes 4+ hours on a public bus, I might as well been on the other side of the country!



Driving down into the valley was unreal. Steep mountains, covered with green forests and shrouded with fog were on all sides of us. Most other vehicles on the road were motorcycles, the most common form of transport in these areas. The roads are either rough or non-existent and most houses don't really have space for a car. After a quick lunch of pho at a street stall we accepted a ride from a man offering a homestay and went further into the Valley to see his home.



We stayed in a beautiful one-room stilt house owned by couple named How and Bing in a White Thai village named Lac. The stilt house is one room, divided into three sections by curtains at night. The cooking is done on a hotplate in the house and there is one TV and an armoire-- but other than that, no furniture. At night, mats, comforters, and mosquito nets are set up for sleeping. I was worried about being uncomfortable sleeping on the bamboo-slat floor, but I slept like a baby. It seems like a lot of daily life goes on underneath the house. There are tables for socializing and eating and the fridge/freezer is plugged in down there. The bathroom is an outhouse with the cleanest squat toilet I have ever seen. There is no hot water, but they do have a shower and a tap. Most houses would have a small garden, a few animals in pens, and a pond for fish and other seafood. The valley is filled with lush green rice paddies that belong to the families. Both husband and wife have spent their entire lives in this town. They've seen electricity and tourism come to the area, but other than that their lives and the lives of their neighbors and family really have remained the same for hundreds of years.





We spent our afternoon hiking through villages with Bing. It seemed like she knew every person that we crossed paths with, several of whom were actually her relatives. We saw the house she grew up in, the brick forge, schools, and rice paddy upon rice paddy. We learned how to separate the rice from the stalk (?) and how to weave on a traditional loom. Her English is not great, but this woman had the most wonderful laughter I have ever heard. Her smile just lit up the room.



At night our dinner was cooked by their 16 year-old daughter. I don't know if I have ever eaten so locally. We had sauteed cucumbers from the mountains, rice from the valley, local chicken, and some sort of fried sea creature from the ponds. It was simple and delicious. After dinner we spied on some traditional dancing through the windows of a neighbors house and then went to bed early.



The next day was a few more hours of wandering the valley before we had to head back to Hanoi. Bing pointed into the mountains and showed us that people live up there-- but there there are no roads so they are completely inaccessible by car or motorcycle. A little further on there are some Hmong villages. Had we stayed longer, we could have hiked during the day and stayed at different villages in the mountains each night. Mai Chau was incredibly relaxing, I would really love to do another homestay before I return to the states-- maybe in Thailand next time?