7 and 8 October 2018
We arrived at Ban Hieu village after an interesting road trip from Mai Chau followed by a short hike. There are many villages within Pu Luong Nature Reserve that offers homestay experiences and Ban Hieu is probably the one of the most popular villages.
Ban Hieu village consists of a small but spread-out collection of thatched bamboo houses on stilts, built on a mountainside beside a gushing waterfall and facing terraced paddy fields with misty mountains on all sides as the backdrop.
Our homestay at Ban Hieu
Our homestay at Ban Hieu Village was at the Ly Van Homestay. This homestay is operated by Mr and Mrs Ly, a relatively young couple with young children.
Our homestay at Ban Hieu is the Ly Van Homestay.
Homestay in a village in Pu Luong would typically be simple mattresses on a wooden floor, under a mosquito net, in a communal dorm on the first floor of a stilt house and a shared bathroom.
At Ly Van Homestay, we were to sleep in a separate private bungalow with attached bathroom, located next to Mr Ly’s house. There were a few such bungalows and we were assigned a relatively new one that has the best views of the valley in front. We were their only guests on this day.
Bedding is simple. Two thick queen sized mattresses placed on a raised platform sitting on timber flooring with mosquito netting above. Bath towels and blankets are provided.
The attached bathroom is tiled, clean and fitted with western style toilet and water heater. There is a fan in the hut that was very useful to keep us cool during the day and to keep insects away during the night.
Inside of our private bungalow with attached bathroom.
The area around Ly Van Homestay.
Banana tree with flowers and fruits.
A little bit of trekking around Ban Hieu village
After settling into our stilt hut at the Ly Van Homestay, we went to explore the surrounding area, including a 5 km trek up a waterfall and jungle path with our guide, Mr Long and driver, Mr Ha.
I packed a backpack with bath towels and changed into on our water shoes since I expected some crossings of jungle streams during our trek and Long told us we could swim at the waterfall.
Thac Hieu (Hieu Waterfall).
We went to the waterfall just next to the village named Thac Hieu (Hieu Waterfall). The water in the river looked clean as it came from the surrounding mountains.
We had the option to so some swimming in the rock pools at the foot of the waterfall but we decided against it as the water was quite cold and we did not want to get wet.
What we did next was mind blowing.
Our driver Ha actually led us on a trek up on the waterfall itself. The mountains in Ban Hieu are mostly limestone, so the rocks in the waterfall are not slippery. The waterfall is naturally terraced as it descends the mountainside in stages.
Our driver Ha leading the way up the terraced waterfall in his sandals.
Our water shoes are ideal for such trekking.
The surfaces of the rocks are like non-slip tiles and we could walk on them quite safely. Nevertheless, we had to tread carefully as the bottom are uneven, with some parts more than knee deep. The water was fast flowing too.
This reminded us of our experiences at Bua Tong Waterfall in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We never thought we would walk up a waterfall then but we did. Thac Hieu Waterfall was quite similar but this time, the gradient was less steep and distance that we covered was much greater.
Never thought we would walk up a waterfall (again) but we did.
Standing in the middle of a “sticky” waterfall in Hieu Village, Pu Luong.
After the trek up the waterfall, Mr Ha led us up a narrow and steep jungle path that was almost overgrown at some places.
A steep jungle path that is not frequently used by villagers.
Long told us we were the few that are game enough to do such adventurous trekking. Those who likes nature, hiking, trekking and outdoor activities would find this fun.
Scenic view on the way up. Our guide Long pointing to the location of our homestay in the valley below us.
Rice terraces in Pu Luong
Once we reached the end of the trail, we were rewarded with more outstanding views of Ban Hieu village and the rice terraces. These were the best views of the rice terraces in Pu Luong that we had seen so far.
Long pointed out two streams that flowed down the mountains and merged into the waterfall that we had just walked up. Villagers built their stilt houses next to these streams and draw water from it for drinking and washing using a combination of traditional bamboo pipes and modern day plastic pipes and hoses.
We hiked back down to our homestay, through the upper Ban Hieu village. Although there are other homestay accommodations in this village, it seems like we were the only visitors.
Cattle confined in stalls to prevent them from grazing on the rice and crops.
Typical stilt houses at Ban Hieu village.
Newly constructed hut. Probably a homestay for visitors.
The hike back down to our homestay offered beautiful vistas. The warm glow of the setting sun provided good lighting for photos of the landscape.
Stop and shoot frequently on the way down. The warm evening light was ideal for photos.
Smoke from stove preparing the evening meal or burning of daily waste?
Up close with rice terraces.
The villagers grow rice and corn on these paddy terraces, along with vegetables.
Ha and Long crossing a waterfall ahead of us.
Using bamboo to extract water for washing.
Back at our hut. Time for a hot shower and rest before dinner at 7 PM.
Evening with the host family
Living in a homestay means dining with the hosts and eating what Mrs Ly cooked for us and her family. Mr Ly’s cute little boy came to call us when it was time for dinner.
We had our meals beneath the stilt house where they lived. Like the lunches we had in other villages, the dinner provided were generous and tasty.
We had dishes like stir-fried bamboo shoots with chicken, crispy spring rolls, boiled potatoes, BBQ pork, fried tofu with chilli sauce and stir-fried cabbage. Somehow, simple dishes cooked using freshly sourced, local ingredients could taste so good.
Mr Ly served us home-made rice wine during dinner. Unfortunately, he does not speak English so it was difficult to interact with him over dinner with Long as our interpreter. However, we could sense the friendliness and keenness to make our stay at his home as comfortable as possible.
Ly Van Homestay is fitted with cable TV and I was able to watch a live telecast of a football game on it.
We dined and chatted while the owner’s and neighbour’s boys watched cable TV next to our dining table. It is good that technologies had enabled these villagers access to cable TV and have some form of entertainment at night. There is practically little to do once the sun goes down and the whole valley turns pitch dark. We actually saw little flashes of light made by fireflies outside our hut.
It was great to learn from Long prior to the trip that the owner has sports channel on his cable TV and we were able to enjoy the live telecast of English Premier League games together.
While everyone went to bed early, Long and I stayed up to watch the soccer game between Liverpool and Manchester City scheduled at 10.30 PM on this night. That is a game I did not want to miss since I am a Liverpool fan. Long is also a soccer fan and supporter of Manchester United (rival to Manchester City). On this night, we both wanted Liverpool to win. But the game turned out to be a goalless draw, which was a fair result.
When I went back to my hut after the game, I found my wife all wrapped up like a ninja, with only her eyes showing. She had put on her rain jacket with hoodie and put the extra towels we brought to good use.
There were insects, including mosquitoes in room. This was expected since we were living in the middle of a nature reserve and the lights in the hut attracted them. She does not like these creepy crawlies but sportingly braved these insects for this trip.
Mosquito nets were provided and we brought insect repellent. However, she felt more secured with added protective layers. Fortunately, it was quite chilly at night during autumn so the extra covers were not suffocating.
We survived the night at the village hut.
Morning in Ban Hieu
Staying in the rural village, we were woken by the crowing of the roosters. Some of these roosters must have gotten their settings wrong. Some crowed as early as 4 AM!
Like Mai Chau, it was misty in the morning so I did not get up early to catch the sunrise. However, a morning walk in the misty valley at first light is a must-do for those interested in photography.
View from my hut in the early morning.
As usual, my wife stayed in bed while I took a morning walk around the village. I was rewarded with views of Pu Luong’s beautiful misty morning landscape. The morning sun provided the best lightings for such photos and I was delighted.
Women in conical hats working on rice fields.
This is the hut where we stayed, shrouded in mist and bathed in the morning light.
A villager on her way to the fields.
I simply love the misty morning shots.
The cool morning is also the best time for farmers to work on their rice crops. I was further rewarded with scenes of farmers harvesting the paddy.
The local people here are shy but a greeting of “Xin Chau” would put them at ease.
Farmer harvesting rice on muddy field at Ban Hieu.
He is using a sickle, a cutting tool with a curved blade. After cutting a bunch of stalks, he would tie them into a bundle immediately.
This man stops work momentarily to smile and pose for me.
Cut paddy stalks are tied into bundles and left on top of remaining stalks to dry in the sun before they are collected later in the day.
Breakfast with a view
Our stay at Ly Van Homestay included dinner and breakfast. We were about to go for breakfast at Mr Ly’s hut when Mrs Ly brought a big circular tray with our breakfast to our hut. Room service!
Banana pancakes, Vietnamese coffee, bananas and pineapples for breakfast. All these are local produce from the village.
These small pineapples in Indochina are crunchy and sweet!
We sat and ate breakfast while watching the farmers work on the fields.
The photo on the top was taken about an hour after the photo at the bottom. This show how fast the farmer cut and bundle the paddy stalks.
These farmers work really fast. By the time it took us to finish our breakfast, the farmer had already harvested a sizable section of her paddy field. Within a week, the entire paddy field would have been harvested.
Time to say goodbye.
After breakfast we got ready for our hike through Pu Luong Nature Reserve from Ban Hieu to Kho Muong Village. Long will lead us on this hike while Ha transfers our luggage to our next accommodation in his car.
Mr Ly used a machete to shorten a bamboo pole and fashioned it into a walking stick for my wife. All set, we left our luggage in the good hands of Ha and thanked our hosts for a wonderful stay.
Next post: Our hike through Pu Luong Nature Reserve from Ban Hieu to Kho Muong Village.
No comments:
Post a Comment