9 October 2018
Pu Luong Retreat offers a real treat for photographers with its elevated position over the valley with the terraced paddy fields of Pu Luong.
We woke early to go the hotel’s infinity edge pool where the best views could be seen. There were already some other guests taking photos by the reflective infinity pool. We waited patiently for our turn to shoot a few photos of our own at the poolside.
Morning at the infinity pool of Pu Luong Retreat.
There are other vantage points within the resort where the gorgeous misty morning landscape could be enjoyed and photos could be shot. I found a nice big rock with a good vantage point.
Photograph of the photographer.
Putting the zoom function of my camera to good use to shoot a photo of a farmer on the rocks.
Nice shadows on the terrace rice fields under the morning sun.
Misty layered landscape in the early morning as seen from Pu Luong Retreat.
Our hike took us down from Pu Luong Retreat to a shady track leading into Kho Muong village.
Entering into Kho Muong village, located next to our hotel.
We saw villagers going about the daily routine and plenty of livestock and dogs.
Buffalo and calf in Kho Muong village.
We met a group of villagers building a new stilt house. The house was almost completed. We spent a few moments to admire the newly constructed house and the construction technique, especially how the wooden beams and structure are jointed without using nails.
The structure is made of solid wood and the walls and flooring are made of bamboo slats and weaved bamboo strips. The roof is covered with what seemed to be dried palm leaves placed above corrugated zinc sheets.
Wooden structure of the stilt house built with interlocking joints.
The materials used for the stilt house were mostly natural resources sourced from within the nature reserve. Wood and bamboo are easily available nearby. In Vietnam, fan palm tree leaves could be used for roofing after drying and treatment. The treatment included soaking the leaves in salt water to protect against insects. Long told us a roof built with palm leaves could last up to 18 years. Amazing.
Since the area is within Pu Luong Nature Reserve, none of the material, e.g. timber, logs, bamboo, could be taken out of the protected nature reserve by law but could be used by local ethnic villagers for construction of their own houses.
Another interesting bit of information from Long is that if anyone in the village wants to build his house, the whole village will come and help in its construction. They work free of charge in the form of “kampong spirit” or community service. The owner however will have to provide the materials. Most of the houses are standardised in design, so most men in the village knew how to build them.
From Kho Muong village, we headed into vast green terraces of paddy fields. By now, the morning mist had cleared a little, so sunglasses and hat were put to good use.
We were the only hikers on this sunny morning with clear blue sky. No farmers were seen working in the fields as the paddies were still not ripe for harvesting.
Friendly villagers stopping for us to shoot photos.
We were the only hikers.
Panoramic photo of the landscape.
The paddy at this part of Pu Luong Nature Reserve was still in the growing phase and the fields were all bright green.
We trekked through a forest on the edge of the vast paddy field using a path that was probably not used for a long time. The path was overgrown and could hardly be seen.
Finding our way through the forest.
Long went forward to recce for a passable route.
Can you spot where our guide is?
We spent a few minutes to remove all these stowaways grass seeds from our clothing before continuing.
We emerged from the forest and had to find our way back to our hotel through the vast rice fields that lay in between. Although the paddy fields looked nice and green from above, the bottom of these fields were wet and muddy.
Lone farmer working in the paddy fields in Pu Luong.
Long led us down a “path” which was actually a drain built for irrigation.
A likely path back to our hotel.
Balancing on the irrigation drains as we made our way across the paddy fields towards our hotel. The drain seemed like a likely route back to our hotel but it soon ended at a small stream flowing through the fields. We had to continue our walk on the narrow raised bunds in between the muddy fields.
These bunds were about 1 foot across and some parts were very soft and not strong enough to handle our weight.
The result of losing one’s balance while walking on the soft bunds through the rice fields.
We ended up with muddy shoes after our hike through the paddy fields.
The last part of our hike was on paved roads leading back to Pu Luong Retreat. By now, the sun was really hot and we were drenched in perspiration.
Overall, the short morning hike had been interesting and fun. We had ample time to shower and clean our shoes before checking out from Pu Luong Retreat.
Our next destination is Ninh Binh where we would stay for the rest of our trip. Ninh Binh is about 3 hours away by car from Pu Luong.
Our driver Ha drove through the surrounding countryside and also on the well constructed Ho Chi Minh highway to Ninh Binh. En-route, we stopped for lunch at one of the local restaurants before arriving at our hotel in Ninh Binh’s city center in the afternoon.
Where we stayed in Pu Luong:
Pu Luong Retreat is one of the best places to stay in Pu Luong Nature Reserve.
We stayed in this stilt house within Pu Luong Retreat.
Comfortable 4 poster beds with protective (and romantic) nettings and modern power points next to the beds.
Although the rooms are not the most luxurious, it is well furnished and definitely much more comfortable that staying in a homestay in an ethnic minority village like Kho Muong.
The splendid views and the reflective infinity edge pool is a bonus!
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