6 October 2018
After a couple of days in Hanoi, our adventure in the rural part of northern Vietnam began. Our first stop after Hanoi is Mai Chau valley. Mai Chau valley is located in Hoa Binh province, about 160 km west of Hanoi and is one of the most beautiful areas in Vietnam.
Surrounded by hills, Mai Chau valley offers an escape for city dwellers and those seeking to experience rural Vietnam with spectacular paddy fields, remote idyllic villages with stilt houses and sights and sounds of village life.
Compared to the more popular and touristy Sapa, there is no direct train service from Hanoi to Mai Chau, implying less tourists. However, Mai Chau is a popular place for Vietnam’s city folks to escape to during the weekends and its tourism is beginning to boom.
Although there are direct buses from Hanoi, these is not a very comfortable or convenient option for foreign travellers. The best way for individual travellers would be to rent a car with local driver. Some higher-end hotels in Mai Chau would help arrange transfer, together with their hotel bookings.
I plan to visit Mai Chau, Pu Luong Nature Reserve and Ninh Binh. Hence, I booked a 5D/4N private tour that starts from Hanoi and ends in Ninh Binh from VIC Travel and will include a few days at Mai Chau and Pu Luong. Our itinerary includes trekking, hiking, cycling, homestays in Mai Chai and Pu Luong Nature Reserve and a day of sightseeing in Ninh Binh.
I chose VIC Travel as this company focuses on low impact "off the beaten path" private trips in northern Vietnam. The tour includes a local English speaking guide, air-conditioned car with driver, meals and accommodations.
My wife and I were picked up by our guide (Mr Long) and driver (Mr Ha) from Hanoi in a clean and spacious Toyota Innova. I had a silent laugh when they introduced themselves. I thought I had given Ha Long Bay a miss and ironically, I will spend the next few days with Ha and Long.
It was a comfortable 4-hours drive through the countryside and towns to Mai Chau with a coffee break en-route. During the journey and coffee break, we had nice chats with Ha and Long. Mr Long speaks good English and is very knowledgeable in world affairs as well as knowledge of his country. He is easy to talk to and happy to share information about life in Vietnam. We chat about many things including Vietnamese coffee, economy, history and football.
We stopped briefly at Thung Khe Pass, a lookout point with a tall flagpole, that offered a bird’s-eye view of valley and town of Mai Chau. Unfortunately the humid weather in the noon sunshine made the view hazy and not ideal for photography.
Mai Chau town and valley from the lookout point. The most beautiful part of the valley is hidden behind the hill in the right.
Our car descended from the mountain road into the valley and made a stop at Lac village where we were served simple but authentic local cuisine for lunch. Long told us the salad included fine slices of crunchy, purple coloured banana flowers!
Hand-made bamboo dining table and chairs. Not the most comfortable table to use as it was too low for my long legs.
Our lunch at the Lac Village. So much food for 2 persons!
After two days in crazy, busy Hanoi, having lunch in the upper floor of a wooden stilt house in a quiet remote village surrounded by greenery was a surreal experience.
After lunch, we started on our 5 km walk in Mai Chai valley with Mr Long while Mr Ha took our luggage to the Mai Chau Ecolodge where we would be staying for the night. Although there were options to stay in one of the homestays in the valley, I had opted to pay more to upgrade our accommodation to the more luxurious lodging.
The first part of the hike took us through Lac village. Mai Chau district has about 50,000 inhabitants, including seven ethnic minority groups that lived in small villages.
Hiking through the Lac village in Mai Chau.
The villagers typically built their houses on stilts which provide protection against rising water during the monsoon season and also dangerous animals like snakes and other creepy crawlies.
Animals like cattle could be found living beneath the stilt houses.
A river flows near the village and we saw a man on a boat. He was beating the water with a stick.
“He is fishing”, Long told us.
Apparently there are nets deployed across the river and by beating the water with a stick, the fisherman was driving fish into those nets.
There are plenty of bamboo in Vietnam. Fast growing (hence cheap) and strong, they are perfect building materials for many things in Vietnam including rafts and houses.
Villagers building rafts using bamboo.
Leaving the Lac village, our hike took us to the edge of paddy fields.
Long asked if we want to take the longer route and walk through the rice fields. Our answer was obviously “YES!”
Walking through the rice fields on narrow raised bunds.
The fields were mostly green and lush. The rice in Mai Chau valley was still in the growing stage. They will turn golden yellow when the rice is ripe and ready for harvesting.
Although Vietnam is the second-largest rice exporter (after Thailand), most of the rice produced in Mai Chau and Pu Luong were for local consumption.
Long showed us different varieties of rice and explained how he identifies them based on the height of the plant, shape and colour of the grain. He pointed out fields of brown rice, sticky glutinous rice and “normal” rice as we made our way through the fields. To me, they all looked the same.
Young rice grains with soft insides.
We learnt that young rice is soft and creamy inside the husks. Squeeze the grains and white creamy stuff oozes out. The creamy “rice” actually tasted sweet since it is starch.
Tasting the white creamy stuff that ooze out from the young rice grains.
Rice farming is hard work. Unlike some other countries, rice is planted manually in Vietnam. Many elderly farmers suffered from bad backs through constant bending over to plant rice seedlings over the years. They also suffered from lack of calcium.
During the growing season, farmers have to tend to the rice constantly. Some of the tasks include removing pest like snails, removing weeds and making sure the fields are irrigated.
A woman farmer was seen with her dog walking through the rice fields. She is removing snails from her rice field. Snails are pests that feed on rice plants but are also food for her ducks.
Snails collected by the farmer.
We also saw plenty of red dragonflies. They are not considered pests. In fact, dragonflies feed on pest insects, acting as a natural pest control.
Walking on the narrow bund in between the rice fields. A misstep will result in muddy and wet shoes.
Walking on the banks of an irrigation drain.
Our first walk through the rice fields of Mai Chai with our guide Long was an enriching educational experience.
We left the rice fields and continued our hike through the rural countryside. Mai Chau is a popular get-away weekend destination for the locals.
We chanced upon a group of Vietnamese enjoying their company outing. One guy was even flying a drone to photograph their fun team-building activities. We stood and watch their games and activities for a while, reminiscing the days when we had our corporate outings.
We hiked through another village with plenty of animals like ducks, long-legged chickens, dogs, pigs and cows. We even spotted goats on a steep hillside.
Family of sure footed goats on a steep hill.
Hiking through a village in Mai Chau.
Approaching Mai Chau Ecolodge. There are a number of tourist accommodations along this road.
After passing through the last village, we saw Mai Chau Ecolodge in the distant, across vast green fields of paddy.
First view of Mai Chau Ecolodge in the distant. Set on a slope facing the rice fields, Mai Chau Ecolodge is one the better places to stay in this valley.
There were plenty of photo opportunities as we walked the last kilo-meter to our destination.
A villager collecting banana leaves.
Rice farmers at Mai Chau.
Back entrance of Mai Chau Ecolodge.
We arrived at the Ecolodge at about 3 PM, all sweaty and hot from our hike.
Mai Chau Ecolodge is one the best places to stay in Mai Chau valley. Surrounded by mountains and paddy fields, Mai Chau Ecolodge features modern rooms and suites with views and free Wi-Fi. It has a restaurant, bar, an outdoor pool and in-house spa for guests to relax in. Free bicycles are available for guests to borrow and explore the countryside.
Lobby entrance of Mai Chau Ecolodge.
An ecolodge is not a resort!
We had some free time before dinner is served at 7 PM. The pool looked so inviting but we did not bring our swimwear!
After a nice refreshing shower in our room, we spent our evening exploring the lush and well planted gardens in the lodge and the area outside the lodge.
Unusual beautiful flowers on a banana tree.
These fields would be golden yellow during harvesting season in a few weeks time.
Many of the hotel’s guests borrowed bicycles to cycle around the area. We would be doing our cycling the next morning.
The flat valley is ideal for cycling.
We did a relaxing stroll outside the lodge and watched the sun set over the hills. Amazing colours in the evening sky.
The sunset at Mai Chau valley as seen from the rice fields.
Our stay at Mai Chau Ecolodge included a set dinner at their restaurant overlooking the pool.
View of the swimming pool from our dining table.
Set dinner at Mai Chau Ecolodge.
Our 6-course set dinner consists of the following items, served with steamed rice:
- Wonton soup.
- Mixed herb salad with chicken.
- Deep fried crispy seafood with fruits spring rolls.
- Pan-fried fish with black pepper sauce
- Stir-fried beef in bamboo
- Stewed pear with ice-cream
Most of the ingredients like fresh vegetables and herbs are grown in the hotel’s own gardens.
Later in the evening, there was a lively cultural dance performance for all guests at the lodge.
Guests sat at the poolside to watch the performance. Quite good turnout.
Folk Dance performance.
I did not stay till the end of the performances as I was too tired after a long day. There would be more activities to do the next day!