Blogs from Mai Chau, Hoa Binh, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 2

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau July 28th 2008

***Sorry to confuse....Pics from this and the Halong Bay blog are the wrong way round....ooooppss!!*** (Shouldn't try to be clever after too many beers!!) Hi all, Ok so we experienced our first Vietnamese scam while jumping on the bus to get here, Let me explain: when we arrived at the bus station in Hanoi the bus for Mai Chau was just leaving (and so we didnt have time to check any deatails on price etc) so we quickly jumped on without hesitation........ on the bus were 3 American girls (who had only just began thier travels) who told us that they had made friends with the Vietnamese boy sitting in front of us who had told them that he was paying 70,000 dong therefore the price was set for all us foriegers they paid so we ... read more

Mai Chau, White Tai minority

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau July 9th 2008

innocent eyes of a local child

annipanni

hey everybody, I have to start with an apologize cause I don't have much linguistic inspiration for the moment... I am too buzzy with my project of a documentation corner, ( I will tell you later about that) But I don't want to keep my pictures that I made in the peacefull valley of Mai Chau... so just a short story... Mai chau was on my priority list since the beginning... if you know me a bit than you won't be surprised that I was immediately excited by reading " get a real experience by staying at a stilt house with the local family"... last friday I finally "created" some time to get this experience... The yourney from Mai Chau was a challenge and a test for my patience and survival skills... first the bus, then ... read more

Being Mistaken as Vietnamese in Mai Chau

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau July 9th 2007

Mai Chau Scenery

MissyS

Saturday night we took the night train back to Hanoi, had some breakfast, and then sat at a cafe drinking much needed coffee for about an hour before hopping on an ancient bus to Mai Chau. Chi Sen commented that the bus looked older than she is (which is late 40's) as I pried open an antique window to get some relief from the oppressive heat in the bus. A woman came aboard trying to sell fans and fanned me in an effort to get me to buy. Normally I will make it clear that I am not interested, but the fanning felt good and I might have cruelly strung her along a little before refusing to buy. As soon as the bus got going the breeze took care of the heat. There was a ... read more

Mai Chau Valley

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau April 23rd 2007

RECOVERED

MoKelly

The Mai Chau Valley: We found a good tour guide (Manh), in Hanoi, and decided to hire him and a driver (Thanh) for a 6 day trip into the north of Vietnam. Our first stop was Mai Chau. Thanh dropped us off on a dirt road and we began our hike to Ahn Que village. We walked by endless rice paddies and stilt houses...everyone waving and saying hello as we passed. Manh was serious about sustainable tourism. We ate at local places and did as the locals did to the best of our abilities. We would stop from time to time in various huts along the trail and Manh would talk with the locals. He was a master at small talk. He told us about growing rice and all the other local vegetables that grew ... read more

Mai Chau to Song La

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau February 11th 2007

Play Misty for me

adamwsmith

I awoke feeling very refreshed, and thankfully free of bugbites. It took me while to realize what was different. It was the silence. It was wonderful, and such a change from Hanoi. Outside I was able to finally appreciate the reason for coming to Mai Chau. I could see the valley in all its glory now, with the steep sides rising up shrounded in mist. A shaft of sunlight pierced the scene in front of me. Outside my door, women worked bent over in the rice paddies and water buffalos wandered about. I decided to have a look at the headlight, hoping that it was something easy to fix. The bulb turned out to be ok, and after taking it apart and putting it back together it worked. Must have just been a loose connection. Swelling ... read more

The Old Buffalo Rides Again.

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh » Mai Chau February 10th 2007

The Old Buffalo

adamwsmith

After five or so days in Hanoi, it was time to get moving. I'd had a wonderful time, which included 1) meeting a gaggle of Spainiards, including the very kind Ane, 2) missing the rugby but gaining a great night out with a bunch of gin drinking vietnmese hairdressers, 3) unfortunately watching Scotland lose but ending up at the hippest nightclub (well nightbarge) in Hanoi till dawn and being driven though the Hanoi peasouper to enjoy a beef noodle breakfast and finally 4) getting aquainted with Hanoi's Irish Pub, meeting some old friends again, singing lots of songs, hearing beautiful Vietnamese singing, and ending up at the worst karaeko bar on the planet. For the record, I also had a few nights in watching TV. Can't do exciting traveller things ALL the time. I finally plucked ... read more

Brief history of Vietnam

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forc...more history

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