Blogs from Yen Bai, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia

I am just back home after traveling 2,450km by local bus, taxi and motorbike in 7 provinces of the North West and the North East mountain regions of Vietnam. This was the longest road trip I’ve ever made. I had traveled for 27 days from 13 September to 9 October and it was also one of the most interesting trips of my life. I had a traveling companion on this trip and we shared some sections of the road. We visited more than 15 villages of the H’mong, Dzao, Thai, Mường, La Hủ, Tày, Nùng and Cống ethnic minority people. There were so many great memories and expriences on this trip. What made us remember most of all was the friendly people we met on the way. All began with a simple conversation or greetings which ... read more

This is Part 2 of my 7-day solo trip in the North West of Vietnam by local bus and motorbike. After leaving Suối Giàng, I traveled by motorbike to Nghĩa Lộ town. On the way I passed by Mường Lò rice field which is the second largest rice field in the North West of Vietnam. There were farmers working on the fields and I could feel good smell of the rice. The first thing I did in Nghĩa Lộ town was to check out timetable for the bus to Mù Cang Chải on the following day. After finding a good guest house, I spent time walking along the National Highway No. 32 toward Mường Lò rice field, but I coulnd’t walk too far as it was getting dark. Tuesday morning (July 17) - I got a ... read more

Ngày đầu năm, cùng cơ quan cũ đi thăm đến Hùng... read more

Hi guys, Another short one i'm afraid and no pictures as yet i don't have my camera lead with me. Spent the first week at the volunteer house in a small village called nahm ding near to the north coast. There are 6 girls on the trip with me and we are having a great time, they are all really nice and we are getting on great. We have done all sorts of things to learn about the local culture including vietnamease language lessons, playing with the local kids and teaching them english, painting the kindergarten, a cooking lesson which also involved going to the local market to but the ingredients- fun as we had just learnt the words for the things we needed and we had to ask for everything in vietnemease, ended up with ... read more

"F*cking Minorities" 08/02/08 Friday morning. We recount tales of sodomy close-shaves, unwanted breakfasts and future mother-in-laws to the rest of the group, and then leave on a private bus at 9.30am. Our destination is the Ngoi To Village, somewhere in the Vu Linh District (I'm reading this off my schedule sheet. Truth is, I rarely know where I am, who I'm with or what the fuck I'm doing). The village is located near Thac Ba Lake, which covers an area of 23,400ha and contains 1,331 Islands. It's a big lake, folks. Vietnam is home to around 54 officially recognised minority ethnic groups, and this is the first one we visit. The morning doesn't begin well. My bodily functions have been all over the place since switching countries, and I'm sure the rice wine isn't helping. ... read more