Impressions of North Vietnam – Part 2

Welcome to part two of my impressions of northern Vietnam (for part one click here). For twelve days Sophie and I toured Vietnam’s land of mountains, rice terraces and ethnic minority life. These are my personal day-to-day insights from the second leg of our trip.

Day #7 – Detour day

We leave Phu Yen to go back on the road towards Mai Chau. An hour into the drive we are stopped. Further up the road a bridge has collapsed. It’s been raining a lot the past few days and the water swell must have given it the last nudge. I check Google Maps and quickly realize this means a major detour. Driver Ming confirms.

Almost our detour gets longer when we get to a bend in the road where a small landslide has made it difficult for cars to pass by. It’s one-way traffic. After a long wait, it’s our turn and we slowly go through the bend and continue our journey. Ming drives carefully because animals – dogs, buffalo, goats, ducks, geese – can cross the road at any time. After a total driving time of about six hours we reach our destination.

Mai Chau is predominantly White Thai. The owner of our homestay also belongs to this ethnic minority. He has 2,000 m2 of rice fields and, due to favorable weather conditions, can do two harvests per year. The views from the ground floor of the homestay where we can eat and relax are amazing.

After dinner, our travel guide Asu tells me about how many members of his ethnic group, the Black Hmong, cooperated with the United States during the Vietnam War. The CIA trained Hmong tribesmen to fight against Communist insurgencies in Laos. According to Asu, the Americans promised them land in case the war was won or asylum in the U.S. in case it was lost. Only a few were actually granted asylum after the U.S. withdrew its troops. After the war there were several incidences of severe retribution against Black Hmong. In 2007 the U.S. indicted their former Black Hmong ally, general Vang Pao, as a terrorist.

Day #8 – You only get one shot?

After breakfast we go on a nice flat walk wearing our sandals. The vegetation is diverse. Sometimes Asu stops to point out plants with a medicinal use. Especially people living in remote areas rely on these to threat illnesses. Western medicine is too expensive for them and hospitals are usually too far away. Only in extreme cases will they venture out of their village to the city for medical care.

In the afternoon we go on a very wet bike ride. Uncharacteristically, we share the streets with many other tourists who decided to do the same – regardless of the rain. Back at the homestay we meet two Spanish women from the Basque Country. We get on well and share travel stories.

Shortly after dinner the son of the house invites me to join him and his friends for some shots of rice wine. In the middle of the table there’s a big hotpot with some sort of dog meat stew. My vegan, dog-owning sister will kill me for this, but I did try a very small piece. In northern Vietnam dog is a very common dish. I didn’t dislike the taste, but the smell wasn’t all that. I think it’ll be a one-time thing.

In the meantime everyone except me has taken of their shirt. The guys pour one shot after the other. The son is the only one in the group comfortable speaking English. He expresses many times his gratitude that we are visiting his village. He’s proud to share his White Thai culture. He’s never left northern Vietnam. I ask whether he envies all of these foreigners visiting his home. His answer hits a chord with me. He loves his community, he says. Everyone helps each other. When I’m not here and my family needs help, I know our neighbors will take care of them.

Day #9 – Visit the Kinh

From Mai Chau we drive to Ninh Binh. On the way we stop at Van Long Nature Reserve to take a little boat out on the lake. Asu mentions that parts of the latest King Kong movie, Skull Island (2017), were shot here.

It’s pretty much all Vietnamese, or as they are called in Vietnam, ‘Kinh’people, in this region. Kinh make up ninety percent of the population. The other ten percent is made up of fifty-three ethnic minorities.

Our homestay for the next two nights belongs to the owner of Ethnic Travel and it doesn’t disappoint. Set in a residential area it looks more like a B&B. We do some much needed washing. But there’s no machine, though, hand wash only. A lot of work, but rewarding.

Read the full blog here.