Vietnam - Singapore to Mai Chau

When we arrived at Hanoi airport we were met by our driver and guide, and we set off for Mai Chau which is situated in Hoa Binh province, in the highlands about 4 hours west of Hanoi. I can see why we needed a driver, the roads are crazy. The main road out west had no markings - cars, trucks, large heavy duty construction vehicles, scooters and mopeds all in a steady flow of traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road when overtaking regardless if another vehicle was oncoming…added to this were dogs and chickens wandering into the road as lining this main road were various shops and homes. When I say shops they are generally 3 sided structures with the front open to the road and heaps of fruit and vegetables stacked up for sale - pomelos, jackfruit, sweet potatoes, mushrooms etc. and shops like barbers, hairdressers and everything one needs for daily life. I don't think supermarkets exist here, it is all very informal. It’s very much off the beaten track and rather undeveloped and third world, yet every settlement has electricity and water. It was also grey and misty today which is common at this time of year. Not surprising that we saw two accidents on our journey, but our driver was thankfully a relatively cautious one. 

We stopped off at a ‘cafe’ which was better than the average ones we saw which are more like an open counter onto the road with a few plastic chairs in front of it. I got to taste some jackfruit there which was delicious. Top left is a picture of the cafe where we stopped. Top right is a typical house on stilts that the local villagers in this area live in. There were many informal market stalls selling food and where they were cooking meat for the passing traffic, see bottom left. Bottom right is a view across the valley, it was very grey and hazy. It was very difficult to take photos today as I did not have much opportunities.

We finally arrived at our accommodation for the next 3 days, Avana Retreat, which is a gem of a place recommended by our travel agent. Set amongst dense trees with a waterfall it is a fully sustainable resort that produces all its own food. They employ local people from the surrounding villages who are Thai. While 90% of Vietnam consists of Viet people, the rest is made up of 53 other ethnic minority groups and in this area there are Red Thai and Black Thai groups who centuries ago came from southern China, most settled in Thailand but some settled here. People working in tourism here speak English, it is not easy to understand their accents but hats off to them for learning English whereas we don't bother with other languages and should make much more of an effort.

When we arrived we were taken to our villa where we checked in to our room via an iPad. We were told as part of our booking we get a free massage every day so we were then taken off in the shuttle to the spa, where we both had such a relaxing back and neck massage. This property is too big to get from place to place so the shuttle delivers you where you want to go. We will explore it tomorrow on foot when it is light.

Tomorrow we are meeting our guide after breakfast for a hike - we had planned to go up into the mountains but due to the expected thick fog and muddy conditions, he has recommended we go down the valley instead and visit the villages and people.