Vietnam - Pu Luong

After another delicious breakfast this morning, we were collected by our guide and driver and we headed off to Pu Long Nature Reserve, which is about 1.5 hours from where we are staying. Pu Luong is considered a smaller version of the more famous Sa Pa , and is a ‘heaven in the middle of the jungle’. It is popular for hiking and overlooks terraced rice paddy fields, and only became popular in the years since Covid with many more ‘homestays’ being built, where you stay in rooms offered by a host family. Some even having swimming pools. It is still off the beaten track and I guess it will become very popular as it becomes more well known as it is very beautiful there.

After we set off we drove through many villages. Shops and homes are built right on the edge of the main road, and our journey was slow as there are many dogs, puppies, chickens, roosters, cows and calves on the side of the road with no regard for the cars. On three occasions we came across a dog sleeping in the middle of the road! A vet could be kept busy with a sterilisation project here. The shops line the road and their wares seem to spill out onto the road, whether it is fruit and vegetables or washing machines! We only saw one glass fronted shop, as they are all open in the front with metal roll up doors. 

On our way we passed a bamboo processing business. It was very labour intensive, operating from an open sided small building with men and women very busy working an informal production line - some carried the heavy 40 foot bamboo stalks to the building, some cut them into smaller pieces and removed joints, then they were split by hand using a knife, and then cut smaller and smaller and smoothed off until you ended up with chopsticks. We were invited to walk freely around the busy operation, it was very informal and clearly no health and safety rules were applied! The bamboo business seems prominent in this area. See extra for a photo here.

The journey continued as we climbed up the pass, with mountains all around us covered in dense jungle vegetation. When we got there, we set off on a walk with our guide, through the village and amongst the rice paddy fields that took about 2 hours. It was sunny and warm today, but later got overcast again. On our walk I saw so many butterflies, including large swallowtails. Rice has two crops per year, and is harvested in May/June and again in late September/October. After it is harvested the remaining stumps of the plant are burnt, and then the fields lie in water so the ground is softened ready for the next planting season. Water buffalo are used to plough the fields before planting. At this time of year the fields are covered in water. Vietnam is the world’s largest producer of rice (and also of black pepper and cement - due to the limestone there). The terraced rice paddy fields make a wonderful sight surrounded by the mountains.

We had lunch at a restaurant that our guide told us was only built about 3 years ago, and we saw quite a few other tourists also eating there. The food was delicious! Then we set off back down to the valley and back to our resort.

When we got back to the resort we had our last massage. Actually I am not really a fan of any spa treatments or massages, I don't like the sticky, oily feeling afterwards. However I went tonight as it is our last night here and it was a very good massage, I requested a soft pressure and that worked for me. Plus she gave me a wonderful head massage too.

Tomorrow morning we leave for our next stop which in Ninh Binh. It’s about a 4.5 hour journey to get there, so we will be in the car for most of the day.