Mai Chau

A few weeks after I first came to Hanoi, one of my co-workers, Phuong, invited me to go on a camping trip. A weekend thing with a bunch of her pals, to a place called Mai Chau. "Sure!" I said, and only afterwards did I realize that I had no clue what or where Mai Chau was. Querying the security guards at my apartment complex was difficult, but I gathered via my crap Vietnamese that a) Mai Chau was very big, b) it was close to Hanoi, and c) many people go there to buy many things.

I was very perplexed then, about this supposed camping trip. Did chi Phuong mean "camping" as in the kind of camping where there are electrical facilities? And was it possible I had just misunderstood the shopping bit? I resolved to pack both my mosquito net and debit card.

As it turns out, Mai Chau is a) tiny b) three hours north of Hanoi and c) breathtaking.

Our intrepid crew:

The split bamboo flooring of our guest stilt house:

Tiny tabby guest:

The pile of greenery being chopped is sugar cane. We bought a bag each to snack on later. As for the bit about Mai Chau being a place where "many people go to buy many things", it turns out I half understood. Many tourists go to Mai Chau to buy things, like handwoven scarves and other ethnic souvenirs. Mai Chau is one of those ethnic minority villages in the mountains, and it's a popular stop for the ubiquitous pink tourist buses I see around Hanoi. What it's really ideal for is to take a long, quiet nap. It's the anithesis of Hanoi, and I was glad to get away, if only for one weekend. The fact that the journey had some gorgeous scenery and that Mai Chau is amazing doesn't hurt either.