Today was 11 hours on the road - with lots of breaks. It took over a couple of hours just to get out of Hanoi - it's actually a huge city. As soon as you're out of the city, however, the spectacular scenery begins. The characteristic steep hills of Northern Vietnam.
We passed through the town of Hoa Binh and then climbed a pass on the way to Mai Chau. At the top of the pass there were many stalls selling food like roasted corn, with spectacular views of the valley below.
After stopping in Mai Chau for a while to have lunch and get out of the heat, we continued on. At one point we were riding through swarms of butterflies. Amazing. I stopped at a spot where they were particularly dense, to take some close pictures.
Then we started climbing again into the Pu Luong Nature reserve. Rough road dotted with simple villages and amazing scenery.
We passed through the town of Hoa Binh and then climbed a pass on the way to Mai Chau. At the top of the pass there were many stalls selling food like roasted corn, with spectacular views of the valley below.
After stopping in Mai Chau for a while to have lunch and get out of the heat, we continued on. At one point we were riding through swarms of butterflies. Amazing. I stopped at a spot where they were particularly dense, to take some close pictures.
Then we started climbing again into the Pu Luong Nature reserve. Rough road dotted with simple villages and amazing scenery.
We stayed at the Pu Luong Retreat. It is a combination of cabins and homestay, and we stayed in the homestay part. We had a traditional dinner with the owner and manager of the retreat.
There are a lot of homestays in Mai Chau and Pu Luong. You stay in a tradtional structure which is a large open area upstairs for sleeping, with open the family who runs the homestay in adjacent quarters.
No comments:
Post a Comment