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MAI CHAU |
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The minority villages of the Mai Chau Valley , inhabited mainly by
Thai people, are close enough to Hanoi (150km) to make this a popular
destination, particularly at weekends. The valley itself, however, is
still largely unspoilt, a peaceful scene of rice fields and jagged
mountains. MAI CHAU is the valley's main village, a friendly, quiet
place which suddenly bursts into life for its Sunday market when
minority people trek in to haggle over buffalo meat, starfruit, sacks of
tea or groundnuts. Unlike in Sa Pa, the minorities here have largely
forsaken their traditional dress, but there's plenty of colour on the
road outside the market where freshly dyed yarn hangs up to dry. On the
south side of Mai Chau, the Mai Chau Guesthouse (tel 018/867262; $5-10)
has nine basic but comfortable rooms.
The most accessible village in the fertile Mai Chau Valley is BAN LAC ,
a White Thai settlement of seventy houses where you can buy hand-woven
textiles, watch performances of traditional dancing and sleep overnight.
The village receives a fair number of tourists and visits can feel
overly organized, but this is one of the easiest places to stay in a
stilthouse. To reach Ban Lac, follow the road south of the Mai Chau
Guesthouse for about 500m, to find the turning signed to the right. No
one speaks English, but houses displaying cloth outside are most likely
to offer accommodation. Expect to pay $5 per person per night, plus $1
per meal.
Most people visit the Mai Chau Valley on an organized tour out of Hanoi,
and it's not the easiest place to get to by public transport : from Son
La take any bus heading east to Hoa Binh or Hanoi and ask the driver to
let you off at the Mai Chau junction, around 65km after Moc Chau; at the
junction pick up one of the waiting xe om for the final 6km up the
valley. From Hanoi, in theory there's a daily bus (5am) from Kim Ma bus
station to Mai Chau, though you may have to change in Hoa Binh;
alternatively, take any bus going west on Highway 6 and get off at the
Mai Chau junction to pick up a motorbike for the last stretch. You have
to pay a small sightseeing fee at a barricade at the bottom of the road.
A very overcrowded bus leaving Mai Chau passes the Mai Chau Guesthouse
each day around noon on its way down to Hoa Binh, from where you can
pick up a Hanoi bus. Alternatively, take a xe om to the junction with
Highway 6 and flag down a bus going in your direction.
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