Majestic roads of Upper Tonkin

Family group Mrs. Fabienne Julien from France, 2 persons, from 27/4/2019 to 11/5/2019.

Deep tour in Hoang Su Phi, Nghia Lo and Pu Luong region in 15 days : Hanoi – Hoang Su Phi – Bac Ha – Y Ty – Muong Hum – Ngoc Chien – Nghia Lo – Giang Mo – Pu Luong.

Day 1 Saturday April 27: Hanoi – good weather – overnight Hanoi

Arrival Hanoi, free day, Hotel Garden old quarter Hanoi

We arrived early and went back to our hotel with our dear friend Thuy

The establishment is always so pleasant, the room 301 was well retained for us, everything is perfect!

Pleasant meeting with Uyen from the agency Vietnam Evasion.

Usual tour of the city with a jump to the exchange office, meal in a street restaurant, visit of a small pagoda in a tunnel street, visit to our friend Huong, massage at the hotel followed by the evening meal of Banh cuon (Vietnamese pancakes), with Hoan and Thuy, we find our marks!

D2 Sunday April 28: Hanoi – PanHou 285 km, 6h30 good weather – night Pan Hou

Hanoi – PanHou  (option 3 nights treks included)

Road with a guide for the day, we will find Vinh in the evening.

Stop at the Pa Then, disappointing.

The village has no more traditional houses covered with leaves of lataniers and the Pa Then do not wear the traditional dresses, they will put them on for the photo, but, snag, the embroideries are not made by hand, the fabric is pre-printed, the question arises of the judicious choice of this village.

D3 Monday 29 April PanHou – good weather, rain at night – night Pan Hou

 

Beautiful place of which we appreciate particularly the garden, the room is big, pleasant, the meals are copious, the kitchen and the service are neat, we are satisfied!

My husband and the guide will make a beautiful trek guided by a local with very beautiful meetings in particular at the lunch and a beautiful course.

With the driver we will go by motorcycle in the villages around the lodge – first we will have a panoramic view of the top right side of the river at the exit of the village of Thong Nguyen towards Nam Hong.

In the afternoon, we will ride along the left side of the river until we reach the part that is not passable by car, a nice walk and beautiful encounters. In theory, we return the bike at 3:30 pm.

Herbal baths for me. The baths and massages are just ok, a little more attention would be nice as well as a little more discretion (cell phone on, no privacy, better not to be modest).

In the evening, we had a delicious duck meal offered to us by our two companions.

D4 Tuesday April 30: PanHou – good weather, rain at night – night Pan Hou

Following the incident of the helmet the planned motorcycle trip and accompanied by a local guide is canceled.

It is by car that we explore the villages Tả Sử Choóng, Ban Péo, Ho Thau, we are in the direction of the Kiou Leou Ti summit at 2,402 meters above sea level, the landscapes are superb and the panoramic views as we climb cut the breath, it is so beautiful!

After Ho Thau we will turn back because the cement road does not allow us to go further, note the beautiful rice fields of Ho Thau, a small end of the world!

Today Vinh offers me a Hmong bag, it is very beautiful, touching attention!

D5 Wednesday May 1: Pan Hou – Ban Luoc 25km good weather – night Ban Luoc

Pan Hou, Hô Thâu, Ban Luoc by car.

We take the same road as yesterday via the DT 177 to reach Ban Luoc, we will leave the car in the courtyard of the communal house, a motorcycle for me and the legs for the rest of the troop will allow us to reach the guest house at 5 km of mud track and very high.

The view from the house is beautiful, the welcome just as much, we are well here!

Small hike for the Mrs, the views are breathtaking around this perched village.

I would go with the children to make a tour of the surrounding rice fields, to visit the school and to change the buffalo of rice field, Fortunately the children are there, I do not speak well the buffalo, in any case they do not understand me.

The evening was excellent, the reception of this house is quite remarkable and we eat very well.

 

We will spend a long time of very instructive discussion on the operation of the area with Mr. Canh is the vice president of commune of the sector Ban Luoc. His wife is the president of the women association. They have 2 guest houses, the one where we will stay is their main residence, the other one is higher up and is intended for groups. A third construction is planned on the top of a mountain overlooking the village and the valley, it will be a luxury accommodation with bungalows and a swimming pool, the opening is planned for September.

Two French world travelers are also present with their guide, they will go fishing for frogs in the evening. A second night would have been judicious in this sector.

D6 Thursday May 2: Ban Luoc – Ban Phùng ( La Chi) – Bac Ha 115 km 4h40- good weather – night Bac Ha

Nous quittons la maison, en moto pour moi, à pieds pour les garçons, je les attendrais dans la cour de la maison communale après avoir fait un petit tour sur le petit marché matinal.

En attendant le reste de la troupe je suis invitée à boire un thé et à grignoter quelques pistaches par la chargée du tourisme locale (son travail consiste à promouvoir son village au travers de diverses manifestations dans la région et aussi à Hanoï et projets divers dont la construction de hôtel luxe, joli moment!

Surprenants paysages que ceux qui conduisent à Ban Phung, ils sont un peu lunaires, la terre est ici grise, presque blanche et les rizières très escarpées. Elles ne sont pas encore travaillées, la pluie se fait attendre.

En chemin nous rencontrons des La Chi, cette ethnie est timide, nous avons un peu de mal à entrer en contact, heureusement Vinh notre guide sait s’y prendre pour que nous puissions les approcher un peu.

 

Meal in Bang Phuong then guided visit by the owner of the inn of the place of the sacrifice of the buffaloes and the banyan tree which would be old of more than 300 years.

The buffalo among the La Chi is offered to the dead in sacrifice, the tombs of La Chi are decorated with heads and horns of buffalo.

This tradition comes from a particular belief: for the La Chi, the deceased goes to another world where he will need a buffalo to plow the land and get rich.

At the top of Lung Cau mountain, in addition to a panoramic view of the rice terraces, it is possible to see hundreds of tombs scattered on the side of the mountain.

According to the legend, this is where King Hoang Van Thung, king of the La Chi, was buried.

We visit a La Chi house with our companion. Here the hotel of the ancestors is a kind of ladder affixed against the partition and surmounted of skull of buffalo, there are also poles in bamboo whose utility escapes me.

To note for a future a night on the spot for a little more thorough exploration of this remote area kingdom of La Chi.

The road to Bac Ha is still long and is not the best.

Night in Bac Ha in the house of Ly and Hoan, charming welcome, meal made partly with Hoan, chicken basquaise (peppers, tomatoes, onions, basil), potatoes.

 

We spent a superb evening with this family, Hoan speaks some words of French and likes to laugh, and we did not deprive ourselves of it!

D7 Friday May 3: Bac Ha – Y Ty 162km – 5h30 very foggy weather – night Y Ty

In the morning, we drive to Y Ty.

After a stop in Lao Cai to see the border post and the amazing traffic of bicycles loaded with goods that takes place between the two countries, we take a road not planned at the beginning.

It is a question of bordering the border from Lao Cai to reach the 92 marker and the monument of Lung Po

This road is hellish, in very bad state, this way was the most painful of our circuit!

Bravo to the drivers of Vietnam, it is there that we appreciate rightly their dexterity!

If we had been informed of the possible consequences, before engaging us on this track, we would not have accepted this change of plan and without a permit to circulate.

 

The flagpole of Lung Po has been erected for about 2 years, it dominates the border and allows a view of China, it is where the Red River enters Vietnam.

This is a significant project to assert the country’s border sovereignty and to awaken the patriotic fiber of the youth.

The surroundings are not maintained and the building shows severe degradation which does not bode well for its future.

It was financed by the region and built in memory of the combatants, most of them local, of the 30-day Sino-Vietnamese war (17/02/1979 to 16/03/1979) which followed the attempted Chinese invasion.

This war made many deaths approximately 50000 for the 2 parts.

This place is not too much for foreign tourists unless they are interested in the facts related to it.

From Lung Po we continue to Y Ty on a road still in very bad condition and by a thick fog, happy to arrive.

The pure Ha Nhi style house, made of adobe, is very pleasant, the room is large and has a balcony with a view on the rice fields, a treat at sunset!

We will be able to put our abatis back in order.

The couple who runs this establishment is young and very friendly.

The owner has a degree in civil engineering, he chose to come back to his region and took a wife. They have restored this old traditional house with care, the insulation of the roof is a plus.

The welcome here is simple but warm and full of culture and knowledge, I highly recommend this house ideally located on a promontory and which offers a landscape as far as the eye can see on the mountains and valleys.

Beautiful evening, very good meal and rice alcohol flavored with the fruits of the myrica rubra or yangmei (tree native to China with small fruits resembling strawberries which could remind us of our strawberry tree fruits), we enjoyed ourselves.

A Vietnamese “tourist” from Dalat is present, we sympathize, he became the “best friend” of Vinh.

D8 Saturday May 4th : Y Ty very foggy weather, sun early afternoon – night Y Ty

Y Ty – market – visits around – night in a guest house

Morning devoted to the visit of the market of Y Ty.

The car is out of battery Hiep takes care to find a garage, the boys will go on foot, Duc the Vietnamese tourist drives me by motorcycle.

Very nice ethnic market where mainly the Ha Nhi people meet but also some Dao, some Hmong and a Giay woman.

It is the place of meeting and trade, we find mainly local production of fruits, vegetables, small handicrafts (buffalo necklaces, knives, basketry), food stalls (doughnuts, small kitchen), some clothes and household utensils and merchants of seeds and phytosanitary products for the future plantations and transplanting.

No “Chinese” for tourists here, this place is not yet impacted and keeps all its authenticity.

No breakfast at the guest house, Duc offers me delicious doughnuts and cakes on the market.

Then follows the visit of the village of Sinh Chai at 4 km, typical village, we will enter several houses.

 

Note the simplicity of the place, the first room is occupied on the left by the bed of the guests and the one in the back room on the right of the young couple, in the main room there is in entrance the hearth of the cooking for animals, the one of the family, the bed of the parents and the hotel of the ancestors which consists of a “buffet” and a basket for the offerings, nothing more.

The Hà Nhi hearth is decorated with a sacred stone, which symbolizes the genius of fire, but also the genius of the hearth and the genius of the soil. At each festival, it is worshipped.

The kitchen is very important for the Hà Nhi. It is the seat of the genius of fire and of women, since only women take care of it. At the time of the New Year, the women offer the genie a cup of alcohol, a cup of tea and a packet of cake. If the owner has died, her daughter must take over.

We meet the last basket maker of the village and we go to the ceremonies air, there are 3 per year which are, the Ga Ma which takes place at the end of the village at the beginning of the 1st month of the lunar year, the Gie Khù Chà, the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, at the entrance of the village, the Co Nhe Chà at the end of the rice harvest.

The sun will eventually rise, we get out of the mists, in the afternoon, the boys, including the driver, will go hiking.

They will go to the waterfall below the house then hike on the heights, the owner of the house and the Vietnamese tourist will also go out on their side. I keep the house and do the laundry.

The evening I am of kitchen, a chicken with beer and fried potatoes.

The owner will prepare pork, vegetables and rice.

The sunset is splendid, the clouds rise slowly from the bottom of the valley to cover in a short time all the panorama, the sun tints with its last rays this mist, the tones vary from the creamy white to the most incendiary red tones, it is fairy-like!

D9 Sunday May 5th : Y Ty – Mu Cang Chai/ Ngoc Chien, clear weather – 195 km 5h40 – night Ngoc Chien

Y Ty – marché de Muong Hum (30 km Y Ty), Mu Cang Chai

Après un délicieux riz cantonnais cuisiné par Vinh, départ pour le marché de Muong Hum, bien plus grand que celui de Y Ty, il n’en a pas le charme.

Beaucoup de Dao avec des coiffes très haut perchées et énormément de bijoux qu’elles exposent sur elles pour la vente, des Ha Nhi et des Hmong.

We leave the place to take the road, direction Mu Cang Chai, surprise, the city is in full construction, there are building sites everywhere.

After a small tour on the side of Tu Lé that we did not know, the rice fields are beautiful but do not have on us the impact of those of Ban Luoc, Ban Phung or Y Ty, we decide by mutual agreement not to sleep in Mu Cang Chai, we had come there 4 years ago.

Road to the small town of Ngoc Chien. This part of the village issurprising it is here that a hot spring resurfaces: Suối Khoáng Nóng

The owner arranged a private swimming pool, we take advantage cheerfully of this bath, the water goes out to 50°.

The villagers go in the evening to the common baths, I believe well that the guide and the driver did not miss anything of the spectacle, but shush…

D10 Monday May 6: Ngoc Chien- Nghia Lo good weather 120 km 3h40 night Nghia Lo

We will not see the Thac Thác Pú Nhu waterfall which is no longer on our route.

 

The village of Ngoc Chien is composed of two parts, the first one where the spring is located, the other one more extended and in the middle of very beautiful flat rice fields, the first ones that we will see on this route.

A small tour of the second village to access a promontory, an absolute view that enchants us, the rice fields are in water and the beautiful mirrors are contemplated without words!

We will go to the foot of a 1000 years old sacred tree, there the doubt is allowed when its age, it remains no less majestic, a small temple is built at its foot.

Road to Nghia Lo, we arrive at the end of the morning, after lunch we rent motorcycles for a ride in the middle of the rice fields.

The harvest is in full swing, we ride in the middle of the mowers, in a row they cut, bent over, what courage!

They will bind the paddy in small sheaves, placed on feet from the field, the sheaves offer a beautiful picture, it looks like a work of Millet.

Further on, the threshing machines are in action, this is the work of the men, the women put in sheaves the straws which, when they are not burned, will be loaded on the motorcycles, the small trucks. The rice will be put to dry on the paths or put in bags if the rain threatens.

The whole countryside is busy, we are surprised to see so many people in action, they are all at work in a beautiful unity.

2 harvests in this region, some fields are already turned over, the harvest will last only one more week before the new rice is transplanted.

It was a very good moment, our visits to Vietnam and our periods of coming do not often allow us to attend the harvest.

The guest house is big, the tourists are there in number, 3 groups, in all about fifteen people, it’s a bit of a factory.

It will be our first night with so many people and I confess that sharing in such a large number bothers me a little, too much noise in the evening at bedtime, each one thinking that he is alone.

The meal is good, the service efficient, the evening show is ordinary, we will follow it from far, we are far from the drums of Xam Khòe, the alternate songs of the Dao or the show of Prao, we become difficult in the long run.

D11 Tuesday May 7: Nghia Lo – Giang Mo – rain late evening 172 km 4h10 night Giang Mo

After a night in the guesthouse of Nghia Lo, close to the river and a bit out of town, we will take the road to Giang Mo, our next stop.

Stop at the Museum of the Muong cultural space in Giang Mo, it is well representative by its constructions of the Muong habitat, going from the modest house to the more elaborate one of the upper classes, this museum initiative of the painter Vu Duc Hiêu has partly burned, the reconstruction respected the origin.

As an exhibition center, it would deserve a greater attendance.

We arrive in the rain in a very pleasant house, the reception is charming, the lady very sympathetic, it is with her and her son that we will spend the evening, her husband is invited to the first month of a baby.

A new opportunity to cook with the host is given to me, we did some shopping on the way, tonight it will be a tomato soup, again fried potatoes (for my husband who has decidedly trouble with meals this year), we will also make egg rolls with monkfish leaf, an omelet, chicken with ginger, sautéed vegetables and all with the headlamp The electricity failed us for the rest of the evening – Very pleasant stay in this house, beautiful meeting.

D12 Wednesday May 8: Giang Mo – Pu Luong 85 km 2h40 night Pu Luong

Stop on the way in a village for a volleyball game, the team is mainly female, they are the ladies of the village, not all young and very funny. My husband and Vinh take part in the game, Hiep and I are having a great time on the sidelines, the opportunity is too good !

 

After a meal taken in Pho Doan we arrive at Pu Luong Retreat.

From Giang Mo we took a rather particular road not very frequented, narrow and recessed between the mounts on one side and the aplombs on the other and which descends vertiginous slopes, guaranteed sensations.

Around 1:00 pm we take possession of our room, there is a big terrace, from there the view on the valley is very beautiful but the room smells very strong the mould, the ceilings in weaving of bamboo are all black, not cool.

We go back to Vinh, the motorcycle trip initially planned will not be possible, the weather is not good, there is fog, it will be: rest, swimming pool and laundry for this afternoon.

D13/14/15/16 : Pu Luong foggy weather with drizzle nights Pu Luong

– Thursday, May 9th

Market of Pho Doan this morning, it is a very ordinary market which does not deserve a particular displacement, we will visit the close village as well as a house. Lunch in Pho Doan, we reserve motorcycles for the next day and we will also go to see the water wheels. Here they work and feed the rice fields.

D14 Friday, May 10

Great motorcycle ride, great day!

 

Departure in first place for the waterfall of Ban Hieu, very pretty corner, a little lost, the visited guest houses do not excite me at all, it is a little dirty, lost in the middle of nowhere and the baths in the basins of the waterfall are not very engaging for us. The robinsonnade having its limits.

OK with this only condition: 1 or 2 treks which are undoubtedly beautiful here with nights on the spot

We continue our road, it is very beautiful, very wild and little frequented, we will go until the confines of the reserve, after it is on foot that we must continue. Here everything is in the state, the nature is queen and it is extremely beautiful!

The last accessible village is the terminus, it is located, with some kms of Ban Kit, in the North East in full primary forest.

In this sector there would be mines of precious stones closed by the state, the exploitation is prohibited for the preservation of the site, it is also a sanctuary of the Langurs monkeys of Delacour.

No place to eat, we will cook in a small villae, in the back store of a small food store and other products by buying on site.

Day 15 Saturday 11

Sad day, the weather is not so good.

We will thus go to walk without them against bottom of the hotel.

The landscape is pretty, on the way we meet a happy team, many employees of a company of Saï Gon come to make their annual trip here. Of course selfies follow with the 2 Phap (French in Vietnamese).

– Sunday 12 – Monday 13 – Tuesday 14

Back to Hanoi through Mai Chau and its market, the remaining 2 days we will go to the top of La Lotte to contemplate Hanoi from above. We will visit the citadel and see again the Bach Ma temple so dear to me. End of our stay with Hoan, God his daughter and Thuy. Leaving Vietnam is always so difficult for us, hoping for a close return!

The advantages of this trip :

– The unfailing involvement of our dear guide, Vinh et Hiep the driver and Xé Om staff.

They accompanied us again this year on the roundabout ways in search of the unusual in the depths of this beautiful North Vietnam.

Thank you to both of them for their thoughtfulness and friendship.

Many thanks to Phi who organized this extraordinary escape.

– The pace of this tour was good, there is no length of road except for the flag tower.

– The accommodations were all perfect alternating the simplicity of the home stay with the comfort of the two springs.

– The meals were in general correct except some in the corners a little lost – a attention would be required on this point if this circuit is proposed to other travelers.

– I was able to cook ++ on several occasions.

These moments of sharing allowing a rapprochement with the women of the houses were very pleasant, in front of a work we are all very similar.

– Pan Hou ++ the spring and its surroundings, the trek to Pan Hou, for me the short motorcycle day in Pan Hou with Hiep.

– Ban Luoc +++ its landscapes, the little improvised hike for my husband and Vinh, the welcome of the guest house and the multiple encounters including on the very small morning market (closes at 9 am), everything is good here!

– Ban Phùng ++ its very steep rice fields, its almost lunar landscapes, the accompanied visit on the site of the sacrifices of the buffalo, the shy La Chi.

– Y Ty +++ the place, the panorama, the house and its owners, the nice market and the Ha Nhi, the hikes for some, the visit of the village for others, in short EVERYTHING !

– Ngoc Chien +, the originality of the place (not for first time travelers to Vietnam and out of the busy period), the hot water pool, the visits and meetings

– Nghia Lo ++, the motorcycle trip in the rice fields during the harvest.

– Giang Mo ++, the guest house, its welcome, the improbable road of the 3rd dimension which leads to Pu Luong for its dizzy sensations and beautiful landscapes.

– Pu Luong +++, the landscapes, partly the hotel, the day on the motorcycle to explore the reserve, the water wheels, the meetings.

Things to avoid or improve :

– The visit of Pa Then village by its lack of authenticity, look for another village.

– The motorcycle trip of day 2 to Pan Hou had to be cancelled.

– The road too difficult, too long and without interest along the Sino-Vietnamese border to the Lung Po flagship, this last point is not to be visited with foreign tourists not concerned.

– The reserve of Pu Luong not fully exploited, only 1 day and a half full out of 4 – the last evening at the Retreat, too noisy and impersonal because of the arrival of groups of Vietnamese tourists (to be avoided absolutely at the end of the week) and the state of mold of the ceilings of the room (check that the work is well done for future customers).