#2 MAI CHAU: A BEAUTIFUL ESCAPE FROM THE CITY

A wonderful trip to Mai Chau

Are you tired of your work?
Do you want to travel somewhere to refresh yourself?
Do you want to get out of the busy city at the weekend?

Mai Chau in North Vietnam is a great destination for you.

We set off at 9am, and arrived in Mai Chau around 12pm. The first thing I noticed once I get off the bus was that the air was totally different. It was fresh, I could smell the rice field. The entire place smelt of summer. It reminded me of summers past and more importantly: home.

This was the second time I visited Mai Chau, but for some reason I was more excited this time.

Mai Chau in the summer is beautiful like a picture with white clouds rising from behind the mountains, relentless sun and incredible blue skies. It’s like a gift from heaven. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that God lived there.

This time I stayed in Mai Chau Ecolodge which is a very natural, unique resort. I had never experienced it before. Mai Chau Ecolodge is surrounded by rice fields and mountains, it is a great combination of nature and modernity. An example of this is my suite had an outside shower. This made me feel at one with nature immediately.

I actually can’t put it into words how much I enjoyed staying here. I thought this blog would be one of the easiest to write but it is tough. The summer seems so far away – especially with COVID19 restrictions in place, who knows whether we’ll get a proper summer this year.

This is the beautiful view from my room. When you wake up in the morning, open the door and breathe in the fresh air, smell the nature and listen to the birds chirping away. Trust me! It seems like heaven but it is Mai Chau.

The resort itself is situated on a bit of a hill away from Mai Chau a little bit (walking distance or bike distance easily). But, walking around the resort’s surrounding areas, I thought I was lost in the natural park… sometimes even Jurassic Park. When I was there, I wished I could get lost in here for months and not return to work.

I’m sure you’ll agree that the swimming pool is incredible. The views were amazing.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN MAI CHAU?

1. Riding a bicycle around the fields

Riding a bicycle around the fields should be THE FIRST thing on your to do in Mai Chau.

In the summer, the good time to do it is in the early morning or late afternoon because you don’t want your skin to be burned and in Vietnam this can be dangerous. You must be careful because I have an English friend and under Vietnam sunshine, his skin easily burnt. Maybe some of you have a similar problem.  

Every day I rode about 5-6 km around the rice paddy fields. It reminded me of my childhood. I went to a small market where people sold traditional clothes and souvenirs. With a bike and your curiosity, I think that you can go anywhere you want and truly see traditional Vietnam… you even can have a race around the villages but be careful some of the roads are… lets say… bumpy.

• Visit villages in Mai Châu

There are 3 famous villages in Mai Châu. They are: Lác Village (Bản Lác); Poom Cọng Village (Bản Poom Cọng) and Văn Village (Bản Văn).

Each village has their specific traits but the similar they are peaceful not like a tourist area; they all surrounded by mountains, rice fields, streams; people are nice and friendly. They even speak a different language there. I couldn’t understand it at all. Mai Chau is not too big so I think you can go these 3 villages within a morning time.

• Chiều Cave, the best city view is from heaven.

Climbing 1,200 steps to Chiều Cave (Hang Chiều) was a challenge that I hadn’t expected to face. You may think, ha! 1,200 steps, is that really a challenge?! But, those steps are like a ladder, straight and high. It took lot of sweat, energy and water. I cannot tell you how much sweat. I used two tshirts just climbing up it. Just thinking about it makes me sweat. 

But at the end, it’s worth it.

It gets cooler when you are towards the top, beautiful view of the city, cool cave on the top.

It’s very simple cave, but very cool inside, you can wash your hands or your face in the cool mountain water but remember to bring your mosquito spray and water. Top tip for this is even though you may have a bottle of water buy two more.

• A stream in Poom Cọng village

This was the highlight of my trip to visit a stream in Poom Cọng village. I’d been there before so I knew what to expect. It was quiet and it would be fun. I didn’t see any tourists.

You need to ride to Poom Cọng village so do this with a bike. You will see local people may wash their clothes in that stream. You can climb up the rocks, dip your feet in the cold stream or splash your friends. How high will you climb? I didn’t dare go so high.

Just imagine the summer sun on your back, you have just rode along what seems like the longest road in the world to Poom Cọng village, you’re  burnt, but you see the stream, so cool, so fresh, you can wash your face.

• Taking photos

Taking some photos is the best thing to keep your memories alive.

Oh I nearly forgot one thing that happened. When I went to a restaurant to eat something in the middle of the afternoon. The waiter gave me a pen and a notepad and said just write your order here.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and I hope get something out of it.

Please leave a comment or send me any questions you may have.

Thanks again, I’ll be back very soon.