Peace in the Valley

Mai Chau Valley

About 140 kilometers southeast of Hanoi lies a beautiful valley that invites you to soak up the peace and quiet. A nice escape from the noise, pollution, and crowds that are Hanoi, Mai Chau is a place to recharge your batteries and breathe in the clean mountain air. A group of about 10 Hanoians loaded up one Sunday for a quick, 2-day motorbike trip that left us all anxious for our next visit. The ride took a little more than 5 hours with several stops to rest our aching backsides, explore a Vietnamese dam (much larger than I thought, but a dam nonetheless), tinker with motorbike parts, and eat lunch with the locals.

Traditional stilt house in Mai Chau

To get to Mai Chau, you have to go up a mountain and then down, what seems like twice as far as you went up, into a valley. The view coming down the mountain is amazing! We arrived at our final destination around 3:00 pm and laid claim to our stilt house. Traditional homes in Mai Chau are houses on stilts with bamboo floors covered by rugs. After climbing the steep stairs up to the house, I was afraid to step inside after seeing the light coming up through the extremely thin bamboo slats called a floor. Inside, the house was one big room with sleeping pallets for everyone, complete with our own mosquito nets, which oddly enough make me feel like a princess, not like I'm sleeping with the bugs.

Street in the village by our house

Once we had settled in, some of us headed out to explore the village around. It is definitely a tourist trap, but a charming one. We weaved through the tens of scarf shops, puppies playing in the road, and water buffalo being led to the fields. It was relaxing despite ladies asking us to buy their items at each stand. When we declined, we walked away in peace. In Hanoi, we're used to being asked 50 times to buy something, even after declining, until the person gives up or you walk too far away for them to continue to follow. The ladies in Mai Chau get a thumbs up from me!

Candlelight dinner after we lost power

While waiting for dinner, we decided to break out the cards and play a few games. Once dinner arrived, we enjoyed a home cooked, Vietnamese meal complete with the Vietnamese drink of choice--vodka. I'll leave it to your imagination to conjure images of the rest of the night.

Enjoying a walk around Mai Chau

The next morning, we all went for a walk to enjoy the last bit of peace and quiet we could before loading up and heading back to the city. It was a gorgeous day that had us all shedding our jackets and some even riding home in short sleeves! If you are ever in Vietnam and looking for a little break from city life, check out Mai Chau. You won't be disappointed.

As an aside, I also feel in love that weekend. I never thought I'd find myself in this situation, but here I am, desperately wanting a Honda Custom motorcycle. Check out the picture below of my friend's Custom that I rode home on. Smooth, fast, and quiet. Best. Ride. Ever.

So pretty...