Exploring Vietnam

Van Lak
(26 Mar 1999)

		Van Lak is a small village in the Mai Chau valley near the Laos border with North Vietnam.
		The valley itself is very pretty, a collection of small rural villages surrounded by farms.

The villagers live in stilt houses built from bamboo and wood.

Each of the houses has a well stocked (and loved) fish pond outside.

Despite the primitive construction materials the houses work very well, being robust, comfortable, spacious and cool at the same time.

From the oposite side of it's fish pond this house was a delightful spot to watch the sun going down.

We stayed overnight in the village and drifted back to our stilt house as night set in for the evening meal.

The villagers are a minority group, ethnically Thai by origin. After dinner they entertained us with music and dancing well into the night (and in the end we were forced to join in as well).

We have a long day and nights travel ahead before leaving the North and arriving in Central Vietnam (around noon the next day) at the old imperial capital city of Hue.

Stage one of the trip is heading south in the bus to the town of Ninh Binh.

Throughout much of this journey we follow a line of hills to our right.

Much of the countryside is populated by another minority group called the Hmong.
Their prowess at growing rice is renowned but with irrigation like this I am not too suprised.

We arrive in Ninh Binh early in the afternoon but carry on through to visit the beautiful scenery of Tam Coc (the three caves) which is nearby. By 10 pm we return and board a train which will carry us South overnight. The sleeper compartments are a bit dingy and cramped but I still managed to sleep through most of the night.
In the early morning we passed through the Demilitarised Zone (or DMZ), scene of the heaviest fighting in the US war in Vietnam. The bomb craters looked just amazing, circular ponds of reddy brown water amidst verdant green fields of fast growing rice. Unfortunately Sue was asleep on top of our camera and I didn't have the heart to wake her up at the time.

Tam Coc is like a minature version of Ha Long bay set inland. A boat trip through the three caves and back takes about 2 hours of time.

As the evening draws in the tourists and ferries head off seperate ways.

Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, My Lai, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong delta.

If you have any comments or suggestions about these pages then drop us a line.

If you are interested in Vietnamese Food then why not visit Sue's Recipe Server, our other Web site.

South India Overland is the record of our journey through Southern India during January and February 1997.

North India & Nepal is the record of our journey from Delhi to Kathmandu during January 1998.

		The villagers live in stilt houses built from bamboo and wood.
		Each of the houses has a well stocked (and loved) fish pond outside.

		Despite the primitive construction materials the houses work very well, being robust, comfortable, spacious and cool at the same time.
		From the oposite side of it's fish pond this house was a delightful spot to watch the sun going down.

		We stayed overnight in the village and drifted back to our stilt house as night set in for the evening meal.
		The villagers are a minority group, ethnically Thai by origin. After dinner they entertained us with music and dancing well into the night (and in the end we were forced to join in as well).

		Throughout much of this journey we follow a line of hills to our right.
		Much of the countryside is populated by another minority group called the Hmong. Their prowess at growing rice is renowned but with irrigation like this I am not too suprised.

		Tam Coc is like a minature version of Ha Long bay set inland. A boat trip through the three caves and back takes about 2 hours of time.
		As the evening draws in the tourists and ferries head off seperate ways.