Vietnam – Mai Chau Valley

Posted on by tastytraveltitbits

Visiting rural Vietnam, when you are in the north of the country, invariably includes a stay in Mai Chau Valley, approximately 140km west into the mountains from Hanoi. Here it’s lovely to cycle past rice paddies, on neat cemented roads, or take a hike through some of the parts inaccessible by anything but a pair of feet. We’ve missed the luminous green season when the rice is young but came after the harvest. It still makes for an interesting landscape!

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So we stopped at the viewpoint at Mai Chau Valley and there are these little shops catering with drinks, snacks etc. Let me know if you find the freakout in this picture. And yes, it is for sale and highly edible.
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View over the Mai Chau valley.
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Here we go!
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Gold in the light.
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I could not resist these sunflowers.
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Rooster finding his meal in the paddies.
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Irrigation system is very effective. Everything else is done by hand.

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Smoke in the distance is the burning of dried rice to make fertilizer.
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Fixing up the canals on the spot.
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Catching fish in the river – this reminded me so much about Madagascar.
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We visited this traditional Tai house.
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And upstairs we found the living area and sleeping area, and the silkworm farm.
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My children sitting with this granny and trying to communicate.
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Life in the mountains.
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Pretty views
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Ducks hunting for freshwater snails. And there were lots of them (snails)

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Lime stone caves in the mountains.
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There are beautiful butterflies everywhere here.
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In a bamboo forest without a crowd.
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The essential scooter – this is the way everybody gets around the quickest.

 

 

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Published by tastytraveltitbits

Food and Travel Lover. Combine them, even better!