Vietnam - Dong Van, Sky Path and a River Trip

Friday 01 July 2022

We drove from Ba Be Lake to Dong Van today.  The scenery was awesome and the further north we drove, the more the mountains soared.

It was only a few hundred km but took us all day due to the twisty, turny roads which were very slow going.  I was also a little confused by the timings as our guide advised us it was 3:45 hour drive to a ethnic village they wanted us to see, but it took nearly 5 hours excluding stops.  We hadn’t asked to see this village so its inclusion in our itinerary confused us.  Anyway we dutifully walked up to see the Lo Lo ethnic village and sit on a local’s mat to have tea, but it wasn’t really (at all) why we’d come to Vietnam.  And whilst we were having tea a dog chewed JC's shoe.

Our itinerary seemed to change as we drove which irritated us.  We'd agreed a plan months ago with the tour agency but for some reason it wasn't actually possible to do what we'd suggested.  But surely the agency should have known that!  Anyway, we managed to agree a plan for the Saturday - we cut out all the ethnic villages they kept wanting to take us to - and confirmed that it was all about the views.

We eventually arrived in Dong Van at 1900, checked into a hotel and ate out that evening.  Dong Van is a lot bigger than we’d expected and a buzzing hub.  All in, a long and tiring day with not much effort expended by us at all.

Saturday 02 July 2022

We had breakfast out, as our hotel breakfast looked pretty uninspired (bread, jam, tea/coffee).  JC went with Mr Long to have chicken noodles whilst I went with Dat to a cafe making rice pancakes. 

Then we headed for the Sky Path.  This is a 10 km route created sitting above the Ma Pi Long pass, the scenic road from Meo Vac to Dong Van.  It was amazing! The walk is around 1700 m above sea level and the views of the mountains and valleys were breathtaking.   

We climbed up to the overhanging rock and took the requisite photos.  I didn't look down but it was a long drop!

I was glad to descend from that precarious perch.  We then decided to continue exploring the area walking up a hilly path to see what was on the other side (a dwelling).  It looked back breaking work to be carrying so much.

Dodging the motorbikes that are ubiquitous to any semi drivable path, we then headed to a path described as “a bit dangerous with a handrail”.  We were certainly up for that.  What he had failed to mention was the incredible view that came with it.  The soaring white limestone cliffs dwarfed us as we walked beneath them.  

A pretty nifty coke stop though.  

We finished off the skypath descending through paths fringed with corn on the cob.  The lone cameraman.

Lunch was in Meo Vac - too much food!

Next was a drive down towards the Sông Nho Quế (Nho Quế river), and a steep descent on foot through corn fields down to the river bank.  We had a fantastic 45 minute boat trip through the narrow canyon, the steepest in Vietnam I believe. 

We were accompanied by 4 friendly Vietnamese men who posed, and then included JC, in their photos.  They were very amused by this tall white guy and his camera.

It was a very hot and sweaty climb back up.  Over 550 steps but I declined the motorcycle pillion offer as I like the exercise.  Up at the top Mr Long, our driver, was waiting and JC enjoyed a fresh coconut drink.  The local kids gathered around him to watch and I snapped a photo of this.  They then gathered around me giggling to see themselves on my camera screen.

We ate again in a local Dong Van restaurant and bumped into the Vietnamese guys again. They were full of rice wine and very happy to see us!

Vietnam - Ba Be Lake

Wednesday 29 June 2022

It was a prompt start today as our tour car and guide collected us at 0730.  Dat, the guide, and Mr Long, our driver, were our companions for our 10 day tour of northern Vietnam.  We spent the morning driving north through Hanoi suburbs and stopping briefly at a Museum of Ethnology in Thái Nguyên.  Dat explained the 42 different ethnic groups in Vietnam and some of their cultures/clothing/language etc. 

Then a short lunch stop before arriving at our home stay at Pac Ngoi on the shore of Ba Be Lake in the National Park.

Home stays are very common in Asia.  Although they vary wildly, the main premise is that a host shares their house with you and you eat with them.  The one we were in was large, felt more like a B&B with its numerous rooms, but, as we were beginning to find, the hot season post covid is a tourist desert and we were the only guests here.

We borrowed their bikes and cycled 6 km to Hua Ma Cave.  What a fascinating place!  We could have done without the gawdy lighting though.

Oooh look!  A tide pole - it must flood badly here - and a porcelain survey mark.  Beautiful.

After tea and shower we dined communally with our hosts with dishes of rice, pork, fish and vegetables. Not to mention the homemade rice wine.

Thursday 30 June 2022

We had a long hike around Ba Be lake today. Our driver dropped us a few km from the home stay and, with both Dat and a local guide, we walked through forest footpaths for kilometres.

There were loads of butterflies around, including one which used JC's camera for a brief rest.

As well as butterflies there were numerous spiders, stick insets, grass hoppers and a fast moving snake - not to mention buffalo, goats, chickens and cows.  The latter all tethered to a rope (chickens excepting).  We also saw ducks and even a small duck pond at the back of a dwelling.  This is not for cuteness, but simply a breeding pen for their duck meal down the line.

Dat showed us some snail eggs.  The rice fields have been invaded by these fresh water snails which destroy the crops.  As fast as the farmers pick them out, new ones appear.  I believe these snails were imported in the 1980s as a food but are now doing far more harm than good.

Rice was being harvested and put through threshing machines.  This would be hot and dusty work anywhere, but with temperatures in the mid 30s it must have been pretty unbearable.

Mid morning we had our first monsoon shower.  A deluge, but short lived, and we were fortunate to be able to dodge under a veranda as it hit us.

We stopped for refreshments where we found them: typically a house with veranda and some drinks/food for sale.  We watched a classic summer drink being made - honey, black beans, jelly, jelly sweets, ice and then fruit juice poured into the glass to top it up.  Seemed to be a hit with the locals.  We were certainly not brave enough to try it (too many potential stomach upset opportunities there) so we stuck with bottled iced green tea.

We struggled with the heat and stopped numerous times.  JC was particularly affected by the heat and mid afternoon decided that a lie down was the order of the day, much to the total bemusement of the local kids who were variously intrigued and scared by this tall white man (and me too).

We made sure we both kept drinking and our guide kindly took JC's rucksack so he only had to carry himself around, not his heavy camera gear.  The views were pretty awesome though.

We trogged on with the last couple of kilometres of the walk through the jungle.

The thunder rumbled then the heavens opened.  Initially we were semi sheltered by the canopy of trees above us, but once out into the open our guide grabbed us banana palm leaves each and we used these as umbrellas as we scuttled towards the boat.  You can't see in the photo but we are drenched!  So after ~18 km walking we could finally rest and enjoy the views as the rain subsided and we motored back to the landing stage near Pac Ngoi.  

We were pretty wet and, as we’d learned, leaving stuff outside overnight didn’t dry it due to the humidity.  The only way we could dry clothes was by hanging them in our room with the fan or air conditioning on.  So this time we creatively hung every item on the window bars, curtain tie backs just to try to dry them.

Another home stay dinner shared. Fabulous.