Hoa Binh- Maichau
Mai Chau is located in Hoa Binh province, approximately 135 km from Hanoi and 60 km from Hoa Binh. From the top of Cun Mountain, one can admire the superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.
Stilt houses border both sides of the roads. The houses are quite large with palm leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house; the cooking as well as the making of the colorful tho cam, the material used by Thai minority to make their clothes, takes place in the kitchen. The windows are large and decorated with patterns. Each house also has a pond to breed fish.
The Sunday market brings a lot of people into town. People from different minorities living in the mountains come to Mai Chau market to sell their specific products: honey, bananas, corn, and tho cam made by skilled Thai women. The Sunday market is also an occasion to enjoy traditional Thai dishes and to participate in traditional dances.Mai Chau
Mai Chau can be a base for some trekking tours to the villages around, this is with home stay overnight on the traditional houses of the H'Mong and the Thai. Worth a guided trekking tour there.
Hoa Binh is a mountainous province located in the North. It is bordered by Son La in the West, Phu Tho and Ha Tay in the North, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh in the East, and Thanh Hoa in the South. The culture of Hoa Binh combines six minorities with their own languages, traditional literature, and festivals.
Tourists especially enjoy the minority specialty dishes including rice cooked in bamboo and grilled meat. They also enjoy watching traditional dancing, music performances (bronze, drums, gongs), and Thai minority singing and dancing. The remote minority villages are attractive sites for tourists
Places of interest.
Mai Chau Valley
Mai Chau is approximately 140km from Hanoi and 60km from Hoa Binh. Mai Chau’s main attraction, aside from its picturesque landscape is its inhabitants, namely the Thai and H’Mong who live in traditional hamlets and villages along the valley floor.
The majority of houses are made of wood and bamboo and supported on wooden stilts. These houses are often quite large with palm leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house; the cooking as well as the making of the colorful "tho cam", the material used by Thai minority to make their clothes takes place in the kitchen. The H’Mong on the other hand lives in wooden longhouses.
These remote villages are accessible only on foot and there are some very rewarding hikes through the valleys. Overnight stays in several of the Thai and H’Mong communities is possible and indeed highly recommended, although it should be pointed out that the accommodation is somewhat basic.
The Sunday market in Mai Chau brings a lot of people into town. People from different minorities living in the mountains come to sell their produce and exchange goods such as honey, bananas, corn, and "tho cam". The Sunday market is also an occasion to enjoy traditional Thai dishes and to participate in traditional dances.
Kim Boi Hot Spring
A 30 km drive from Hoa Binh leads to a rest house and mineral springs named Kim Boi. Visitors sitting inside the house can hear the springs, which flow at a constant 36 degree Celsius. Scientific tests have shown that the waters at Kim Boi are suitable to drink, bathe, and use in the treatment of a variety of ailments. The mineral water is also bottled for drinking.
Da River - Hoa Binh Hydroelectricity
The Construction of Hoa Binh Hydroelectricity Plant Project on Da River began in 1979 and took 15 years to complete. Nowadays, tourists can enjoy a boat cruise on the Da River to observe the daily activities of local ethnic people such as Thai, Muong, Tay, Mong and Dao
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