Our first night was in Mai Chau, just three hours from Hanoi. A few words of introduction are necessary here. Mai Chau is a village in Hoa Binh Province west of Hanoi and in the foothills of the Hoang Lien Mountains . In itself there’s nothing special about it, but all around Mai Chau are little hamlets populated by members of the Tai tribe. One hamlet in particular has been chosen by tourists as a hangout and it is called Lac and there’s also Pom Coong. There you can sleep in a traditional long-house and  buy hand-loomed tissues and speak English. Not very far from Pom Coong we discovered, not so long ago, another hamlet which is built on a gentle hillside. It is nestled between the hill and rice paddies and water buffalo roam the streets. It is a village of vegetable gardens and slow moving smiling people. There are no tourists there and if you think I’m going to tell you were it is then you better think again. It is unspoilt for the moment and we have every intention of keeping the secret to ourselves! We have learnt that everybody living in Hanoi has his own personal Mai Chau hamlet, his own little guest house and friendly family, and everybody  keeps their secret jealously. 

It was after dark when we rolled into our unnamed hamlet. We had a dinner of nems piled high, sautéed chicken, weird otherworldly fruits, white rice and nuoc nam, always and forever nuoc nam. Following which we went to a party and then to bed. Here are some photos of the place.