When my teaching contract ended, I had one week in which to sightsee before heading back to the UK. First up was a three-day trip to Mai Châu, then a two-day trip to Hạ Long Bay, and finally a day trip with Ethnic Travel to the Hòa Bình province.
The driver picked us up outside our hotel at around 09:00 and then we were on our way. It didn't take long for the incessant noise of central
Hà Nội to be left behind us. We gazed out of the window open-mouthed as the bulging streets gave way to open countryside – something I'd missed in my three months in the capital.
Our destination was the Hòa Bình province and, more specifically,
Sông Đà (the Black River). Keen to see one last sight in Vietnam, I had picked the trip out of a catalogue, mainly because the pictures looked nice. I was not disappointed. It was every bit as stunning in reality as the pictures had led me to believe...
 |
| Mist over the Black River |
 |
| Sheer perfection |
 |
| What lies beneath... |
 |
| A wooden shack and fishing trap |
The boat dropped us off and left our guide to take us on a 5 km hike along mountainous tracks and paths used by the locals. The scenery was utterly breathtaking and to this day, I've never seen anything more beautiful than the Vietnamese countryside.
 |
| Goodbye boat |
 |
| Starting our hike |
 |
| Solitude |
 |
| Peace and quiet |
 |
| Another wooden shack and fishing trap |
At the end of our hike, we walked down a steep slope towards the river to find the boat waiting for us. In our absence, the boat owners had prepared a feast of fish, vegetables, rice and meat. They barely touched the food themselves though, preferring to sit in a huddle watching us – three obvious foreigners – try and figure out what certain offerings contained and how to go about eating some things.
After lunch, we sat and talked while they slept. Then, the boat took us slowly down river where our driver was waiting to take us back to the noise and chaos of
Hà Nội...
No comments:
Post a Comment