Postcards from... Mai Châu

Around 160km (99.5 miles) south of Hanoi in the Hòa Bình province lies the rural district of Mai Châu. I'd never even heard of it, but a colleague who'd been living in Vietnam far longer than I had convinced me to go. I can't put into words how glad I am that I did, because to this day it remains the lushest, greenest, most beautiful place I've ever seen. And as if that weren't enough, I got to take a boat trip down the equally stunning Sông Yên (Yen River).

To get there, I opted to take this tour with Ethnic Travel, partly because I wasn't sure how else to do it, and partly because I liked what they stood for – environmentally, culturally and socially responsible tourism.

Our guide, who spoke excellent English, was very friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. But the thing I liked most about him was that he was so passionate about his country. He talked to us about history, local customs and the hill tribes who lived in the Hòa Bình Province. He also went out of his way to point out little things we'd otherwise have missed, such as the lotus flowers at the side of the road, and he even stopped the car to allow us photo-taking time. And take photos I did. This is definitely an area of Vietnam I'd like to see more of.

Lotus leaves in front of a rice paddy en route to the Perfume Pagoda



Close-up of a lotus flower



Boats on the Yen River



Peace and tranquility



First look at the Mai Châu valley



Happy child riding a buffalo



The view I woke up to



Terraced rice paddies



Ploughing the fields the old-fashioned way