Tours of North Vietnam

Hello

Over a year ago, I posted a long message with all my tours in North Vienam, which I do frequently since I live in Hanoi. The country is moving VERY fast, things appear (or disappear like Lai Chau/Muang Say, evacuated because the valley will be flooded by a dam), new hotels open, etc and I have discovered a lot of new things. Therefore, I put here the notes completely revised. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need more infos

**NORTH-EAST VIETNAM**
**Babe Lake**
**Langson / Cao Bang and Ban Gioc Waterfalls**
**The Black H’mongs of Dong Van**

This Northeast itinerary takes you to 3 magic places: Babe Lake, the road between Cao Bang and Ban Gioc Waterfalls, and the road through the Black H’mongs’ eagle nests of Ha Giang/Dong Van/Meo Vac. The whole region is quite different from the Northwest. Whereas the former resembles the European Alps (in fact, the French used to call it « The Tonkin Alps”), the closer you are from the Chinese order, the more the Northwest looks like the Dolomites, but Dolomites covered with jungle, a maze of lime peaks of all sizes and shapes on thousand of squares kilometers, with small green valleys of rice and corn fields. Few tourists visit that spectacular region which sometimes reminds you of « Halong Bay on Land ». The region north of Ha Giang, a mineral desert of black rocks and deep canyons, is one of the wildest on Earth.

BABE LAKE

A magical place rarely visited by tourists. Shaped like a 3-petal flower (hence its name, « Three bays »), it is surrounded by jungle-covered steep mountains and sheer lime cliffs; no roads go around it, hence its relative isolation. On its shore, one village only, without any interest, Po Lu.

HOW TO GO THERE

No organized tours. The only access is by private car with driver, motorbike, or public buses. In 3 days, a wonderful tour can be made as follows:

• Hanoi-Babe Lake: Route No 3 Hanoi-Tay Nguyen. Leave early (7h-7h30) to visit the huge Museum of Vietnam Minorities, twice larger than the Hanoi one, and completely ignored by tourists (Entrance fee: 5000 dong. Attention: it is closed between 11h30 and 13.30 and on Monday). Then, continue the road to Bac Kan and Phu Thong, where you branch on Route 258 direction Cho Ra. The road between Bac Kan et Cho Ra is very sinuous, but very beautiful (count 4h). The guides books tell you about hotels in Cho Ra; forget it, the village is 17 km from the lake, and it costs 70 000 dong to reach the lake on a motorbike taxi...if you know how to negotiate in Vietnamese! From Cho Ra, take the small road to Pac Ngoi, a charming Thai village where you spend the night in a local house.

• Babe-Hanoi: follow the road alongside the river from Pac Ngoi, and stay on your right. The road snakes from pass to pass through wonderful scenery. Everybody will look at you, for no tourist ever takes that wonderful way. You arrive in Bang Lung (Cho Don), where you branch on route 254 Direction Yen Do, the junction with Road 3 to Tay Nguyen and Hanoi.

By public bus, it becomes very complicated:

• Hanoi-Babe: bus at 6AM (there is one at 12h, but you miss the Bac Kan-Cho Ra connection and must spend one night in Bac Kan) (4h - 55 000 dong). In Bac Kan, take the bus to Cho Ra (70 000 dong), then a moto-taxi Cho Ra-Pac Ngoi (70 000 dong).

• Babe-Hanoi: Back to Cho Ra by motorbike, to catch the 7h30 Bac Kan minibus (70 000 dong), and then the bus Bac Kan-Hanoi.

WHERE TO SLEEP AND EAT

In Po Lu, numerous guesthouses (Ngha Ngi) reserved to Vietnamese.

In a Thai house in Pac Ngoi. The villagers welcome you in their stilted houses for &0 000 dongs (breakfast #0 000 and diner 60 000). I recommend the house of Mr. and Mrs. Duy Tho, the last in the village before the bridge. Wonderful people with a rare sense of hospitality, real beds, common showers, and, above all, Mrs. Duy Tho is a real Cordon Bleu: sumptuous diners served by their charming daughters. Free bicycles for a ride alongside the river (many small delightful river beaches for a very pleasant swim). Mr Duy Tho has his own boat (450 000 dong) for the next day amazing excursion.

WHAT TO SEE

A magnificent day on a boat starting with the south-north crossing of the whole lake and as short ride up the canyon of the Nang River, to the stupendous Hang Phuong Grotto, in fact a 300m-long by 30m-high tunnel that the river has dug through the lime mountain. The boat then goes down the river to the Dau Dang Waterfalls, a small village where you have a wonderful lunch in the house of Pirath, famous as one of the best chefs in the region.
FOR THE ADVENTURERS

I thought for a long time that there were spectacular things to see in the mountains north of Dau Dang; I did not make a mistake! Here is the itinerary (minimum 2 days of trekking):

1) The boat takes you up the Nang River to a small river where its leaves you; you follow it up to a bridge; at the small village before the bridge, don’t forget to buy beer, coffee, and sugar for the stay in the local village (nothing there except tea and rice alcohol), unless you like to drink that for breakfast, lunch, and diner. Cross a small bridge, go left and take a small trail immediately on your right, which goes northwards up a hill, direction: the Dao village of Cao Truong. The climb is not very steep, and the scenery becomes more and more beautiful. There are many trails, so, do not hesitate to say “Cao Choung” to the people you meet, they will point the direction. After about 3-4 hours, you arrive in a rather large valley of rice fields; at the end of the valley, the post-card village of Cao Trung. You stay at the house of the Village Chief, Mr Trung (tel.: 028 3122 12422); comfortable beds, cold shower outside (you can ask that they heat water in a basin), Turkish toilets, for 50 000 dong per person. Correct meals (same price) –with rice alcohol, that Mr Trung seems to like very much. Those people are poor, so, anything you can bring –sugar, salt, tea, pens and book-notes for the kids, etc. is welcome.

2) The next day, continue the trail and stay on your left to climb to H’mong houses, through sweeping scenery of mountains and deep valleys. The H’mongs have a wonderful sense of hospitality, and will invite you for lunch, though they have just the bare essential; give them 50 000 dong –they will refuse, but please insist. Back to the river the same way (call Mr. Duy Tho 1h before arriving at the river, so that you don’t have to wait for too long before being back in Pac Ngoi). ATTENTION: plan so that you don’t arrive back at the river after 16h00, because the boats have no lights and won’t go on the lake when it is dark.

3) Fantastic for real trekkers: leave early (7h30) and continue the trail from Mr. Trung’s house. Keep walking west for about 4-5 hours, until you reach a very large valley. Cross that valley and continue west until you see an opening in the mountains on your left (they are the ones which are over the Nang River). You will get lost in a maze of trails, so, just say “Dau Dang” to the locals you meet, and they will point the direction. The trail climbs alongside the cliff and reaches a “pass”; the descent down the river alongside the river side of the cliff is a 1-hour hell RESERVED TO EXPERIENCED, IN-SHAPE TREKKERS. Just follow the trail; don’t try to cut on your right, thinking that you will reach the river earlier; it all ends up with 200-300m of sheer cliff. You arrive 15mn walk before Dau Dang (on your left). Have a beer there, and then negotiate for a boat back to Pac Ngoi (150 000 dong if you are lucky).

REGION OF CAO BANG
HANOI - CAO BANG

Route No 1, the famous Mandarin Road which starts in Camau in the extreme South, leads to Langson, one of the « doors » to China, and famous for 3 French defeats : 1872 against the Black Pavilions, the 1945 massacre of the garrison by the Japanese, and the bloody disaster of Cao Bang in October 1950.
The road between Hanoi and Langson is not very interesting, and neither is Langson: one or 2 pagodas, a few grottoes...nothing worth spending a night (and don’t bother pushing to the Chinese border in Dong Dang, there is nothing to see). For lunch, the New Century, alongside the lake, is a good address.
From Langson to Cao Bang, it’s the famous former « Route Coloniale No. 4 (RC 4) », site of one of the most terrible defeats of the French Army:

Most tourists traveling on the Langson-Cao Bang road do not know –or know very little- of the terrible events which happened there 1950, though it should be in every history book: for the first time, an army of colonized rebels inflicted a severe defeat to their foreign rulers, a defeat which, as far as France is concerned, was the warning to an even worst one 4 years later, Dien Bien Phu.

THE PLAYERS:

On the Asiatic side: Ho Chi Minh and Giap, who are living in the deep jungle near the Chinese border, leaders of Vietminh bands without anything, and Mao, who is pushing Chang Kai Check’s troops down South China.

On the French side, a government which ignores everything about Indochina, but loves very much all the billions that it reaps (Vietnam is then the first producer/exporter of rice and natural rubber in the world, and exports the purest coal), big capitalists (Bank of Indochina, Breweries of Indochina, Michelin –the rubber plantations, etc.) who block all reforms to keep filling up their pockets, and an « Expeditionary Corps », the world’s best troops of the time -45% of former SS in the French Legion, all the « Warlords »: Bigeard, Jeanpierre, Faulques, Elie de Saint Marc, Ponchardier, Vandenberg, “the Delta Lord”, etc. , former members of the French Resistance against the nazis and troops of the 2e DB of Leclerc and the 1st Army of de Lattre, without forgetting the fearless Moroccan Tabors. In total, 250 000 men of all nationalities, remarkably ill-equipped with completely worn-out Pacific War American surpluses, controlling the entire peninsula (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam –just think the Americans could not even control South Vietnam only with 550 000 troops and all the might of the US Navy and Air Force!). Unfortunately for them, this wonderful military tool is commanded by a complete idiot, nevertheless very gifted to snake through the Ministry of War, General Carpentier, whom de Lattre had sacked in 1944 for gross incompetence. This clown considers that he does not need to know the terrain, which is capital in such a war; it is the problem of his commanders; his role is to stay in his air-conditioned Saigon office and writes beautiful reports to Paris, explaining that he is controlling the situation (funny how History repeats itself: it is the same exact phenomenon which occurred among the American generals during the Vietnam War!). As a matter of fact, like Westmoreland, Carpentier had declared to the government that he would probably be able to repatriate some troops by the end of the year!!!! The result of that nullity: in 1950, he had never visited North Vietnam, apart from a few-day stay in Hanoi.

THE FIELD

The deep Northeast, magnificent, but absolutely deadly in a guerilla war, a maze of jungle-covered lime peaks, thousands of grottoes, and roads and trails which are mere cut-throat passages. The main road, the famous Route Coloniale No. 4 (RC4), snake alongside the Chinese border from Monkay, north of Halong Bay, to Cao Bang. It is a super-strategic road, for it controls the ground communications with China through 3 « gates »: Monkay, Langson, and Cao Bang. From Langson to Dong Khe, half-way between Langson and Cao Bang, the road follows a valley of rice fields between small hills which do not present any major problems. Between Dong Khe and Cao Bang, the valley narrows and the road snakes between the river and lime cliffs pierced by uncountable grottoes. An integral cut-throat ! No maneuver is possible: one small mountain canon hidden in a grotto demolishes the front and the back trucks of a convoy, and the entire convoy can be destroyed in a few minutes. Something that Giap knew very well, and Carpentier not at all, for he had never set foot in the region and listened to nobody predicting the worst.

THE PREMISES

Beginning of 1950, Mao’s troops arrive on the Vietnamese border, pushing the Nationalists into Tonkin, where the French disarm them, and in Northern Thailand, where they settle in the Golden Triangle between Chang Mai and Chiang Rai, and, in addition to tea plantations, develop the cultivation of opium and, in the 80s, control 80% of the world heroin production. Mao has now recuperated the gigantic bases left by the Americans in Yunnan, where he invites Giap to form entire divisions trained and equipped by his generals. The French secret services, not more idiot than any others, are perfectly aware of that situation, but Carpentier does nothing except sending in Cao Bang and alongside the RC4 the famous 2nd Paratrooper Foreign Battalion (2nd BEP) led by Colonel Chartron, one of the “Gods” of the Foreign Legion. Attacks of the RC4 posts multiply, and some supply convoys are destroyed at 80% between Dong Khe and Cao Bang

THE DRAMA

On September 1950, it is (or should be) the alarm signal: the Vietminh takes Dong Khe, thus cutting the RC4. Carpentier decides to evacuate the entire region down to Langston, an impregnable fortress, which was quite possible by air; however, always the smart guy, he decides that the evacuation will be done ... by the RC4!!!!! His plan is that a column led by Lepage –an artillery colonel, always useful in a jungle guerilla warfare! will go up the RC4 from Langson and takes back Dong Khé while the Cao Bang troops will go down and meet Lepage there. Thus, the whole plan is based on the fact that the French takes back Dong Khé. Charton leaves Cao Bang with all the civilians, a mistake that he refused to avoid knowing what was waiting for them at he hands of the Vietminh. Of course, nothing happens as planned: Lepage cannot take back Dong Khé despite the heroism of the paratroopers of the 3rd BPC, and the RC4 remains cut; even worse, it is now Lepage’s column which is cut into pieces and asks Chartron for help. Chartron leaves the RC4 and goes on a jungle trail bypassing Dong Khé, with his 2000 civilians who will all die there. Surrounded by the Vietminh in the jungle hole of Coc Xa, both columns are annihilated on October 7, 1950. Only a handful of troops reaches Langson; the rest of the survivors is sent in the terrifying Vietminh camps, about which Colonel de Saint Marc, who have known both, said that they were worse than the Nazi ones. Only a handful officers and troops –mostly North Africans now well indoctrinated by the Viets against the Colonial regime, will be liberated in 1951 at the arrival of de Lattre, nominated Governor General and Commander in Chief in Indochina, where he and his son will leave, the former his health, and the latter his life on the hill of Ninh Binh.

THE SHAME
After the drama, the integral shame, the sheer panic of the Brass, who orders the evacuation of Langson, though it was impregnable, “by surprise”, which meant without destroying neither the huge fortifications nor the immense depots which will supply the whole Giap’s army for one year.
De Lattre saved the situation in 2 terrible battles: Vin Yenh west of Hanoi and Mao Khé in the North, but, by October 1950, the war is lost : Giap now controls the gates to China, through which supplies, officers, and even, according to the Secret Services, troops, feed the Vieminh, whereas the French Government does nothing, neither negotiating nor withdrawing. The hopeless fight will end in Dien Bien Phu 4 years later.
The RC starts being beautiful from That Khé. The scenery around Dong Khé is magnificent, with its lime peaks. For History buffs, a small trail starts on the left 2 kilometers from Dong Khe and goes down the valley of Coc Xa; the scenery is magnificent, but the trail is in real bad shape.

BABE – CAO BANG
Cross the river in Pac Nngoi, go up to Cho Ra, and reach Route N03 to Cao Bang (3h).

CAO BANG

WHERE TO SLEEP:

Cao Bang is neither beautiful nor entertaining. Of the 2 best hotels, the Than Loan charges tourists much more than Vietnamese clients, and thefts are not rare. I recommend the Houang Sen, just before the Great Market, 5mn from the bridge. Tel 385-46-54. New 8-floor hotel on the river and a small public park. Elevator. Very quiet. No English. The prices ($10-20) do not include breakfasts, but there is a restaurant on the ground floor.

WHERE TO EAT

Eating is a problem. Cao Bang is full of karaoke bars, but there is no restaurant worth talking about. The best remains the restaurant of the Huong Sen Hotel.

WHAT TO SEE AROUND CAO BANG

You must stay at least 2 nights there, to be able to see at least the Bang Gioc Waterfalls.

• • The 36 lakes of Thang Hen (26 km north of Cao Bang).

The Legend of the 36 Lakes
The legend tells of the mother of a handsome and intelligent son, Chang Sung, who dreamed that he becomes an Emperor’s mandarin and marries a very beautiful girl. The son passes the mandarin exam and is called to the court. To finalize her dream, the mother choses Chang Sung’s wife, Blooc Luong ("Yellow Flower ") and hastily prepares a wedding. Very busy with beautiful Luong, the son forgets the Court call until the day before. He asks the magic forces to give him the power to jump to the palace. Alas, very likely disorientated by his wedding nights, he jumps 36 times in all directions, creating 36 craters and ending up, exhausted, on top of the Ma Phuc Pass, where he dies and is transformed into a rock. The craters fill up with water during the rainy season, becoming the 36 lakes of Thang Hen.
In fact, the 36 lakes exist only during the rainy season. Normally, only the largest one remains. Its level lowers to a point where it shows he opening of a very large grotto accessible by boat (100 000 dong for 2h). Very beautiful excursion and, for Nature lovers, great trekking. The main road continues to Tra Linh and the border village of Hang Pao, becoming more and more impassable. Without any interest except for the Tra Linh buffalo market every 5 days.

To go to Thang Hen, cross the Cao Bang bridge direction the Ma Phuc Pass (excellent brand new road - # 3 – offering a spectacular scenery, then left direction Tra Linh. A few kilometers from the junction, a sign indicates Thang Ten Lakes (4km of superb small road). Toll just before the lake (10 000 dong). One arrives in a small complex of brand new Thai houses rooms (120 000 dongs for the smallest, 160 000 for the large ones), restaurant (menus from 80 000 to 150 000 dongs), bar-terrace, dominating the lake. Very beautiful spot; I regretted to have left my luggage in Cao Bang!

• • Ban Gioc Waterfalls (96 km northeast of Cao Bang).

One of Vietnam’s most celebrated sites. One of the most stunning roads in Vietnam arrives in a valley where the falls spread on 3 levels over 300 m wide. The Chinese border is right in the middle of the falls ; don’t forget your passport to present at the toll (100 000 dong – Contrary to what the guide books say, you don’t have to buy a permit at the Cao Bang Police station...where they charge 60 000 dong more). The Chinese side is very well organized (hotel, steps, boat pier, etc.). There is nothing on the Vietnamese side, except for numerous artifact stalls (but there is now a small restaurant, so no need to prepare a picnic basket in Cao Bang like before). The left side of the falls being hidden by a promontory, bamboo rafts take you to the middle of the river, but not a millimeter further...It’s China!).

On the way back, turn left (small sign) in the middle of the first village, to visit the Ngom Ngao Grotto. Enormous, it stretches on 3 kilometers, all the way to the falls. One visits only the first 400 meters with a guide (50 000 dong), but, if you insist, he will take you to the « secret” fall entrance (2 hours walk roundtrip).

To go there : Take Ma Phuc Pass and, after it, the road on your right direction Quang Huyen, then No. 206 direction Trung Khanh-Ban Gioc.

Ho Chi Minh’s cave in Pac Bo (56 km from Cao Bang).

For History buffs! Ho Chi Minh’s hide out during World War II. Good road, but less spectacular than the Ban Gioc one. It ends in Pac Bó. On the left, a small museum with some Ho Chi Minh’s memorabilia (sandals, binoculars, photos, etc.). The parking –and small food stalls- stretches alongside a river called “Lenin River” by Uncle Ho, the peak over it being « Karl Marx Peak”. On the left of the parking, a concrete trail leads to HCM’s hut; attention: it is in China (very practical when the French were coming too close!); a sign points the border; you can go to the hut but better make sure no local is around, one never knows! On the way back, a few steps on the right leads to the entrance of the grotto –this one in Vietnam- a mere crack in the cliff. No wonder the French never located it. It is there that, in 1946, HCM convened a meeting of the Vietminh representatives and declared the independence of Vietnam.

Note: If you leave early in the morning, you can do the Thang Hen Lakes and Pac Bo in one day...if you have a strong back to go from Tra Linh to Pac Bo.

HA GIANG– DONG VAN – MA PI LENG PASS - MEO VAC
THE BLACK H’MONG EAGLE NESTS

The end of the Vietnamese world! In fact, the village of Lung Cu, 24 km north of Dong Van, is the northernest point of the country (military zone; no access). Extremely wild area of lime peaks, black rock needles (the locals call them the “Stone Forests”, deep canyons, breathtaking scenery and...the Black H’mong. Dressed in black, wearing a black beret, they are as invisible as their houses among the black rocks...with no visible trail leading to them. A race of tough warriors whom nobody ever dominated. Having fought with the French, they resisted the Viet Army for 5 years, until 1959, vanquished by the lack of weapons and ammunitions. The road between Dong Van and Meo Vac is famous for being one of the most spectacular in the world, and rightly so.

ATTENTION: the region is still under military control. To go inside, you need your passport and a permit ($10/person). Do not think that you can avoid the permit; there are no controls on the road, but you must present it at the hotels. The permit can be bought only in Ha Giang, at the Immigration Office located in Room 105 of the Agribank Hotel, 134 Duong Nguyen Trai (opposite the Tourist Office).

TO GO TO HA GIANG

• Hanoi-Ha Giang (305 km):

• By car : good road direction Vinh Yen, Vietri (Route No. 2), but without much interest, going through the delta and the valley of the Red River.

• By night bus: comfortable sleepers leaving from My Dinh Station at 9 PM. The return Ha Giang-Hanoi leaves at the same time.

• From Cao Bang: Turn left after the bridge, Nguyen Binh (Road No. 34). The road is now very good, with absolutely magnificent scenery. After Tinh Tuc, a gigantic hole, one of the oldest tin mines in the world.

• From Lao Cai: by public bus or by car + driver. Road No. 4E to Pho Lu, 70 Souh to Pho Rang. From there, your back will have to take Road 279 Pho Rang-Viet Quang (65 km), which ends on # 2 Hanoi-Ha Giang in Viet Quang.

HA GIANG

Pleasant regional capital alongside the Lo River. Mandatory stop to penetrate into the Black H’mong massif.

WHERE TO SLEEP
Some decent hotels in town, but I recommend the recent (October 2009) Ha Giang Resort & Spa (Truong Xuan), just outside Ha Giang on the road to Dong Van. River-view bungalows, restaurant in a Thai house, massage- herb baths, etc. 260 000 dongs for a bungalow.

WHERE TO EAT

Apart from the hotel restaurant, I had 3 excellent diners at the Thuy Son, at the exit of Ha Giang on the road to Dong Van. Excellent fish and, if you go there around 18h, you will meet the « Ha Giang Establishment », who comes to drink ...a lot of an excellent draught beer. Better go there around 19h.

HA GIANG-DONG VAN-MEO VAC-HA GIANG (333 km)

Starting from Ha Giang, a good road, # 4C, climbs to Dong Van, 158 km away. It goes up to a plateau of “Stone Forest”, up to a cut on top of a mountain, from which there is a breathtaking view of the entire region ; in fact, the passage is called Quan Ba – “Gate of Paradise”, for it opens on a lush valley after the plateau’s desolation of stones. 15 km before Dong Van, a small road goes to Lung Co. Immediately after that intersection, an extremely interesting site:

• • The Palace of Vuong Chin Duc, King of the H’mongs.

A great friend of the French, Chin Duc, built on a small mound a palace designed like a Chinese yamen: 2-storey wooden buildings opening on 4 inner courtyards. At the 2 corners facing the road, a small stone dungeon. Between his large family, his servants, and the garrison, over 100 people lived inside. At the entrance, 2 tombs : in the left one lies one of the king’s 4 wives, in the other, his eldest son, Vuong Chi Sinh, the black sheep of the family since he joined the Vietminh in 1945 (which explains why the palace is intact). A descendent of Chin Duc may welcome you and takes you inside for 5000 dong (the rest of the family emigrated to France and Canada). One does not expect such a site in such a remote area.

DONG VAN

Small picturesque village dominated by 2 lime peaks. On top of the highest one, the well preserved French fort of Pu Lo, built in 1889 and evacuated in 1945. To climb on top, from where the panorama is quite spectacular, go through the market, turn right on the road, then left on a trail that goes behind and up the peak (1/2h easy walk).

WHERE TO SLEEP AND EAT

There are only 2 guesthouses. The best is the Hoang Ngoc Hotel (Tel. 85-60-20). All he rooms have a small balcony. Bread, but no butter for breakfast (no grass to feed cows!). There is only 1 restaurant in Dong Can, on “Main Street” before the market.

Dong Van is, above all, the gate of one of the most extraordinary roads on Earth, going from Dong Van to Meo Vac. 13km of a good road climbs the Ma Pi Leng Pass. FABULOUS!!!! On the very steep slopes, here and there, barely visible houses of black rock; no trail seems to lead there; No wonder the locals could resist the Vietminh Army for so long! On your left, the vertiginous canyon of the Ngo Qué River (a dirt road goes down and arrives at the village of Sam Pun, at the Chinese border). The entire area is really Nature at its wildest, an impressive “End of the World”.

On the left just before Meo Vac, a small road goes to the H’mong village of Khau Vai, famous for its « Love Market » where the young people meet to find their better half. Meo Vac is without any interest; one does easily in one day Dong Van-Meo Vac-Ha Giang.
A FANTASTIC ITINERARY:
HA GIANG-DONG VAN-MEO VAC-CAO BANG/BABE

Before, to go from the region of Ha Giang to the region of Cao Bang and Babe, one had to drive south to Tuyen Quang (not very exciting!), then east to Na Ho/Cho Chu, and then north to Bang Lung-Babe, a nearly-200km detour. A new bridge now allows this fantastic itinerary:

• After having done the Ha Giang-Dong Van-Meo Vac portion, in Meo Vac, take the road Direction Ly Bon – 45 km (attention, in Meo Vac, the sign says “Khau Vai”, but the road to Khau Vai starts almost immediately on the left, when you want to go straight). Very scenic road ending in Bao Lac, where you reach the Route 34 Ha Giang-Cao Bang.

• Take Route 34 Direction Tinh Tuc/Cao Bang. A few kilometers BEFORE Tinh Tuc, in a downhill, do not miss the sign indicating a fork Cao Bang 41 km / Phan Than 4 km; you take Direction Phan Than (Route 212), southwards, which takes you to famous Road 279 (I write “famous” because, though it is indicated on the maps as a decent road, it is not finished yet and is impassable to cars). That road takes you to Na Phac but, 10 km before, turn right at the sign “Cho Ra 18 km”. You arrive in Cho Ra and drive down to Pac Ngoi (21 km), where you stay in the Thai House of Mr. Duy Tho (see the paragraph on Babe Lake).

You cannot do that road in 1 day, unless you do not care to spend 10—12h in a car! If you like to take your time, you can visit Dong Van in the morning, then climb the Ma Pi Leng Pass, visit Khau Vai, have lunch in Meo Vac, and then take the road to Cao Bang and sleep in Nguyen Binh, 40 km before Cao bang. The next day, you drive back towards Bao Lac and take a small road southwards going to Cho Ra.
NORTHWEST VIETNAM

Hoa Lu / Tam Coc / Phat Diem
Mai Chau
Sonla – Dien Bien Phu – Lai Chau – Sapa – Bac Ha
A SUPER ONE-DAY EXCURSION NEAR HA NOI :
Chua Thay and Chua Tay Phuong Pagodas,
And Ba Vi National Parc

For a day trip, many tourists select the Perfume Pagoda, interesting, but definitely not as much as the Halong Bay-on-Land of Tam Coc. I know a better place, and unknown by tourists since no travel agency offers it in its programs, Chua Thay and Chua Tay Phuong Pagodas.

Chua Tay (Thien Phuc)

It is a huge complex of pagodas built in stages alongside a cliff in a middle of a village surrounded by rice fields (we are still in the Red River Delta, dedicated to Buddha Thick Ca (Sakyamuni) and the Buddhist Master Tu Dao Hanh (XIIth Century), who is supposed to have invented the water puppets and whose statue stands on the right of the first pagoda (on the right stands the statue of King Ly Nhan Tong, whose legend says that he is a reincarnation of Tu Dao Hanh). The village itself is so charming that several sequences of the movie Indochine were shot there. In front of the complex, a small lake with, in its middle, a charming small pagoda, and 2 covered Chinese bridges, a rarity in Vietnam. At the bottom of the cliff, first complex of pagodas among trees and flowers. At the other end of the covered bridge, a path lead to a long staircase; in its middle, second complex of pagodas, including a pagoda-grotto half-hidden by enormous tree roots and containing numerous multicolored buddhas. Third complex on top of the second staircase, offering a great view of the whole region. By far the most surprising complex of pagodas I have seen In North Vietnam!

Chua Tay Phuong (Sung Phuc)

10 km farther away, another astonishing site, smaller : # parallel pagodas on top of another mound, the oldest of which dating back to the XIIIth. Magnificent polychrome wooden sculptures polychromes (XVIIth-XVIIIth) representing the Human Conditions, and a statue of Quan Am, the thousnad-arms Godess.

Entrance fee 5000 dong for each complex.

Ba Vi National Park

20 km from thepagodas, a enormous massif culminating at à 1276 m, the Ba Vi (3 summits) dominate the Delta. It is an ancient French Summer retreat from the heat and humidity of the delta. A 12-km road climbs up to a parking area with a restaurant, from which start two staircases: a 1230-step one leading to a temple dedicated to Ho Chi Minh, and a 500-step one leading to another temple, both offering astonishing views of the whole delta.

No public buses to go there. I can arrange a car with driver if you want.

TAM COC (“HALONG BAY ON LAND”)

The guide books talk a lot about Ninh Binh and its hotels. Sometimes, I wonder if the writers have really visited the region! Ninh Binh is far from being the most pleasant city on Earth, and the hotels are...city hotels. Why all those books do not advise tourists to go and stay in adorable Tam Coc, 6 km away, is a mystery to me.

TO GO THERE:

• One-day organized tour ($18/pers.). A minibus takes you at your hotel, drives to Hoa Lu, where you visit the 2 temples, then to Tam Coc, where you have a (bad) lunch followed by the boating on the river through the 3 tunnels. Return to Hanoi at 16h. OK for the tourists who have limited time, but Tam Coc is worth at least 2 days!

• Public bus Hanoi-Ninh Binh. Every ½ h and cheap (45 000 dong), 2h1/2-3h to Ninh binh, then moto-taxi to Tam Coc (6 km – 40 000 dong). If you have an hotel reservation, call the reception and they come to pick you up.

• Train Hanoi-Ninh Binh. Very frequent. Note that, if you go from Hanoi to Hue, you can catch the Hue train in Ninh Binh after your stay in Tam Coc. Time: 14h et 18h

• Car with driver: $70 per day, but you will rarely use it in Tam Coc, so, interesting only if you do the circuit Hanoi-Hoa Lu-Tam Coc-Phat Diem-Hanoi or if you continue –or start with - Mai Chau.

WHERE TO SLEEP AND EAT

In one of my favorite hotels in Vietnam: Chez Loan. A perfect small place (10 rooms) in the middle of the rice fields between the pier and the pagoda of Bich Dong. The rooms are elegant, inexpensive ($25 with balcony to $18 without), the food exceptional (Loan gives Vietnamese cooking lessons), and Loan an absolutely exceptional person (apart from being a beauty!). Free Internet and bicycles.
WHAT TO DO

• The boat ride on the river: 60 000 dong per person (90 000 if you are alone), payable at the cabana in front of the pier. If it’s sunny, don’t forget a hat and suntan lotion. It is true that the locals try to sell you embroideries in the boat; so what? Business is business, including in Vietnam! It is their only real income (they are paid close to nothing to row the boat, which is VERY hard –Try if you wish! A firm “No, thank you” –with a smile- works everywhere. If you don’t buy anything, give them a good tip (10 000 dong will do the trick), for the rowing is exhausting.

• The 2 pagodas on each side of Tam Coc, Bich Dong, built on 3 stages on a cliff, and Thai Vi, built to worship 4 kings of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1407) and Queen Thuan Tien: 1km on the left and on the right of the village (go on a bicycle through the rice fields).

The other trails around Tam Coc are all dead ends, but bicycling on them, through « Halong Bay on Land », is one of the pleasures of the area.

To be seen absolutely:

• Hang Mua Pagoda. Rarely visited, though it is just 5 km from Tam Coc (one can see it on the left, on top of a lime peak, during the boat ride: a small pavilion and a dragon snaking alongside the crest; very odd!). Take the road to Ninh Binh and then the small road on your left at the first small village (no sign, but you will see on big banyan tree and a small pond). Beautiful ride through the rice fields; the pagoda is on your left. Entrance fee: 20 000 dong per person. From the top of the cliff, you enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the entire region…at a price: climbing 450 steps, totally worthwhile (you will be alone, no tours include that amazing visit). On the left of the steps, a short tunnel leads to the bank of the Tam Coc river.

• The ancient capital of Hoa Lu and its 2 temples. If you feel in shape after Hang Mua (or another day jour), return on the mall road and continue on 13 km until Hoa Lu. That road goes through a somptuous scenery of lime peaks and rice fields. You are going to arrive on an ugly superhighway (economic development is a plague respecting nothing !), just cross it and continue on the small road, its ends on the same superhighway, turn right and then right at the brige. The temples are 800 m away. On your right before the parking, stop for lunch at the Nha hang dac san ve (Thang Guong), a very good restaurant. In Hoa Lu, visit of the 2 temples: Dinn Thien Hoang, built to nonor the firstking of the Dinh Dynasty (968-980) and his 3 sons, and Le Dai Han, dedicated to the kings of the First Le Dynasty (980-1009). Return to Tam Coc through the same small road

• PHAT DIEM: A MUST SEE 32 km from Ninh Binh (public bus in Ninh Binh or taxi -$40- from Tam Coc). You can also rent a motorbike at the Duc Tuan, but I don’t advise you to do so: the road is very narrow and with a heavy anarchist traffic. You cross the center of North Vietnam Catholicism. The stupendous Phat Diem Cathedral is a Sino-European architecture masterpiece of enormous proportions (80m x 24m x 16m) designed and built by a Vietnamese priest, Father Six, completed in 1891. Excellent small restaurant at the end of the street left of the cathedral.

PS. If you have time, go to Ninh Binh and visit the Pagoda of Non Nuoc, on top of a cliff overlooking the Van River and the Red River Delta. It is there that Bernard de Lattre, the son of Marechal de Lattre de Tassigny, was killed in 1951 (the 2 French blockhaus are still there).

HANOI-HOA BINH-MAI CHAU (OR TAM COC–MAI CHAU)-
SON LA – DIEN BIEN PHU -SAPA
If you go through Hoa Binh, climb on top of the hill where a gigantic statue of Ho Chi Minh stands; magnificent panorama of the entire region. The road starts being beautiful only after Hoa Binh.

MAI CHAU

At the end of Mai Chau, turn right on the small road leading to the Thai village of Ban Lac. Quite an experience except on week-ends, when it is invaded by very noisy Hanoians. Ban Lac is a very charming village with a magnificent view of the rice fields and the surrounding high mountains. Each stilted house is a guesthouse welcoming tourists with a great sense of hospitality. 60 000 dong per person including full breakfast, and delicious main meals for the same price. In the evening, local dances are organized by the villagers: beautiful costumes...and female dancers!

I recommend House No. 6; the lady-owner is a good chef and is extremely friendly. The grand-father is a case: many photos illustrate his life as a Vietminh fighter against the French. Alas, he refuses to talk about it.

Possibility of great trekking in the surrounding mountains. If you have no time, just go and see how bricks were made in the Middle Ages. Cross the small bridge on the right of the village, then take the trail on your right. After 2km, you will see 2 big brick towers. (attention, there is a small one before; it’s not there!). You can watch the workers and walk to the entrance of the owers. Amazing how they pile over 8000 bricks by hand! If you are in shape, you can continue the trail for a while, but it becomes steeper and steeper.

Do not miss the morning market in Mai Chau. Quite authentic !

MAI CHAU - SONLA

The road crosses the Moc Chau Plateau; it’s the milk producing region of North Vietnam (alas, no fresh milk available!).

Some 30km before Sonla, stop at the small airport of Hat Lot for a small history lesson.

To understand Dien Bien Phu, one must know what happened in Hat Lot, better known during the French as Na San, a bowl of 5km by 2 surrounded by mountains. In 1952, General Salan, then Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in replacement of de Lattre, who is dying in Paris, learns that the Vietminh divisions are marching towards North Laos to join the communist Pathet Lao and cut Tonkin in two. Knowing the region upside down, which he crisscrossed on a horse when he was a young lieutenant to make land surveys, Salan decides to install a fortified camp in the bowl of Na San, being sure that Giap would not resist to the idea of redoing his Cao Bang maneuver, meaning the destruction of the garrison. For 2 months, a noria of DC4 –one every 10 minutes- brings over 3000 tonnes of equipment and nearly 15 000 men, the biggest airlift since the Korean War. As he expected, on November 30, 1952, Giap attacks with his best divisions, and withdraws on December 3...less over 500 killed. The reason of the French success: the airport which allowed the French to bring food and ammunitions and take away the wounded, Giap not being able to forbid the traffic for lack of heavy artillery.

In 1954, for the same reason of the Vietminh approaching North Laos, Navarre, the new Commander-in-Chief, simply wanted to “redo Na San” (without listening to Salan, who had told him that he could not hold Dien Bien Phu without holding Na San as an intermediary airport between Hanoi and DBP. But Giap had learnt his lesson: no heavy artillery = no way of stopping air traffic = no way of beating the French. This is the reason why he waited that all his artillery was borught on the hills –rather, inside the hills since all his canons were sheltered in grottoes- before attacking, and the attack started by destroying the airport and taking the hills controlling it.

In Sonla, the Cong Doan Trade Union Hotel, recommended by all the guide books, is a horrible concrete affair with sad rooms and a restaurant even sadder (but serving excellent food), all of it for 240 000 to 300 000 dongs. Better stay at the Sunrise Hotel, an excellent 2 stars opposite the square from the Trade Union.

The penitentiary, the shame of French Colonialism together with the hard labor island of Poulo Condor, is interesting to visit, especially its small museum with the Governor’s letters explaining how to treat the prisoners. Pity it does not also explain how the Vietminh was treating theirs in the same jails after they took it over!

To be done if you have time: the climb up the radio tower peak. Take the path on the left of the Trade Union Hotel and climb the 715 steps (I counted them). The 360-degree view is stunning. You will note, at the bottom of the stairs, al the needles and novocaine vials; apparently, the local police does not know that it is Sonla’s shooting gallery, unless....

SON LA - DIEN BIEN PHU

Together with the Ha Giang-Cao Bang road, it’s the worst I have been on. Public works on over 150km, with 2 choices: the old road, or the one under construction, both being practically the same appalling mess. In October 2001, it took me 11h including the following « Must See »:

A Must See: Giap’s Headquarters

A dozen kilometers before Dien Bien, take the road on your left at the village of Na Nhan (2 large blue signs indicate a large dam and lake 4km away). A beautiful sinuous road goes through the mountains until the Thai village of Muong Phong (20km from Na Nhan), near which Giap had hidden his headquarters during the battle of DBP. One must know that, during the entire battle, Giap has never set his foot in on the battle filed; he had chosen to “retire” in order to take his decisions in all serenity upon the reports of his officers. Very interesting visit led by a few cute Thai girls who are quite happy to speak some English. After the visit, continue the road through the valley, till Dien Bien (25km).

DIEN BIEN PHU

To visit only in order to admire Military Idiocy in all its splendor! As famous Colonel Bigeard said to his Commander, General Cogny, “It’s not a bowl, it’s a chamber pot!”. The famous hills are mere mounds dominated by high mountains covered with jungle a few kilometers away. You don’t have to be Napoleon to realize that it is a gigantic trap! One wonders how the French troops have resisted for 56 days and nights of bombings, attacks...and, at the end (May 7, 1954) torrential rainfalls.

There is not much left of the battlefield except the trenches and bunkers of Eliane 2 on the left of the Viet Cemetery. On top, a gigantic crater, a mine which exploded in the middle of the night; just look at it and imagine it blowing up at night, followed by the attack of thousands of Bo doi.

Very moving Viet Cemetery, but the French one....one feels like crying! A small stele, and paid by a former German Legionnaire, the French Government not giving a damn about the “150 000-dead-for-nothing” of the Indochina War.

I know only the Muong Thanh Hotel, recently rebuilt as a 3 stars.

DIEN BIEN - LAI CHAU (MUANG SAY)

Like Lonely Planet explains, all the names have been changed because Lai Chau is going to be flooded under a dam lake (terrible floods have occurred there; the last one killed over 2000 people). Therefore, Muang Say has been evacuated. You must now sleep further north, in Phong To.

A Must See: Deo Van Long

Cross the bridge just after the Lan Anh and turn right until the bank of the Da River. Pirogues cross the river for 5000 dong; to be done to admire the diabolic skill of the boatmen in the middle of terrible whirlpools. There is nothing left of Deo Van Long’s palace, the chief of the Thais during the Indochina War, except a small ruin on the left of the public school. Van Long was a bloody tyrant, though he was educated in a Paris lyceum together with Vincent Auriol), the French President. It is said –and it’s not surprising when one knows him- that he had all the concubines he did not want to take with him killed, and his servants as well, when he evacuated Lai Chau in 1953. Anyway, it is thanks to him that the French lost the battle of DBP: exasperated by his exactions, the local H’mongs joined the Vietminh or remained neutral, allowing the Vietminh to cross the jungle with all their supplies.

An expedition that I plan to do: Muong Thé. Reserved to adventures, 92 km of an appalling, but among magnificent scenery road leads to that Thai village, an « End of the World ». Small state hotel. A 75 000- hectare national park is being developed; it is said that there are still wild elephants and tigers.

MUANG SAY (LAI CHAU) - PHONG THO - SAPA

Attention: On some maps, Phong Tho is called Paso, the name of the Thai part of the town on the other side of the bridge. You spend the night at the Lan Anh Hotel. Elegant rooms in large wooden Thai houses. Three big terraces for lounging and dining. The food is as good as in Lai Chau, and the service even better, considering that the lady-owner, who looks like a ferocious businesswoman, seems to be on the alert 24h a day.

After lunch, cross the bridge and turn right on a small road leading to the charming village of Muang Tho, former « capital » of Deo Van Anh, the cousin of Deo Van Long (I forgot that that beautiful family were descendants of the chief of the terrible Black Pavilions, who gave so much trouble to the French in the 19th century; not Thais, but Chinese pirates). Van Anh’s father did not do things half-way : to become king, he just killed the actual one –who was his uncle- and married his wife. Van Anh was famous for loving the good life, including being the father of some 83 children. His palace is now the school; go there, the kids may see 10 tourists a year and will come to meet you. Opposite the river from the school, 2 lime peaks; on top of one, there was an incredible bunker, which Van Anh blew up when he evacuated he village in 1953. Pity there is no hotel, I would have loved to stay 1 or 2 nights.

Phong Tho is 94km from Sapa. Good road crossing the Tam Duong Plain, then climbs on 20km –magnificent scenery- up to Sapa.

SAPA

One talks a lot about Sapa, well (magnificent scenery, minorities, excellent trekking) and bad (too many tourists). Here are my impressions after 5 stays:
What I liked:

• The scenery, magnificent. It is not for nothing that the French had nicknamed the region “The Tonkin Alps”!

• The hawkers in tribal costume, H’mongs (black costume) and Dao (large red turban). The people who complain about harassment forgets that the sale of the Crafts articles that they sell is the only income of those people, who are very poor (only 1 rice crop a year, except down the valley leading to Lao Cai). A “No thank you” with a smile generally does the trick. If not, say « toi co roy » (pronounce « toy co zoy » - I have one already) and that’s it. In fact, I noticed many tourists who enjoyed being surrounded by all those women and children in their beautiful costume, chatting and laughing all together.

• The large choice of hotel. I visited many. Here are my recommendations:

• BUDGET : The Friendly Hotel, which deserves its name. Young owner very attentive to his clients’ happiness, excellent restaurant with a European Bistrot decoration, and 12 rooms at various rates: $10 (no view), $15 (window or balcony on the valley and mountains) and $20 (large rooms balcony same view). All the rooms have a hairdryer, television and minibar (no minibar in the rooms at $10). Roof terrace with tables and beach chairs, free Internet. Motorbike and bicycle rental ($10 – Same price for both; the bicycles often come back in bad shape –or not at all- considering the condition of the trails).

• MORE EXPENSIVE : The Holiday Sapa, former Royal View (attention: the Royal View is now farther away, on your left before the Market), which deserved its name considering that it is on the valley slope, facing Mount Fansipan, meaning a fabulous panorama from the room balconies, $30 ($40 for 3) for a small room with window, $50 ($60 for 3) (70 pour 3/4) for large ones with balcony and fire-place, $55 for junior suites with balcony, and $80 ($100 for 3/4) for 2-room suites with a huge terrace.

• FOR THE AMATEURS OF CHALETS: a Norvegian has purchased a former French chalet and transformed it into a small deluxe Country Mansion-Hotel, the Chapa Garden: 4 very elegant rooms with balcony (2 small at $65 and 2 large at 80); no triples. I did not eat there, but the restaurant is said to be the only gastronomy one in Sapa. Garden-terrace. With only 4 rooms, the oweer asks that reservations are guaranteed with a credit card.

• The large choice of restaurants. One often eats better in Sapa than in Hanoi, and it is highly pleasant to enjoy an excellent pizza one evening (at Delta), similarly delicious Indian food another evening (the Bombay), superb meat from Australia/New Zealand the day after (the T-Bone Steak), and local cuisine after (Bergera), all of them in the same street, and without having to negotiate your way among the crazy traffic of Hanoi.

• The trekking. I was very pleased to have the confirmation of what I already knew : that you can spend entire days of trekking without seeing groups of tourists, who all go through agencies and end up on the same trail Sapa-Ta Van. Even to go to Ta Van, where all the groups go, my friend Cédric took me on a dirt road climbing the mountain left of the valley (fabulous views !) and then on trails starting left of at the end of the small dao village on top of the pass. One arrives at a platform covered with rocks with petroglyphs dating du XIth century (there are many in the whole valley, but not alongside the beaten tracks). Experts think that they represent crude maps of the regions, with the rice fields, the villages, and the trails. When we arrived way above Ta Van, we went down for an hour through the rice field terraces. We did not see one tourists for the whole day until we arrived in Ta Van.

Same thing with another trek that I did with the dao wife of my friend Olivier, to Ta Phin. No tourist on sight for the whole day, including in a dao guesthouse completely hidden in the middle of the mountains, and the village of Olivier’s wife, which is not even accessible by motorbike.

What I did not like

• The appaling mess in Lao Cai railway Station. Obviously, the « Authorities » have not understood yet that tourists -the majority of the clients- do not speak Vietnamese! All the announcements are in viet, and you better make sure that you board the right train (just show your ticket at the gate). ATTENTION: if you got a “ticket” through an agency, it is not the ticket you need, but a reservation document ; when you arrive in the station, you must show that document to an employee, who will give you the real ticket indicating the train code, time of departure, number of the wagon and of the berth.

And don’t listen to the crooks telling you that there are no public buses going from Lao Cai to Sapa. There are plenty of them on the Station square.

One important remark.
The h’mongs hate that we call them « Meo » or « Miao », a name coming from the Chinese word mieo (the French changed it into “miao”), and which means « savages ». It was the name given to all the minorities by the Chinese, who despise them.

BAC HA
Stunning, and completely different from Sapa for a lot of reasons:

• No tourists during the week, apart from a few adventurers. The groups arrive from Sapa on Saturday and mainly on Sunday around 10 am to visit the markets (Can Cau on Saturday, Bac Ha on Sunday) and return to Sapa around 15:00).

• Breathtaking scenery, completely different fro, the Sapa region. The mountains are much less high (highest peak 1800 m compared to the Fansipan at 3148 m); therefore, the local h’mongs, the famous Flower H’mongs, have covered all of them with corn and rice terraces. I spent 3 days admiring that work of a Titan !

• Bac Ha Sunday market. I was expecting a Disneyworld with one tourist for every 2 h’mongs; not at all, it’s absolutely stunning ! Imagine thousands of women dressed in a astonishing tribal costume made of thin stripes of multicolored material, all made by hand (it takes from 4 to 6 months to make one). Some has a blouse made of beads or sequins. The men are less attractive: like most h’mong males, they are dressed in a black pyjama and have the face of solid alcoholics; it is true that the local 40-50° alcohol, which is made from corn instead of rice, is delicious! Among all those h’mongs, you will see some taller women with elegant black pants and blouse and a multicolored turban: they are not h’mongs, but Dao Kim Mien. True, there are may be hundred tourists, but they disappear among the thousands of locals, so do not hesitate one second to go there on Sunday.

• The scenery north of Bac Ha

Since I wanted to cover as much terrain as possible, I rented a motorbike and « got lost » in the mountains north of Bac Ha. Here is the tour I did the 1st day:

Take the road North going to Can Cau and Si Ma Cai. 8 km from Bac Ha, turn right at a sign saying « « Xa Lung Sui – 5 km »: the scenery is magnificent. Return on the main road. On your right, you will see a huge concrete sign « Welcome to Si Ma Cai ». Don’t forget it, a trail starts there, that you must take for a breathtaking return to Bac Ha. Continue on the main road until Can Cau (the Saturday market is very nice) and Si Ma Cai –the panoramas become extraordinary. There is a new hotel in Si Ca Mai, the Hong Ngung (tel: 0974 384 044), with rooms at 160 000/200 000 and 300 000 (apparently, you need to buy a permit in Bac Ha to sleep in Si Ma Cai). Return to Can Cau and then take the trail on your right where the large concrete sign is (a small sign indicates “« Ta Van Chu 2 km »). You keep on that trail until Ta Van Chu ; you reach a T: just before the T, turn left at the corner of a house with white walls ; that new trail goes all the way back to Bac Ha through a stunning scenery (some downhills are difficult because of big stones, but it is worth every minute of your efforts). It is so incredible that I did it again the second day!

2nd day: as an expert on the I*ndochina War, I had always dreamed of going to Pha Long. Here is the reason why.

The saga of General Chao Quang Lo

After the Japanese coup of March 9, 1945 –massacre of the French garrisons, except the ones who could take refuge among the H’mong (where they were protected at the risk of the locals) or in China (where the Americans disarmed them and put them in camps under the pretext that they were « Vichy troops » in spite of the fact that those troops had just fought the Japanese for a whole month), the local H’mongs elected regional committees in charge of the administration of the region, among which the Pha Long one, led by Chao Quang Lo. The Japanese having behaved their usual way when they arrived there, he organized an armed struggle against them and holds the region when the Japs evacuate it at the end of WW II.

When the French evacuate the entire Chinese border regions after the disaster of Cao Bang in October 1950, the H’mongs refused to follow us. The Vietminh arrived and did not behave better than the Japs -food requisitions and forced labor- Chao Quang Lo, after having tried to explain to them, in vain, that he had nothing against the Vietminh and would recognize an independence of Vietnam under their control, but demanded a self-rule of the region, had no choice to start an armed struggle again, this time against the Viets, considered as another invader. The Vietminh attacked Pha Long on October 30 1950, but Chao Quang Lo revealed himself as an extraordinary strategist and beat them to a pulp. One of his main lieutenants was nobody else than another great warrior who would became famous in Laos: General Van Pao.

Supported by the French, Chao Quang Lo keep beating the Vietminh, to a point where they have to ask the Chinese army to enter the region and help them. The h’mongs massacred them by the thousands –The Chinese ended by calling him “The Earth Dragon »- but he had to give up under the sheer number, and Pha Long is finally taken end of March 1952.

Chao Quang Lo took refuge in the mountains and continued fighting. His death is a terrible story: the Chinese had learnt that he had adopted a Chinese orphan, Tach Pao, who was 20 years old at the time. They persuaded him to betray his father, under the promise that he would become King of the local h’mongs, he told them where he was hiding and he was killed after a ferocious struggle. Of course, after, the Chinese got rid of the son as well!
+Even today, Chao Quang Lo is a legend among the H’mongs, like his former lieutenant Van Pao. The latter is living in Montana and was recently jailed by the American authorities for ‘activism’, considering that he was supporting the armed struggle still raging in Laos between the local H’mongs and the Lao supported by the Vietnamese, a war where bombs, napalm, and gases are currently used. It must be to thank him for the immense services he rendered to the Americans during the Vietnam War!
Alas, I could not reach Pha Long; the road from Si Ma Cai is in a terrible condition and ends on River Chay, where a huge bridge is being built. Next time !!!! I ended up going on the Ta Van Chu trail a second time, and not regretting one minute of the entire ride.

To go to Bac Ha:
From Sapa: Bus Sapa-Lao Cai (1h) and Lao Cai-Bac Ha (21/2-3h)

From Hanoi: Night train Hanoi-Lao Cai + bus Lao Cai-Bac Ha, or night bus (reclining seats) leaving at 21:00 both ways (180 000 D).


Bac Ha hotels and restaurants

• The Sao Mai, for a long time the only 3 stars in town, is still good. Stay in the old wing, with rooms at $20 ; the rooms in Wing 2 ($25) are dark and the ones in the new Wing 3 look like bunkers. You can rent motorbikes ($7).

• The Cung Fu, the new 3 stars of Bac Ha, is very good, but more expensive than the Sao Mai).

• Budget : Le Ngan Nga, on the small square facing « Market Street ». Simple rooms in the front building ($10), large rooms in the new back one ($15), and, above all, very friendly staff speaking English and an excellent restaurant (terrace to admire the Flower h’mongs while having a local feast).

Other excellent restaurant: the Hoang Nge, just opposite the entrance of the Sao Mai, in a cute small wooden house with terrace. The owner, Mr. Nge, take care of all your reservations –train, bus, etc.) and organize fantastic treks (see paragraph under).

A curiosity in Bac Ha : the « Castle of the King-Cat» (Vua Meo), who, contrary to what the guide books say, was neither a king nor a h’mong, but a Tay bandit who saw a great opportunity to make a fortune exploiting the locals and dealing with every thing, opium, arms, etc. with the French. His son Hoang A Tuong, inherited the fortune and built that baroque 10 000-m2 castle. Nothing to visit since the rooms are locked. It was supposed to become a museum of the local population but, economic development requesting, it seems that it is going to be a 4-star hotel.

To be done absolutely

The trekking in Bac Ha is sensational and guaranteed without tourists. According to the day of the week, you go to see a local market such as Can Cau on Saturday. For one day without market, I recommend the Bac Ha-Lung Phin-Ta Van Chu; for 2 days the Bac Ha-Ta Van Chu-Lu Than during the week and the Bac Ha-Can Cau-Ta Van Chu-Bac Ha on Saturday (for the Can Cau market). The person I know who organize them also proposes an incredible 6-day tour with departure from and return to Lao Cai. If you like, you contact me and I arrange all this for you.
MINH, MY SUV DRIVER IN VIETNAM

Of all the means of transportation to visit North Vietnam, a stunning region, but where the roads are often infernal, the best is a 4WD with a driver (foreigners cannot rent a car without a driver). I did 10 trips with him (including three 15-day ones - the ones described above) with Minh on impossible rods and remote trails, without any problems. Minh became my friend and I wish to share him with you.

MINH

MINH is one of those people who naturally impose respect. Former driver on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, then for a Public Works company, he knows the entire region upside down. He is also extremely careful, punctual, attentive to his passengers, and knows all the best little restaurants and hotels on the way. Moreover, contrary to most drivers, who have only one idea in mind, arriving at the hotel as soon as possible to be with their local girlfriend or the other drivers to play cards, he does not mind going on side trails to show you places where nobody goes; as a matter of fact, he enjoys making you discover places not described in any guide book.

In one word, I never had a problem with him. His English is enough to make you and him understood. ATTENTION: he is not a guide; he takes you everywhere, but does not give you explanations on the temples and pagodas (but he will show you the places where there were « Many Vietminh »).

THE CAR

MISUBISHI 4WD, impeccable: air con, CD player, etc.) Can hold easily 6 passengers (1 front + 2 on each back row).

RATE

The car belongs to Minh and you treat directly with him; therefore, it is cheaper than through a serious agency. I write “serious” because you might be quoted a rate of, let’s say $40/day; DON’T DO IT! There are no secrets: at that price, the driver and guide will not take you on small roads, will bring you to large hotels and restaurants where they get a commission, and will stop only if absolutely necessary, in order to arrive as early as possible at the next hotel. Like for everything, quality has a price. The price depends on the itinerary: Hanoi-Mai Chau-Tam Coc-Hanoi is not the same daily price as Hanoi-Lai Chau-Sapa because of the appalling roads. Count $70-80 per day for a (relatively) easy drive, $90-100 for long hard ones.

The price includes the car and all Minh’s expenses (hotels and meals). It DOES NOT include your hotels, restaurants, and entrance fees to monuments and national parks.

HOW TO DEAL WITH MINH

He does not speak enough English to discuss itineraries and rates. Therefore, you send me your itinerary on jaybeebacon@gmail.com; if it is OK, I ask Minh for the price. If it is not OK (which is most of the time, expect for the people who know that the average speed in the mountains is 30km/h-, I explain to you why and propose a more realistic one. When it is settled, I send e-mail you the price.

PAYMENT

You pay Minh in full in US$, Euros, or dong (your choice) the day you meet him, before leaving (I arrange the meeting for you at your Hanoi hotel). If you shorten the trip while on the road, no refund because he is not able to find another client; if you add days, the supplement is calculated pro rata.

Hereunder messages that I received from people who used Minh through me. As you can see, you are in very good hands!
1) Hello Jacques, I am Murielle, the person who went with my friend Gilles to Vietnam. I wanted to thank you for the beautiful encounter we have had thanks to you: Minh! Gilles and I are of the same generation as he is, and we connected right away. Even though our conversations were limited, we did not have o talk much to understand one another and have the same feelings. Thanks to you !

2) The trip with Minh was very very enjoyable. Minh is adorable (excellent driver, attentive to our expectations, always ready to help), the scenery was magnificent, and the people super hospitable. What we liked the most :
> That Minh stopped in villages on the road, which allowed us a good feeling of the country and its wonderful people.

> His sweetness and the comfort of the car. I hope he did not suffer too much from our constant stops for photos, toilets, etc.)
iIn any case, thank you for introducing us to Minh, whom I recommend without any hesitation!

3) Minh is fantastic. He stops everywhere there is something to see, including numerous places not explained in guide books, and he has an angelic patience with his passengers, even when they want to stop all the time for pictures. Above all, we have appreciated that he does not “race” through the tour to arrive early at the hotel, as apparently, many other drivers do (we met people who were bitterly complaining about that). Always in a good mood and highly helpful. Thank yopui Jacques for that beautiful encounter!


4) Hello
Back from our trip and we like to thank you for that North tour, which was marvellous, and above all for Minh, who is an excellent driver because the roads are impossible…Always here to help us, stops any time so that we take photos, always thinking of pleasing us. We had problems to leave him ! Tank you thank you and, believe us, we will advertise Minh with the people who like to visit Vietnam in a Jeep.
marie noelle
If Minh is not available, I have 2 other drivers, Nam and Duc, who are Minh’s friends and with whom I did some long tours without any problem.

PS1. I wish to emphasize that I am not working in or for a travel agency and do not get any commission (I am a marketing consultant and expert English-French translator). I do that only because Minh is my friend, and I like to help other people. Besides, thanks to that, I often meet wonderful tourists who become friends as well.

PS2. IF YOU WISH A GUIDE IN ADDITION TO THE DRIVER, I KNOW SEVERAL EXCELLENT ONES. COUNT 30 DOLLARS PER DAY.
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