The Far North of Vietnam - Another Inspection Trip

There was an article about the "roof of Vietnam" a couple of months ago in a famous New York newspaper. From that moment on, demand for the region has increased. Tour operators start promoting it. Everybody wants to follow the trend. 9 days of inspections in the far north that means the same food every day, hotel rooms with mattresses which are harder than the floor, and driving, driving, driving, up and down, through winding serpentine roads. The landscape was great. If I hadn't seen it through the windows of the sixteen-seater Ford Transit all day long because the schedule was that tight, maybe I had regarded it as a rewarding experience. Knowing the Swiss Alps or having seen the Grand Canyon and other fascinating landscapes on TV, however, somehow I feel that people often tend to make it all more spectacular than it is. In the end, it is just another landscape. Visiting local villages was more interesting that the sightseeing itself. The world seems not to have changes for hundreds of years. Yet there we did not have too much of interaction. This would actually be most interesting for travelers. But then again, there would need to be a strategy for managing these relationships. Already now, kids are running for sweets once a tourist car arrives. People in my company and from the local supplier say it is not good to educate the local people in such way; but still they do it and like to see the happy faces of the children receiving gifts and sweets but no toothbrushes. The industry doesn’t stop to bother me, in the way that people working in it are just far too ordinary. Except for the few really creative or extraordinary entrepreneurs, somehow, there is not much of vision, responsibility and depth behind the tourism circus. Part of the whole thing, I will stitch the products together. It will still be something great and unique to offer our guests. So soon I won't visit the region again, unless on a motorbike, alone or with friends, to really discover life or nature through trekking rather than being an ordinary tourist. Being a traveler sounds better to me.

Found in a restaurant on the way to Ba Be Lakes: the disgusting habits of

the East Asians…said to be good for health. Cheers then!

 

A cave on the river connecting the three Ba Be Lakes…

 …with scenes on the riversides that could come from a fairytale.

Ba Be Lakes, an almost untouched National Park with pristine lakes surrounded by primary forests.

a fascinating boat ride through the limestone cliffs and forest-covered karst scenery.

locals on a raft on the Ba Be Lakes

Bac Ngoi Village offers a few home-stay options.

an old suspension bridge near Bao Lac - used by pupils as a shortcut on the

way to school despite its missing planks

winding roads through the far north of Vietnam

kids along the way

the mountain plateau of Dong Van - a UNESCO geo-park

hosts and guests in Dong Van

domestic tourists on a motorbike trip taking self portraits

Transportation of corn…

…and other goods along the mountain roads and through valleys.

hosts and guests: kids running for gifts

hosts and guests: the team distributing gifts - a questionable practice

hosts and guests: more sweets for photos

hosts and guests: women among themselves

Pho Co Cafe - coffee shop in the old quarter of Dong Van Town

a Hmong household somewhere in Dong Van area

landscapes around Yen Minh

the Vuong King's palace near Meo Vac

food options in the northern mountains

magnificent Lung Tam Valley near Quan Ba

The Hop Tien Flax Waving cooperative…

…assisting women that returned after having being sold to China.

landscapes around Quan Ba

team members talking to a farmer in a Hmong Village near Meo Vac

weaving in a Hmong Village

a Hmong villager demonstrating the traditional mating dance

a small farmstead in Ha Giang area

terraced rice fieleds around Hoang Su Phi

a horse at Pan Hou Lodge

a farmer with buffalos in Hoang Su Phi

a tea processing factory in Hoang Su Phi

a colleague with kids of Ban Pho Valley

Hoang A Tuong Castle in Bac Ha

market scene in Coc Ly (pay attention to the baby!)

visitor of Coc Ly market smoking a pipe

local handicrafts at Coc Ly Market

one of the alcohol sellers at Coc Ly market

a boat trip on Chay River

Lao Cai Street scene: a bird cage manufacturer

Cyclo drivers in Lao Cai

at the palace of a Hanoi artist: Thanh Chuong

flying home from just another inspection trip