Hello guys Ryan here and welcome to Mai Chau Vietnam.
To escape the madness of Hanoi, most tourists head 6 hours north to Sa pa.
Vietnam's go-to destination for peaceful countryside and rice paddy views.
But in less than half of that time you can find another place offering the same rural
Vietnamese experience.
In just 3 hours, we took a bus from Hanoi though the mountains to Mai Chau
I am travelling with my girlfriend Emma and she visited Sa Pa three years ago.
So we were both excited to see a place that was new for both of us.
The weather on our arrival wasn’t the best but our first views of the scenery were still
pretty breathtaking.
We’re just having a walk around and it’s absolutely stunning around here.
Today is just about walking around with no map and enjoying our first views of this amazing
scenery.
Mai Chau is home to the Ban Lac people who have tribal Thai ancestors.
For years it’s been a hidden gem far less visited than the iconic Sa Pa.
This is one of those places where I’m just constantly filming stuff because it’s so
beautiful.
Visiting Mai Chau is less about seeing any major sights, and more about just gradually
exploring the rural paths through local villages and rice fields.
And every so often you find something that you didn’t necessarily expect.
On the bus on the way in I spotted this little bamboo bridge that looks like it heads around
to a little cave over here.
So we’re going to walk across it now.
Looking at it a little closer it does look a bit sketchy and broken so fingers crossed
its ok.
The bamboo literally rolls as you step on it.
I’m not entirely sure where this goes but there’s some steps now.
Look at this!
I mean considering I had no idea where that bamboo bridge even led.
I thought it was just going to be a cave but this is much better.
Well that was awesome and completely unexpected, which is one of the coolest things about travelling
is those little unexpected unplanned events are often the best.
Good morning it’s day two here in Mai Chau and the weather has taken a turn for the best.
It’s looking absolutely amazing out there.
We’re here in October which is the harvest time which is really intresting because you
can see the different colours of the rice paddies.
You’ve got this really bright green right next to this dried out brown colour.
During our three days, we saw a full dramatic change in the landscape.
Just by chance we arrived right in the middle of the harvest, so if we had arrived only
2 days later, we would have only seen a complete sea of brown, rather than any green.
So it’s definitely worth checking what time of year you are planning on visiting, so you
can reset your expectations about what it’s going to look like.
We decided to rent bikes for the day and explore more of the scenery.
Stumbling into some very touristy areas and photo spots.
It does seem like the days of Mai Chau being a hidden gem are coming to and end.
We just passed through Lac village which was full of tourists.
Being so close to Hanoi is somewhat of a curse for Mai Chau.
The paths and towns can be busy in the middle of the day.
It’s suddenly got really busy outside this homestay here.
I think it must be a good instagram spot because people are just crowding around these flowers.
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We chose to spend those hours back at the hotel watching groups of people show up and
have photoshoots right on our front doorstep.
From what I’ve read 5 years ago you could come here and be the only tourist around but
that has definitely changed.
Saying that there is still plenty of beauty to be found.
If you head off the main track and cycle around on your own you’re going to find some peace.
We’ve had a really nice day cycling around the local area but you can’t come to Mai
Chau without checking out some of the caves.
Chieu Cave is probably the most famous.
So it’s about 1000 steps to get up to the cave but it should be worth it because the
view over the town is supposed to be amazing.
I’m quite looking forward to it.
I won’t lie that initial optimism faded pretty quickly.
It is an extremely steep climb and a lot of the steps have completely crumbled away.
This is pretty tough.
I wouldn’t do this in the middle of the day, we’ve waited until the evening so it’s
a bit cooler and I’m glad.
Wow he’s amazing.
Where?
You nearly stepped on him.
It’s actually quite nice to be in a cave with no other people.
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In the end, I really do think this cave is worth the climb, but It was still a little
sad to see all of the rubbish that had been left there, because otherwise it’s such
a beautiful place.
So the entrance of the cave isnt really a viewpoint over the area but on the walk down
through the trees its going to be good.
Even though it might not be as hidden as it used to be, Mai Chau is still a Vietnamese
gem.
A perfect easy escape from the madness of Hanoi and a really great alternative to Sapa.
Especially if you don’t have loads of time during your trip.
Next time, we head right off the beaten path in search of Vietnam’s best waterfall.
Thank you so much for watching this video make sure you like subscribe and I’ll see
you next time.