Hanoi - Mai Chau

Heading out of Hanoi on road number 6 to Mai Chau, and idyllic valley populated by mainly White Thai ethnic people. Visiting Mai Chau, you have a chance to enjoy folk songs and traditional colourful culture of White Thai in Mai Chau. The scenery of the arrival to Mai Chau is characterized with beautiful limestone mountains and colourful hill tribes who can be seen and visited on the way. We also have an opportunity en route to learn about the culture of the rice cultivating inhabitants in the Red River valley and Da River down stream. After lunch, we have the whole afternoon free to climb up to the top of Thung Nhuoi pass. From the top of the pass there is a beautiful view of Mai Chau valley, usually and mostly engulfed by clouds still it is a sight to be enjoyed. After visiting this wonderful site, we drop down to further explore the area of White Thai people.

In the evening, we can enjoy a local dinner and overnight in a beautiful village at the edge of a river. After dinner, you can spend the evening sitting together around a fire and join in a Thai traditional music show. In their traditional attire, typical of their cultural identity, Thai women invite visitors to participate in the Xoe dance. To the rhythmical and ebullient music, the hosts and guests will dance for hours hand-in-hand. When they get tired, they stop for a while to drink special sticky rice liquor called "ruou can". Visitors who participate in the Xoe dance once, especially by the light of a fire at night are likely to remember it forever.