Mai Chau

Mai Chau is located in Hoa Binh Province, approximately 135km from Hanoi and 60km from Hoa Binh Town. From the top of Cun Pass, one can admire the superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by the green valley and stilt houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.

Coming to Lac Village in Mai Chau, you will see stilt houses border both sides of the roads. The houses are quite large with palm leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house; the cooking as well as the making of the colorful “tho cam”, the material used by Thai minority to make their clothes, takes place in the kitchen. The windows are large and decorated with patterns. Each house also has a pond to breed fish.

Here in the village, people are willing to open their door to welcome visitors for an overnight homestay and greet you with traditional “Xoe’ dances and local “rượu cần” (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes) which is made of wild leaves, glutinous rice, and ginger. These ingredients are mixed and then wrapped in large banana leaves and left in a corner of the house for a couple of days. After the process of fermentation has been completed, the whole brew is put into a big jar. All guests sit around the jar and enjoy rượu cần through long straws. How wonderful it is!

Mai Chau bursts out into life especially at the Sunday market when a lot of people from different minorities living in the mountains come into town to sell their specific products such as honey, bananas, corn, and “tho cam” made by skilled Thai women. The Sunday market is also an occasion to enjoy traditional Thai dishes and to participate in traditional dances.