Halong Bay
Cruise Trips
Other Junks
Sights
The
North West Vietnam
The North West Vietnam
The north west Vietnam is famous for picturesque
mountain scenery and historic sites, especially Dien
Bien Phu battle field where the French troops were
defeated in May 1954, ending the Indochina wars which
lasted almost 100 years. There are 21 ethnic minority
groups living in this region, mainly H’mong, Day, Thai,
Ha Nhi, Kho Mu etc.
In Dien Bien Phu you can visit the following sites:
- Former bunker headquarters of the French commander, De
Castries
- Muong Thanh Bridge
- Him Lam Hill
- A1 Hill where Vietnamese soldiers detonated some 960kg
of explosives to start the general attack in the Dien
Bien Phu battle field, this is the most important
defense hills for Muong Thanh
- D1 Hill now is located in the heart of Dien Bien Phu
city
- Dien Bien Phu museum
- Pa Khoang lake by boat (600 ha) in Muang Phang commune
- Tham Bang cave
- Phieng Nam – Muong Phang primitive forest, there was a
house made of bamboo and palm, and tunnels where General
Vo Nguyen Giap used to live and command during the
56-day campaign
- Pathom cave at Pa Thom commune
Vietnam Airlines
has daily flights Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu – Hanoi, however
sometimes the airplanes cannot land as it’s too foggy.
Flight Hanoi – Son La is temporarily suspended at
present.
You can take a package tour or rent a car (with a local
driver) and travel on your own. Russian jeep is cheap
but it's hard to sit on a long distance. Japanese car
like Land Cruiser is more expensive to rent, but it’s
more comfortable and safe. The most challenging section
is Pha Din pass (35km).
From Sapa (Lao
Cai) back to Hanoi you can go by bus or by train. If you
want to get from Sapa to Hanoi through the north west
Vietnam, here is the route and distance:
Sapa – Lao Cai: 30km
Lao Cai – Lai Chau: 225km
Lai Chau – Dien Bien Phu: 105km
Dien Bien Phu – Son La: 166km
Son La – Hoa Binh (toward Mai Chau): 227km
Son La – Hanoi: 306km
(Dien Bien Phu – Hanoi: 472km)
Below is what "Hling" posted in 2006 about the NW route.
He has contributed a lot of good info in TT. Thank you
Hling and I hope you don't mind if I post here, so that
you could share these great experiences with other TTers.
The whole loop is interesting. You can go Hanoi- Mai
Chau- Moc Chau- Son La- Tuan Giao- Dien Bien Phu- Muong
La (old name: Lai Chau)- Lai Chau (old name: Tam Duong)-
Sapa. Contact
Sapa Travel
If you have not been to Mai Chau, it's worth a night in
the Thai village there. The trekking/ cycling
from the village is really beautiful. Just 22km from Mai
Chau is Pu Luong which is very new place for
tourist, and the place offers great trekking through
villages, rice terraces, limestone mountains,
streams...The drive from Mai Chau to Moc Chau is awsome
too, ask your driver to drive in the OLD road
(pretty good though), the scenery is so beautiful. Stop
in Thuan Chau on the way for the market. The best drive
is from Lai Chau (old name: Tam Duong) to Sapa which you
will go over Hoang Lien Son mountain range from the west
to the east, it's the most beautiful mountain road in
Vietnam. For the cost, it's about 250-280USD for a
maximum 7 days loop. One night extra will cost 30 USD
more without using the car or if you go not over 100km
total.
***
Take the night train to Lao Cai and go directly to
Sapa on Friday. Hang around or do trekking to the
villages. It's very easy to do by yourself to Cat Cat
(Black H'mong village and waterfall), Lao Chai
(H'mong), Ta Van (Dzay), Ta Phin (Red Dzao). Further
villages such as Giang Ta Chai, Ban Ho...it's better
to go by motobike or have a local guide with you. Two
days in Sapa is great. If you are unsure about doing the
treks by yourself, just book a local guide with your
hotel.
To go further from Sapa towards Binh Lu and Tam Duong,
it's best if you can take a jeep. If you are more than
2, it will not cost much. I guess it's 200USD maximum
for the trip. You can find a driver at a house near
Handspan office in Sapa. Do bargain. He doesn't speak
English but there are many guys around who can help you.
The couple there provide all jeeps, landcruisers.....for
all hotels and tour companies in Sapa so you surely get
better deal. To have a private jeep, it will be very
flexible for you as you may want to stop on the way. Old
landcruiser will be slightly more expensive. If you
leave Sapa on Thursday or Sunday, do leave early (6 h)
so you can see two markets in Binh Lu and Tam Duong. The
logistic should be: Sapa- Binh Lu- Tam Duong (awsome
drive- some very nice trekking in Tam Duong)- Lai Chau-
Dien Bien Phu- Tuan Giao- Son La- Moc Chau- Mai Chau.
But the driving from Lai Chau to Dien Bien Phu is not
nice and there are not many things to see in Dien
Bien Phu. I would go directly from Lai Chau to Tuan Giao
by old National 6 road. Stay one extra day in Mai Chau
is also great. Ban Lac is beautiful and very peaceful.
Some walking around the villages are great. Pu Luong is
also very nice which is 20km from Mai Chau and on the
way to Na Meo.
If you want to go by public bus, you can go to Sapa bus
station and ask for the bus to Lai Chau. Don't get off
in Binh Lu as it will be difficult for you to go from
Binh Lu to Tam Duong. If Sunday or Thursday, ask the
driver to drop you at Tam Duong Dat market. See the
market and walk/ mortobike (4-5km) to Tam Duong town.
From Tam Duong, you can ask the hotel people to help to
find the bus to Lai Chau or to Dien Bien Phu.
In Tam Duong, I stayed a few times at Phuong Thanh. $10/
room. I think there are cheaper guest house but I wanted
to do trekking so the hotel owner help me (Ms. Ha).
In Lai Chau, I stayed at Lan Anh. They have different
types of rooms which they may ask $15-$25. I also paid
$10.
In Dien Bien, I stayed at Muong Thanh. $12.
In Son La, I stayed at Sun Rise. $12.
Mai Chau: only homestay. Ms. Chung at Pom Coong village
or her mother, Mrs. Vuong. Ban Lac is just
next to it but more touristy. 50,000 VND per person.
They will cook for you with 50,000 VND/ person/ dinner
or lunch.
NOTE: The goverment has just changed the name of some
towns in the Northwest. I used all the old names, the
same as the names in the guide books that you may have.
But do ask for the new name:
Tam Duong: now called Lai Chau.
Lai Chau: now called Muong Lay.
Note: If you want to go by local bus from Sapa to Dien
Bien Phu, send a pm to "Sakya" or search his name for
the reports.
Other tips
Useful sites
1. Red Dragon
Junk, Cruise Halong Bay: 5 cabin boat on
Halong Bay
All cruises on
Halong Bay Online,
Halong bay
travel guide, Hanoi Halong Bay Tours, Maps to Halong,
2. Prince
Cruise Halong Bay Vietnam: 4 cabin cruise on Halong
Bay
3. Jayavarman
Cruise on Mekong River Vietnam Cambodia: luxury
cruise on the Mekong River
4. Hanoi Airlines:
book flight tickets to Hanoi
5. Halong Bay
Cruise: list all cruise boats on Halong Bay & Bai Tu
Long Bay
6. Hotel
Vietnam, Vietnam Hotels: book hotels and resorts in
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
7. Laos Travel
Guide: book tours in Laos with the New Road Tour
8. Cambodia
Travel: useful guides, hotels, flights, tours in
Cambodia
9. Phu Quoc
Travel Guide: useful information on Phu Quoc Island
Vietnam
10. Travel Sapa
Vietnam: tours, hotels, maps to Sapa Vietnam
11. Mekong
Delta Tours: cruise, hotels, tours in Mekong, Saigon
Other new travel sites
1. Vietnam Travel
Company: First Choice Tours in Vietnam
2. Hue Travel Guide:
guide, maps, tours in Hue Vietnam
3. Sapa Travel Tips:
Sapa guides, tourist information
4. Mekong River
Tours, Mekong Amalotus Cruise, Amalotus Cruise,
Amalotus Boat Mekong River
5. Amalotus.com,
Amalotuscruise.com, Amalotus Indochina Sails Mekong
River
6. Mekong
River Boats: Mekong Tours, Mekong River Tours
7. Hoi An Travel
Guide: Tours, maps to Hoi An
