 Mai Chau is located in Hoa Binh province, approximately 135 km from Hanoi
and 60 km from Hoa Binh. From the top of Cun Mountain, one can admire
the superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt
houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai
Chau.
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. The Sunday
market brings a lot of people into town. People from different
minorities living in the mountains come to Mai Chau market to sell
their specific products: 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. Mai
Chau can be a base for some trekking tours to the villages around, this
is with homestay overnight on the traditional houses of the H'Mong and
the Thai. Worth a guided treking tour there. |
