I’m in Mai Chau, a few hours west of Hanoi when I post a photo of lush rice fields in the valley on my Instagram account. The rain has eased, but the mist is still entangled with the peaks ringing the valley. It is lovely.
This drone video really captures the beauty of the terraces.
Not long later I post the photo, I receive a message from a follower on Instagram. Am I in Pu Luong? I’ve never heard of the place, but after a quick search decide I need to go there. If you’re in Hanoi and looking for a diversion, check it out (map link).
The next morning I grab a quick pho then leave Mai Chau, heading west on Route 15. Soon I start sidling along the east bank of the Ma River and not long after, Route 15C veers off to the south. I follow, leaving what little traffic there was behind me.
Hello greenery. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
While just as easily done by hired car, the road is terrific motorbiking. Winding but well sealed, I cruise southeast along the valley wall. While I’m surrounded by forest, when I grab a glimpse of the valley floor, it is all terraced fields. I pause at a few viewpoints along the way. At one, perched above a tiny village, I watch life go on from my vantage point way up above.
Later the valley opens and the terraces just go and go and go. The sky filled with heavy, low slung cloud, paddies below, forest to the left and right. It is stunning.
Moody weather. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
After about an hour of riding I start to hit some scattered tourist services. A homestay here, a viewpoint restaurant there, but then I reach the turn–off to the main deal.
I’m being a bit generous calling it a turn–off. It is more a narrow concrete (in places) road. There’s a signboard with an indecipherable map illustrating where a few dozen homestays are.
Of course the place I booked, Puluong Mr Thinh Treehouse, isn’t on the map.
By the top of the trail there is a resort so I wander in and ask if they know where my place is. Of course they know the owner and give him a call. Fifteen minutes later someone shows up—relieved to see I’m on a scooter rather than in a car.
A blanket of rice laid over the valley floor. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
He beckons me to follow. The road narrows, becoming a trail then a track, then something less. We pull over to the side to let domestic tourists walk past us, then continue on.
The scenery is sublime.
We arrive. I’d booked a US$25 “tree house” but when the friendly owner sees my height he suggests I take a look first. The tree house is a wooden platform with four walls and a roof and just big enough to fit a mattress on the floor. It overlooks the horizon pool (yes really) but I ask if I can see something else please.
My humble abode. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
I end up in a more than comfortable two bed bungalow with my own bathroom and a balcony taking in the view. I love it.
I’m the only guest, and not long after a knock at my door summons me for lunch. The deal is full board—so three meals a day ... plus rice wine. Lunch is enough to keep me going for an entire day and yet the food just keeps on coming. Simple but delicious.
I try to walk off lunch exploring the fields. There’s a good network of trails and I spend the afternoon walking, reading and taking photos. I’ve seen more than my fair share of terraced rice fields, but it is lovely.
The struggle is real. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
There are a smattering of local tourists about and no shortage of selfie moments. Then it is time to hike back up from the valley floor for dinner—which puts lunch to shame.
Pu Luong has a bunch of kind of contrived “attractions”, but the true beauty of the place is what comes naturally. While I spend some of the next day walking, I also spend a much of it camped on my deck. Drinking coffee, reading, snoozing.
And that’s a large part of the appeal here. Yes, you can go out and do stuff, or you can just appreciate it for what it is—a beautiful hideaway. And at just three or so hours from Hanoi by minibus, how’s that for a diversion?
Couchfish Diversion 3: Pu Luong, Vietnam