Travel to Muong ethnic people’s region by motorcycle

Travel to Muong ethnic, from Hanoi Vietnam, I did not follow the designed tours of the travel services but made a discovery journey by motorcycle to Hoa Binh Province Vietnam, the mountainous region where the Muong, one of the largest minority people groups in Vietnam, live.

After visiting many famous landscapes in Hanoi, I came back to the restaurant at 2pm thinking “Why not make a trip to Hoa Binh to explore this area and visit the Hoa Binh hydropower plant, the largest one in Vietnam”.

Then, I questioned the receptionist of the motorbike hiring service and was told to call (04) 8246 460 for this service and that I have to give my identity card as security.

I convinced her rent a motorbike to me without security and she rented one to me for VND80,000 for 24 hours plus VND5,000 for the helmet. When the lender came with his motorbike, I knew that I could have found a better one but at a higher price.

The best vehicle is a scooter, but tourists have to give not only identity cards but also extra money as security.

At 3pm, I started my journey, following National Highway 6A at a speed of 30 to 40 km/h, passing Hanoi, Ha Dong City and then Chuong My District of Ha Tay Province. I came to Luong Son District of Hoa Binh Province, which is a rugged area with many mountains and terraced fields.

I lingered there for a while and then went to visit the area’s Phoenix Golf Course which is 50 kilometers from Hanoi. I found this golf course interesting for it leans against a high rocky mountain and I thought that mountain climbing could be an attractive service for the staff to offer golfers.

I continue my journey to Ky Son District, where I have to stop several times to visit the eco-tourism areas along the highway. These areas are built in the design of the houses on stilts like Muong people use and they sell ruou can (wine) and other specialties of the Muong. Ruou can of Muong people is one of the most famous wines of all the minority groups in Vietnam.

Travel to Muong ethnic, From Ky Son, National Highway 6A runs almost parallel with the mighty and poetic Da River. It was 6 pm and because of wandering, I had only gone 70 kilometers in three hours.

However, riding along this street at this hour, I watched a dreamlike scene of the Da River blurring in the mountain’s mist.

At last, I reached Hoa Binh City at the foot of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant and did not waste time making a tour of the city.

When I stopped to have lunch in a restaurant, its owner told me that in the past Hoa Binh City was only on one side of the Da River. When the hydropower plant started in 1979 and finished in 1994, the city began developing on the other side of the river and the city now is connected with a bridge called the Hoa Binh Bridge.

The bridge, which is two kilometers higher than the spillway of the hydropower plant, is a scenic and popular place for young people in the morning and when night falls.

In a thirty minute tour of the city, I saw several hotels and guesthouses such as the Suoi Tri Hotel, the Hoang Gia Hotel and the Song Da Hotel with prices from VND100,000 to VND300,000 a night. I chose a one-bed room with an air conditioner, water heater and television for only VND100,000. However, there was no cable television and after 9pm there is a channel for the Muong people.

Travel to Muong ethnic, the next morning, I woke up and rode to the bank of the hydropower plant to watch this mighty plant and the people of Hoa Binh arriving there to fish and relax

If you go there by car, you have to buy a ticket. While viewing the plant, I could not help but admire the architects and the workers who built a dam of almost 200 meters in height and 1000 meters wide linking the two giant mountains.

I left the motorbike for the keeper and bought a ticket to visit the plant’s lake by boat. The helmsman said that dividing the Da River to make the hydropower created this lake which is 230 kilometers long and extends from Hoa Binh City to Son La Province.

The lake not only stores water to create electricity but also has become an attractive tourism destination. Tourists from near and far call it the “Ha Long Bay in the mountain” because it has mountain tops that pierce the waters surface looking like the islets of Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province.

(Source: SGT)