Hoa Binh

Formerly, I thought Hoa Binh was just a small province of VN with a lot of rough mountains, hills & many ugly ethnic people. In other words, it’s not comfortable for me to travel there. But now, I’ve changed my mind…
Last month, I took part in a tour to Hoa Binh with my 209 family RELUCTANTLY. Because my boyfriend told me if I didn’t enjoy, he would be angry. So I had to go.Haiz~
The tourist guide talked a lot on the bus. What a talkative man! Like my BF .He said that Hoa Binh is a mountainous province in the North. It is bordered by Phu Tho and Ha Tay in the north, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa in the south, Ha Nam in the east, and Son La in the west. Yeah yeah yeah!
But I was really amazed at the moment I got down the bus. I was standing in the place which is combined by imposing mountains and narrow valleys. The annual average temperature varies between 23 and 25ºC.How wonderful!
The culture of Hoa Binh combines several ethnic groups with their own languages, traditional literature, and festivals. I was mistaken about “the ugly ethnic people”. They’re very interesting to discover.
We especially enjoyed the ethnic specialty dishes including rice cooked in bamboo and grilled meat. At night, we stayed in stilt houses at Lac Village in Mai Chau Valley, enjoyed watching traditional dancing, music performances (bronze drums, gongs), and Thai minority singing and dancing.
One day, when one of my friend, Blaine ate too much rice and grilled meat. So he had a stomachache. But he didn’t tell anyone. I’m sure that he was embarrassed. He endured by himself. I think he should answer nature’s call. If not……. Oh you know. However, he just stood on the ground and looked around. Kim – the girl he like best in class - caught his difference, she asked him obligingly. His face turned red. And he ran to an ethnic person man tried to make them understand that he wanted a toilet immediately but that person couldn’t understand. So he acted crazily. Finally, that man could understand and took him to a place had a lot of leaves. After that, Kim took care him carefully and we went to sleep. That’s our funniest memory in this trip. And one love story came out. Thanks to this trip. =))
The remote Muong, Dao, Tay minority villages draw visitors who like study the life of ethnic groups. Beautiful brocade and forest products are interesting souvenirs. Visitors are also fascinated by superb beauty of Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Power Plant, the largest one in Vietnam. Boating on Da River is an enjoyable feeling.
Apart of these, scientific tests have shown that the mineral water at Kim Boi Hot Spring is good for drinking, bathing and treatment.
Road and water transportation are convenient. There is National Highway No. 6 from Hanoi vie Ha Tay to Hoa Binh, Son La, National Highway No. 15 from Mai Chau to Thanh Hoa, National Highway No. 12B from Hoa Binh to Nho Quan (Ninh Binh). Hoa Binh Town is 76km from Hanoi. Da River is 5km from Hoa Binh City. Mountainous terrain with Thac Bo, Hoa Tien grottoes, Ret Cave, Pu Nooc Primitive forest and many clean springs are suitable for swimming, climbing, walking, and hunting.
The last day, we had to say goodbye to Hoa Binh.
We had fun here :D
~CRIMISON~