Two-Day Trek Through Bac Ha

We spent the last two days trekking through Northern Vietnam and had a BLAST!

The journey to Bac Ha was not a short one, we spent the night sleeping on a bus. Disco lights, snoring, and people watching movies without headphones was just some of what we experienced on the trip. Some Vietnamese don’t know how to use their inside voices when answering their 2am phone calls.At 3:30am our bus arrived in Bac Ha, but once it parked, we continued to sleep on the bus until 6am. When we woke up, it was time to meet our trekking guide. Our guide, Gien, turned out to be awesome and we could not have asked for anyone better. We learned a lot about Gien during our trip. She is a Flower Hmong, part of a local tribe. She is 27 years old and was married at 17, which is very common for people that live in the villages. She has two boys a 6-year old and a 2-year old. We even got to meet her children and see her home – more on this later.

Before we set off on our trek, we visited the Sunday Bac Ha Market. This market is busy and colorful! The Flower Hmongs sell rice, corn, clothing, food, ‘happy water’, puppies, pigs, chickens, buffalo, and so much more!At 10am we set off for our first day of trekking. I don’t think either of us were ready for the 12 mile hike with a lot of up hill walking, but the views were incredible!Our first stop was Gien’s home. She was so happy and excited to show us where she lived. She welcomed us into the home she built with her husband and with help from their village. The roof was made of tin, the walls were wood, and the floor was dirt. Walking into the home we noticed that there was minimal furniture. She offered Chris and I each a small wooden stool to sit on and she sat on a bag of rice. On the back wall, there is a small “Happy New Year” shrine with red and yellow decorations. On the right side of the home is the stove and a small kitchen area. The left side of the house had a dresser in the middle of the wall and a small space sectioned off with tarp which is where her and her husband sleep. The other part of the wall had a small bed and hammock which is where her children sleep. There are wooden planks across the top of the home which they use to store food for their buffalo. It was a humbling experience to see her home, she has everything that she needs for her family in the small simple house. The view from Gien’s home.

We continued hiking past her home and into the mountains.

After a long day of hiking, we were ready to relax in our homestay for the evening. Gien helped us purchase two beers at a local market and since she was with us we were able to get them at the local rate of 10,000 Vietnamese Dong per beer (about 50¢). The evening was filled with playing with the local children, sharing a delicious home cooked meal, playing card games, and drinking “happy water”. The homemade dinner was amazing – bamboo sprouts, pumpkin leaves, a pancake dish, spring rolls, and beef with bean sprouts. It is traditional to start and end your meal with a shot of happy water. Happy water is a very strong corn based alcohol.

​​Notice the bottle of ‘happy water’ on the table.

Day 2 of trekking turned out to be a 15 mile hike! It was filled with more beautiful views and we explored a few local villages. A little rain and fog at the end of the day, but it didn’t dampen our mood! After two full days of hiking and over 60,000 steps it was time to board our night bus back to Hanoi.

More Vietnam adventures to come soon! 

Note: If you are interested in booking a trek and homestay in Bac Ha, we recommend using Sapa O’Chau. The company was started by Sun Tan, a local Hmong woman, and they employ locals to conduct the tours. By choosing a socially responsible tour we were able to help provide free schooling for disadvantaged ethnic mintority children. We learned from Gien that all education and healthcare is free in the villages. We think it’s pretty cool to give back while traveling and Sapa O’Chau helped us do this in Bac Ha. More info here: http://sapaochau.org/