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THE NORTHEAST
The
trip to the Far North
 Parts
of the Far North are particularly
isolated and difficult to visit.
However, this isolation adds to the
region’s beauty, as many areas are
still extremely unspoiled, and
distant from the popular tourist
trail to reach Ba Be lakes in Bac
Can province is a challenge, but one
well worth pursuing. The road
between That Khe and Lang Son, whose
beauty of plunging ravines riddled
with caves, hides a grim and bloody
past, is also worth the effort to
see. To the North of Cao Bang is Pac
Bo, near the cave in which Ho chi
Minh lived upon first returning to
Vietnam from China. The Far North of
Vietnam is home to numerous tribes
of ethnic minority groups. They live
in some of the most isolated places,
subsisting through traditional
means. Some of the tribes you may
encounter are the Tay, Nung, Zao,
H'mong, and the San Chi. Farther
afield in Ha Giang province there is
a variety of hill tribes numbering
from several thousand members to
only a few hundred people.
This
guide follows a path beginning in
Thai Nguyen, to the North of Hanoi,
and heading North to Bac Can and the
Ba Be lakes before moving Northwest
to Cao Bang. From there we head
South through Dong Khe and That Khe
to Lang Son, the other main gateway
between China and Vietnam for
foreign visitors.
Thai Nguyen
The
only reason you would want to stay
in Thai Nguyen was if there was a
flood and all the roads were
impassable. For those that want to
explore Thai Nguyen, it just has the
remains of a citadel from the early
1800s, and a Museum with
exhibits of the ethnic groups in the
Northern region. Thai Nguyen is also
an important player in Vietnam’s
steel industry.
Ba Be Lakes
in Bac Kan province
The
road from Thai Nguyen to Bac Kan is
in pretty good condition and passes
through some very scenic areas, esp.
the bowl-shaped tea hills.
Among all the regions planting green
tea for domestic use and export in
Vietnam, Thai Nguyen offers the best
and sometime you may mistake that
the Vietnamese is keen on foreign
products if they mention about the
excellent "Thai tea".
The only real sight in Bac Kan is Ba
Be Lakes, 230km from Hanoi and 80km
to the Northwest of Bac Kan town.
"Ba Be" means "three seas", an
ornate expression which just means
the three big lakes. It's several
kilometer from Ba Be Guesthouse to
the Main Wharf, from which you can
rent a boat and turn right to row or
run along the Nang River. The river
trip is a marvel: there are a clear
flow and a muddy flow, which
(incredibly) do not mix, on the same
riverbed (!); and you can either
jump in the clear water for a swim
or simply lye on the boat
contemplating the wonderful
untouched nature surrounding with
bamboo clusters, lianes and flowers
along the riversides and watching
the fishermen in their piraguas
fishing aquatic products. After 3km
you will reach Puong Cave, a
mysterious sight with twilightful
stalagtites and stalagmites, which
seems like the end of the river. But
if you meander by boat some 300m
inside, the river will be finally
opened and you escape from the cave.
It takes you an hour more to reach
Dau Dang Waterfall that is quite
sightworthy. Reaching the lakes is
going upstream from Dau Dang,
turning right to a small flow, then
going ahead 1km more. The Lake Zone,
8km long and 3km wide, set in a
picturesque national park and
contain 3 lakes surrounded by
vertical rock walls, from which many
currents fall down between many
kinds of creepers cling, and a wild
forest where many species of birds
abound. If you have time, you can
also have another visit to a
village-on-stilt by taking a boat
from the Main Wharf and turn left,
go for 4km till you reach the small
village's watering place and get
some experience of a working day of
the farmer and fishermen over here.
Cao Bang town
Cao Bang town is in the proximity of
the Chinese border which recently
made it a veritable boom town with
quite new flash development. The
only reason to stop at Cao Bang is
to recharge your batteries for a bit
before reaching other sightworthy
points in the neighbourhood, of
which Ban Gioc Waterfall is the
best. Located right on Quy Son river
which divides the two countries,
from where you can either see and
reach China,
Ban Gioc is a bone of border
contention. At over 90 km from Cao
Bang and more than 2 hours driving
each way, it worths a full day's
outing and looks spectacular in the
rainy season, i.e. May to September,
but not so exciting in the rest of
the year. Another attraction is Pac
Bo Cave, 54 km to the Northwest of
Cao Bang, also next to the Chinese
border. It was the base of Ho Chi
Minh and his comrades after he
returned to Vietnam in 1941 after 30
years living and acting in
revolutionary movements overseas to
encourage all supports for the
Vietnamese patriots.
Lang Son
Lang
Son is the chief town of the
province under the same name, yet it
mainly serves the travelers as a
point to stop off on their way to
somewhere else. This is a popular
place to cross to and from China,
esp. after the two countries
reopened the border. The town still
contains the remains of a citadel
built in 18th century,
and there are numerous hilltribe
villages around this area,
particularly those of the Tay, Nung
and Zao. The Vietnamese tourists
also stop here to visit Buddhist
pagodas built inside Nhi Thanh and
Tam Thanh Caves, which are believed
to have echo twice (Nhi Thanh) or
three times (Tam Thanh). Lang Son is
also famous for winter fruits like
peaches, pears, plums and persimmons
and for grilled ducks and porks,
which evidently bear the influence
of Chinese Guangdong cuisine.
To cross to China from Lang Son is
passing over Dong Dang bordergate
which is 20 km from Lang son. If you
are entering Vietnam from here, you
MUST have the correct entry point
(Dong Dang) marked on your visa,
otherwise you may be turned away.
This can create a problem as you
would have already officially left
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