Mai Chau is located in
Hoa Binh province, approximately 135 km from Hanoi and 60 km from Hoa Binh. From the top
of Cun Mountain, one can admire the superb
panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. Many
minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.
Stilt houses border
both sides of the roads. The houses are quite large with palm leaf roofs and
polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house;
the cooking as well as the making of the colorful tho cam, the material used by
Thai minority to make their clothes, takes place in the kitchen. The windows
are large and decorated with patterns. Each house also has a pond to breed
fish.
The Sunday market
brings a lot of people into town. People from different minorities living in
the mountains come to Mai Chau market to sell their specific products: honey,
bananas, corn, and tho cam made by skilled Thai women. The Sunday market is
also an occasion to enjoy traditional Thai dishes and to participate in
traditional dances.
Mai Chau can be a base
for some trekking tours to the villages around, this is with home stay overnight
on the traditional houses of the H'Mong and the Thai. Worth a guided trekking tour
there.