Taking Time Out at Vietnam's Mai Chau Ecolodge

[Mai Chau Ecolodge]

We couldn’t have picked our time to stay in Mai Chau any better. After spending time in some of the major cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the lure of lush green rice fields and rolling mountains was just the tonic.

Vietnam is a relatively flat country, with only a few regions boasting mountains. On a trip that has so far seen the smog of the city, the fierceness of an ocean being swept up by a typhoon thousands of kilometres away, and the serenity of the Mekong, staying in the mountains offered another perspective.

Mai Chau is also home to three minority tribes. Here the White Thai Minority have made their home. But, more on all of that later. Mai Chau is located approximately 150km south west of Hanoi. Whilst the distance might not seem onerous, it takes 3.5 to 4 hours of driving time to get there. Of course, part of the time is just trying to move through the chaos that is Hanoi traffic, but for the main part, it’s country roads.

The town of Mai Chau is not the reason to come out to this area. It’s small and apart from the main street which has a small market and a few stores, there’s not much to see. The real beauty lies a couple of kilometres down the road, in the valley, nestled in amongst the mountains.

WHERE TO STAY IN MAI CHAU
With a somewhat limited accommodation offering in this area, the Mai Chau Ecolodge would be the best option for a comfortable stay. There are home stay options available if this suits your sense of adventure and budget.
This is an independent lodge, with many people arriving here all at once on the hotel’s shuttle. This means that there will often be a queue to check-in. If you are not one of the first to be processed, the reception area is a comfortable spot to take a break from the driving.

Take a seat on one of the timber chairs and it won’t be long before you are served with a welcome drink.  This one, a strong blend of ginger, was a little overpowering for me, but quite refreshing all the same.

THE PHILOSOPHY

As the name would suggest, supporting the environment and the community through sustainable practices and processes is a high priority.  As you wander around the property, you’ll see weeds competing with other plants, all supporting different forms of life.  Bugs and other little critters lurk under the green foliage, and staff members collect garden snails every morning as a food source.  Butterflies, such serene and beautiful things are so hard to come by in so many places these days.  Here, they fly around everywhere, stopping to flap their wings on some overgrown lantana, or whizzing off beside a dragonfly (another insect not often seen!) They use chemical free products, provide water in glass bottles from their own water treatment plant to avoid the overuse of plastic bottles and use grey water in toilets.  Electricity comes from solar energy and all waste is treated on site and used in the fields once treated. Everything on this site has had input from locals, whether it be the provision of labour, products or consultation.

THE ROOMS

The eco lodge and its rooms cascade down the hill, affording all of them a view of the mountains and the paddocks at their base.  Ranging from superior rooms, right through to the Presidential Suite, and several options in between there is something to suit everyone’s situation. We stayed in the Junior Deluxe, a very spacious, airy and comfortable room, with an unimpeded view across to the mountains. Due to the time of year, the rice fields had been harvested, meaning that they look more brown than green.  Still, so much work is obvious in the fields and it was amazing just to watch how hard they all worked.  The mountains in the background were of course as green as ever. 

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