The Destination The remote village of Lac Village in Hoa Binh Province is a perfect respite from the craziness of the urban side.  Its serene, relaxing rural idyll and the vivid green paddy fields will match your picture postcard fantasies of the Vietnamese countryside. The village can be found in Chieng Chau Commune, Mai Chau District, around 135 kilometers west of ${bigcity_Hanoi:"Hanoi"}. Most of its residents belong to the Thai ethnic group, with Vietnam’s major ethnic group, the Kinh, making up the rest.

Its isolation has allowed a traditional way of life to thrive in a way that you wouldn’t expect so close to the capital city. The village was built in the 13th century, and people live mainly on weaving and farming their terraced paddy fields. The road to the village travels over Cun Hill and Thung Nhuoi Pass, but that does not deter foreign tourists from coming here to enjoy its clean, fresh air and stilt houses.

You heard it right - stilt houses. There are no hotels or resorts in Lac Village. The stilt house where you will be home-staying in will be your hotel. The central government only allowed visitors to stay here overnight in 1993 following many pleas by Hoa Binh authorities. Of the 116 families in the village, 31 host visitors.

The living space in the houses is two meters above the ground, with the portion beneath having the kitchen and space to show off local products. Foreign visitors who come by are very excited about sleeping in a stilt house.

The village maintains a festive mood year-round. Because of that, word-of-mouth publicity attracted hordes of tourists. There are 40 houses that do not accommodate visitors but offer sightseeing tours of local handicrafts such as weaving and making souvenirs like arrows, crossbows, and rattles.

The village has a “5-No’s” slogan: No beggars, no street vendors, no getting drunk, no karaoke parlors, and no thieving. Tourists are amazed how peace is kept in this area. None of the houses have doors to close at night or wardrobes to lock in things.

Foreigners often stay long enough to learn the basics of weaving, making simple souvenirs, and join locals on their terraced fields.

The People

Locals speak English, French, and Chinese. Their hospitality is among the many things mostly appreciated by tourists that come this way. For them, they are not treated like visitors but like a relative. At night visitors are entertained by singing and dancing by the very people who served them food earlier.

Since the cheap and friendly homestay services have turned the village into a tourism hotspot during the recent years, locals enjoyed decent incomes and have greatly improved their living. In fact, many of the villagers now own cars.

The Budget

It only costs around VND100,000 (US$5) for a night’s stay and a dinner spread made using local ingredients.

Visitors can rent a colorful local dress for a day for a mere VND10,000-20,000, or half to one dollar.

The Food

The village is known for its delectable sticky rice dishes. Meals will have to be ordered in advance since locals do not have refrigerators or store food. This means meals are always fresh. Markets open very early in the morning, selling fresh vegetables and fruits that are plucked overnight.

Meals are complemented with a bottle of wine which everyone drinks using bamboo straws.

How to get there

A visit to Lac Village is a good way to meet one of the ethnic minority groups in a setting that’s neither too touristy nor too inaccessibly off-the-beaten-track. To get there from Hanoi, travel 70 kilometers along Road No. 6 to reach Hoa Binh. Continue further around 60 kilometers to Mai Chau District. Lac village is after Cun Hill, which is 12 kilometers long, and a small pass called Thung Nhuoi. It takes around five hours to get there (from Hanoi).