Mai Chau is a town in the Northern Province of Hoa Binh. Small and mountainous, even characterized as a “semi-isolated village in Vietnam.” But this tiny place is no small deal as it has earned a high distinction of being in the Top Ten “Fresh” Asian Destinations by the popular hotel booking website Agoda.com.

According to the booking site, Mai Chau is surrounded by limestone cliffs and green rice paddies. The major population of the town is composed of the ethnic White Thai tribe.

The list is an annual tradition of the website's editorial team. The criteria for being selected is based on booking patterns, customer reviews, and interview with the local experts. All the tourist destinations included in the list had high growth rates and increasing number of visitors, both local and foreign.

Mai Chau is basically a traditional town, if not even backward. Rice paddies and hills are mostly all that make up the place. But what it lacks in modern facilities, it more than makes up for in its spectacular natural sights. Its markets and caves are also among its crowd-drawing features.

Agoda.com's Top Ten “Fresh” Asian Destinations for this year 2013 are: Tana Toraja in Indonesia; Nantou in Chinese Taiwan; Ella in Sri Lanka; Ipoh in Malaysia; Hakone in Japan; Damyang County in South Korea; Phonsavan in Laos; Kep in Cambodia; Khanom in Thailand; and of course, Mai Chau in Hoa Binh.