Mu Cang Chai - The most peaceful highland you can ever find in Vietnam

I live for the dream that my children will be born free. That they will be what they like — Red Rising

Mu Cang Chai must be my most favorite highland city in the whole Vietnam. Only two days trekking around this peaceful place back in 2019 but the memory is still so vivid in my mind.

It was actually an accident how we ended our loop in the North of Vietnam after backpacking in Sapa. We were getting tired on the way back to Hanoi. Bertrand was so done driving his heavy tail (me) so he wandered on the map for a while then pick up the greenest area to stop by, and it is Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai.

I dropped my sweater while we were trying to drive up a muddy road. Some kids were running and yelling behind us, i thought they just made fun of us until I realized they could not speak Vietnamese and they were trying to give the sweater back to me.

Terrace rice field is what Mu Cang Chai famous for.

We did not stay in the city center as it is so plain as always so we lost in the mountain puzzle for 1 hour before we found our homestay in the middle of nowhere, standing alone among the trees, rice field and bamboo trees.

Our homestay, the only one in the whole village.

Not like Sapa or Ha Giang, at th time we went to this village in Mu Cang Chai, it is still really new to tourists. My homestay was the only one and the whole community depends on one small grocery store. We ate what the landlord gave us and they mostly cooked ethnic food. I honestly could eat just half of the food he made because I am not used to the flavor, but god knows, the grilled chicken I ate there was the BEST cuisine ever.

We climbed up 3km to go to our landlord's farm, helped them harvest the apples and peaches.

In the late afternoon, some ladies siting in front of the terrace rice field embroidering stuffs, they put on some music from an old radio next to them. I am sure this people know how to enjoy life.

I am sitting there, next to her, listen to her talk, but I do not know the language

Another lady caught me walking around and of course she could not speak Vietnamese but she had me visit her home. The language can never be the barrier.

That was an amazing summer loop with my dearest friend, Bertrand. Hope it is nice everywhere he goes.