Tribasia Blog

We left Sa Pa district on 26th May for Muong Lay where we were hoping to encounter other groups in a different environment. Indeed, Sa Pa is the coolest place in Vietnam being at a relatively high altitude while Muong Lay benefits from much warmer climatic conditions.

We rode through the towns of Tam Duong, Lai Chau and beautiful sceneries. Road works still made the ride pretty bumpy at times but after six hours, our bus finally arrived in Muong Lay.

What a disappointing sight! Mechanical diggers, concrete constructions and dust have transformed this place from a sleepy country town into a hellish hole. What a shame!
Even the locals seem to have given up on their town as only one hotel cater to travellers and what a disaster! It takes advantage of its monopoly by asking exhorbitant prices for a mediocre service.

Muong Lay had a much glorious past than its present demise. It apparently used to be the provincial capital of its namesake district but the authorities believed it would be swallowed by rising water at some point and moved the provincial capital to today's Lai Chau. I saw more dust than water around but here we go, that is the official version.

The cherry on the cake was the dogs! They bark and display their fangs at anyone -even locals this time- in the town itself. Imagine going for a stroll out of town! As we were on a sadomasochistic streak, we still went for a walk, armed with a long stick. As expected, we got a warm reception from our canine friends at every turn. Luckily, we managed to encounter local minorities such as the White Hmongs.

We decided to leave Muong Lay the following day and head back to Hanoi to let our wounds 'crust' over nicely, recharge our batteries and extend our visa for another piece of Vietnam. Told you, we are on a sadomasochistic streak :0)

Labels: Muong Lay, northern Vietnam