Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [321]
The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 | Son La and around |
Around Son La
There are several caves around town that are worth a look, the most convenient being Que Lam Ngu Che Cave (daily 7.30–11am & 1.30–5.30pm; free), which is situated just north of the Hoa Ban 2 Hotel and has a small shrine inside surrounded by strange formations in the rock. A 500-year-old poem written by King Le Thai Tong carved into the stone remains visible today on the outside of the cave. You can go there alone – just look for the sign 150m north of the hotel, or a guide from the Trade Union Hotel will take you for a small fee. Tham Tat Tong Water Cave is located a couple of kilometres further north out of town, and at the time of writing was closed to visitors, but any excuse to walk in the countryside around Son La brings rich rewards, such as meetings with friendly villagers, lush panoramas of karst hills and paddy fields alive with butterflies. Follow the road north from the Hoa Ban 2 Hotel for nearly 2km and turn left just before a concrete bridge onto a footpath tracing the river upstream over an ancient stone bridge – according to local legend, built by a Black Thai queen a thousand years ago. Continue up the road another 150m until just before the road bends to the right, then turn left down a small path for 50m, to reach a barbed-wire enclosure where the river emerges from the hillside. There’s also a second, dry cave directly overhead – a short scramble up beside the wire – in which, when open, you can walk the first 50m of a system said to be 7km long. Women at the gate will give you a torch to use for 10,000đ. Just beyond the turning for Tham Tat Tong Cave is one of Son La’s nearest, though still rarely visited, minority villages. Instead of turning left at the concrete bridge continue on the road towards a cliff-face punched with a round cavern, reputed to contain gold, about 70m up. Turn left before the cliff and you pitch up in BAN CO, a Black Thai community of about fifty stilthouses constructed of bamboo, and fenced round with hedges of poinsettia and hibiscus. The dress of the Black Thai women is particularly striking – especially the brightly embroidered headscarves that they drape over their long hair piled up in huge buns. Their tight-fitting blouses with rows of silver buttons, often in the shape of butterflies, are also distinctive. In colder weather, many wear a green, sleeveless sweater over the blouse, or a modern jacket in pink, blue, green or maroon.
If you’ve got more time, a popular jaunt takes you out to BAN MONG, another Thai village six scenic kilometres along a luxuriant valley south of Son La. The houses of this village are solid, wooden structures surrounded by gardens of fruit trees rather than vegetables. A scummy pond at the village edge is in fact a hot spring that provides water for the bathhouse and laundry at a constant 30°C. To get to Ban Mong, take the turning off Highway 6 opposite the prison, or take a xe om from Son La for the return trip (20,000đ return).
It’s also possible to take in Ban Mong as part of a longer trek which heads northwest out of Son La before wheeling south through the villages of several minorities, eventually linking up with the hot spring. It’s about six hours’ walking in all, so you’ll need a whole day, and take food and plenty of water, as there are no shops until you get to Ban Mong. As the route’s fairly complicated it’s best to drop by the Trade Union Hotel, where you can take their one-day tour covering all the attractions mentioned above. Certain minority villages stage events for tour groups, such as traditional Thai dancing or supping the local home brew, a sweet wine made of glutinous rice; it’s drunk from a communal earthenware container using bamboo straws, and hence named ruou can, or stem alcohol.
The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 |
Onto Mai Chau
From Son La Highway 6 climbs east,