A Luoi

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A small town on a plateau among the hills, surrounding by ethnic minority villages, A Luoi doesn't get a lot of western visitors, but you're guaranteed a lot of smiles and curiosity if you show up. Sometimes visited as an overnight for those riding the Ho Chi Minh Highway north or south, the road to the north and south of A Luoi is incredibly beautiful, and even if you're just going between Hue and Dong Ha, plan to take the long way round with a stop here if you have the time.

While there are some historic war sites in the area, there are no travel companies or guides based in A Luoi, so you won't be able to base a trip from here. In any case, there are no war remains at any of the sites, they are unmarked, and would only be of real interest to returning Vets, who will do best to make arrangements in Hue or Dong Ha. Sites in this category include Landing Zones Razor, Cunningham and Erskine as well as Hamburger Hill.

If you're with a guide, you'll probably be visiting an ethnic village at some point in your journey. But if you're in A Luoi independently with time on your hands, you can visit on your own. Take the road along the south side of the central market heading west. You'll soon cross a bridge after which you'll take a left. The road continues for about 5km, passing through some great countryside and a number of ethnic Pa Co and Bru villages.

The Bru women are known for smoking pipes -- in fact they never seem to stop smoking them, even when they are up to their knees in mud collecting manioc. They seem to be pretty easy going about posing for pictures, and we have to admit, it makes for a great pic. The road eventually winds back to highway 14, just to the south of A Luoi.

This area is very close to the Lao border. If you wander around, you may pass some signs saying that you are entering the 'Frontier Zone.' Our best information is that the area is not off-limits to foreigners, at least not in any way that's enforced. We do it all the time, and we've never been stopped by the fuzz. We can't guarantee, however, that no one will ever run into trouble with the authorities.

Accommodation: A Luoi
Aliha Guest House | Du Lich Guest House |

Text and/or map last updated on 21st August, 2009.

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A Luoi reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

Sleepy Town in the Vally

We ware in A Loui only for a short stop. It was rainy and quite cold. The town itself is quite small and not very pretty. But the way to and from it is very beautiful. We stead in Aliha.. The sheets are not to fresh (maybe just old) and there are only wool blankets (without sheet) but the shower is hot and wifi is working and the stuff is very helpful (but not English speaking). We paid 120 000 VDN. We found Noodle sup shop nearby and there are some others restaurants around. There is also hotel (they started at 30dollar and went down to 10, it was clean and new but it was smelly - but I'm Â more sensitive to smell then others) Â on the same side of the street and another guesthouse opposite. By nice weather it's for sure nice stop.
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By Spinka (dabbler)
Written on 13th January, 2013 after a visit to A Luoi in January, 2013

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