Lai Chau province
The scenery of Lai Chau province, especially between Muong Lay and Lai Chau town is some of the most spectacular scenery you can see in the far northwest of Vietnam.
The limestone mountains are striking, making it yet another 'Halong Bay on the Land', with abrupt peaks reaching into the distance in misty shades of green and grey, and on a clear day you can spy some of the larger peaks rising from the Chinese side of the border. As it is off-limits to casual travel, the area around Lai Chau town is as close as you're likely to get to the Chinese frontier in this part of the country. The border crossing is not open to foreigners.
The area has a large number of ethnic minorities, and new roads have made the mountain-top village of Sinh Ho a good destination for a day trip, or a a stop-off on the way through. The region is particularly popular with cyclists, which is starting to make the unassuming town of Phong To, 30 km east of Lai Chau town, a place to park for the night. The new Lai Chau town doesn't have a whole lot to offer, and is the site of a lot of development which is impinging on the scenic views, but it's perfectly-positioned for an overnight between Sapa and Muong Lay.
The Name Game
As a result of the massive dam construction, the landscape of Lai Chau is set to change substantially when a number of towns and their surrounds are submerged. As a result of this, the Vietnamese government has changed a lot of the names of towns in Lai Chau province, or rather has switched a lot of the names around, leading to confusion. Many people still show up to the old Lai Chau expecting to arrive in the old one, and vice versa. Most of the maps we've seen, even some very good ones, are outdated on this score and yours is likely to be as well.
