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Region: Northwest Vietnam> Province: Lai Chau>Location: Muong Lay
Muong Lay sights and attractions
Things to do around Muong Lay - Markets and trekking
Description
The only tour agency in town is the Lan Anh Hotel itself, and, sadly, they aren't much interested in running independent tours anymore. There was a guy who used to do it, but he got another job. He still hangs out at the hotel sometimes, though, and he can give you some advice and send you off with one of the hotel's inaccurate maps. He's easy to spot since he's the only one that really speaks English.
It's too bad because organised trekking out to some of the minority communities in the province can be a lot of fun. Also many of the communities hold regular markets where people from the surrounding areas come to sell and trade almost anything of value , everything from stunning embroidered works to buying and trading horses and pigs.
Of particular note is the Dao San market on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month and the Muong So market on Mondays.
Deo Van Long (Ruins of the Van Long Residence) - One of Bao Dai's digs
Description
One trip we did manage to sort out on our own while we were in town was to go check out the ruins of the abandoned residence of the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai. He was the last of the puppet emperors to do the French colonial government's bidding. According to the tale spun by the guy who used to run the tours out of the Lan Anh Hotel, he was holed up here in his residence in 1954 when the merde hit the ventillateur. He is said to have escaped through a secret tunnel from his residence, high on a hill, to the river below. His nephew, who was a spy for the Viet Minh, tried to pursue him, but the king blew up the tunnel behind him, killing his nephew. The king then made his way down the river to Son La and from there, back to France, where he lived until his death in 1997. But other, more reliable, source say that Bao Dai was on a trip to France when the battle of Dien Bien Phu broke out.
To view the ruins, you have 2 options -- the very circuitous 9 km trip by road and bridge to get to the road to Muong Te, or a 3 km trip that includes a short boat road and a stiff walk up the hill.
To take the boat option, depart from the Lan Anh Hotel to the road through town, take a right, and cross the bridge. Take a right, and about 2 km further along there's an intersection, with the Muong Lay hospital on the left. Take another right down a very steep, poorly paved road that descends into the river valley. There you should find a gate allowing you to walk or ride down to Ben Song Da (Song Da Boat Landing) on the edge of the river, where you're likely to find a small slate-mining operation working like mad (they are trying to dig up as much slate as they can before it's under 3 metres of water). If you look up at this point, you can see the residence high up on a hill across the river. To the right of the slate works, on the sandy part of the beach, is a house boat -- scare up someone there, and they'll get out a power boat to ferry you a very short distance to the other side -- 20,000 VND round trip. From there, pick your way across the treacherously sharp slate rocks to the path that leads through a small village to the road to Muong Te. Parts of the old residence can be found to the right and left on either side of the road. It's all very demolished and overgrown, but the spot attracts a lot of curious tourists, and there's some history to it.
Sinh Ho Day Trips - Could be worth doing
Description
One trip that they are kind of willing to do at the Lan Anh Hotel, or at least might be willing to do in the future, entails a visit to Sinh Ho by a combination of boat and vehicle. You could also do it on your own. Boats depart from the Song Da Boat Landing (see above for directions on how to get there) at 09:00 and 14:00 daily. It'll cost 100,000 VND for a passenger, 50,000 VND more to bring along a bicycle, and 100,000 more for a motorbike. The 70 km boat ride takes 2.5 hours, and the scenery is apparently gorgeous. It stops at the Nam Ma pier, due south of Sinh Ho. The road, 75 km from there to the top is best done on a motorbike, though a mountain-biker may be able to take it on, and vehicles can't make it at all. Once at the top, you have the option of taking good roads back to Muong Lay, continuing on to Lai Chau, or arranging to have yourself picked up in a vehicle.
Independent motorbikers can do the trek on the spur of the moment, but if you require any planning or logistics, we'd advise you to plan well ahead to give the Lan Anh time to prepare for your arrival -- try to get a travel agent to sort it out for you from Hanoi.
Cycling and Motorbiking to Phong To - Makes a great change from the bus
Description
One service the Lan Anh Hotel does till offer, and of which you can avail yourself, is to rent you a bike or motorbike to head up to their sister hotel in Phong To. It's a beautiful ride, and it's the rare case in Vietnam where you can rent your own transport for a one-way trip. It's a great way to get off the bus and on your own, and try your hand at navigating the roads yourself. Bike are 100,000 VND per day and motorbikes US$12. The 74 km trip is on good road and doable by either means of propulsion in a day.