Mai Chau Sunrise Village — Hotel in Hoà Bình province

After a four hour drive from Hanoi we arrived in Mai Chau. I chose the three day tour. We had our first lunch and went biking after. You can see the local lifestyle in this village. We visited a thai house and biked through paths between the rice fields. The tour ended at about 5 pm, but I recommend to stay some longer at the rice fields to watch the sunset. After the biking we ate another great meal. All meals at Sunrise are different, so you don’t have to worry you’ll eat the same for 2 or 3 days. After lunch we saw local dances and drank a nice sweet alcoholic drink. It was fun! However, don’t expect to party late night. As the village is quiet small and remote, there isn’t a lot to do after dinner. Which is not really a bad thing, because you have to set your alarm early for the second day. ||||For the second day you can choose between two options: trekking or going to the lake to set sail on this boat owned by a local. I chose for going to the lake, as you go trekking on the third day anyway. For me this was the most fun day: we went by motorbike to the house of a local and his family. Before we arrived we stopped at the waterfall; which was actually nice to see as there were no tourists. Once arrived at the local family we went sailing on the lake. It’s so peaceful and really relaxing. Especially when your previous destination was a big city like Hanoi. ||We stopped at this fishing nursery. Guide Son showed me around and taught me about the life of the people living in this area. We had a lot of fun on this place! Next we set sail our next destination: the place where our captain had grown his own fish, which we were going to eat at the family dinner later on. Son and the captain had some struggle trying to capture the fish, which was fun to see: this was a real local experience! As we westerns are used to buying our fish in the supermarket.||||We had dinner at the captain his house. It was delicious. The fish was barely 10 minutes ago still alive and the rest of the food was really fresh aswel. After dinner we drove back to Sunrise. On our way back Son showed some really nice viewpoints. He explained characteristics of the cultures living nearby, which was very interesting! ||||The third day was the last day of this private tour I had with Son. He said most of the times the groups are with a few more people, but no more than ten. Which is for me a big plus: I like non-touristic areas and small groups, to really get to know the culture better. ||On this third day we went to visit his own house, which was great because he could explain even more how he lived. It was fun to see that the people in this area are traditional aswel as modern: they have flatscreen tv’s but eat their own grown rice, slaughter their own chicken and drink their own happy water (rice wine). ||We continued our way to another great viewpoint looking over the rice fields. He explained more about how they grew it and told about the harvest. Then, at noon, we returned to Sunrise. For another three hours you’ll have free time to walk around the city, see some more rice fields or drink beer at one of the small local cafes. ||||I enjoyed this three day trip very much. You can see the area in two days tho, if you have a tight schedule. The local experiences, the stunning rice fields and the great guide Son made this three day trip a great one to remember! ||For the price I paid it was worth it. You can book it yourself but you won’t get to know the local lifestyle as much as with a guide. Almost everything is included and the food and experienced guide are all worth it. Son and I were for two days only with the two of us, but we didn’t get bored and had a good laugh! He is nice company a great guide to...

Large room with a view of the rice field, I enjoyed it.||||The view from your room is rice terrace, I enjoyed the morning stroll and photo shooting in the early morning. There are 2 sofas and a table on the balcony of your room. It's a very nice setting. ||||Surprisingly, complimentary coffee ( 3 in 1), pet bottle of water. There is a kettle in your room, you can have the coffee anytime.||I stayed in an AC room, so there was no fan. Also there is no mini fridge,||||The bathroom is big.||Hot water was ok but I didn't have a hot enough water shower in the morning.||You can use their hair dryer if necessary. ||As there was no one staying in the next room, I didn't need to hear any noise from the next room but the wall must be thin. Lucky me. ||||Breakfast is very simple. 2 sunnyside eggs and bread. No drink comes with. ||You can order dinner (200,000) here as they can prepare the set meal but I had something to eat from the market. ||||There is wi-fi but the signal is very weak. I had data roaming service, so my iPhone was ok with the roaming service but I couldn't use my laptop.||||As I was on a private tour, I am not sure the exact location but I went to the market by bicycle (Free rental from hotel) , it was...

The Mai Chau Tour by the Sunset Village hotel is an amazing biking experience through a beutiful Thai village. There is some nice scenery and many shops where they mostly sell scarfs shirts and other clothing peaces, everything they sell is handmade by them and they do it pretty well. They also sell wood crafts like archery equipment and other things. The bikes they use are terrible and broken down but they still work decently enough to enjoy the environment. The lunch they offer is also very good and contains many Vietnamese traditional dishes. I only did the one day tour but I would really recommend the two day tour or maybe even stay in their gorgeous hotel/resort. By doing thw 2 day tour you can also do the hike, i don't know anything about the hike or how good the hotel really is but looking at one of the rooms and the outside of the hotel I would say it's pretty good. I would definitely recommend this for families, backpackers, friends and...