Monday 27th October, Ban Xom, The start of our trek

We set off from Hanoi early for a 4 hour drive to Ban Xom for the start of the trek. This is a small village high in the mountains on the edge of the Pu Loung National Park. This area is still relatively unexplored by western trekking companies and group attracted a lot of friendly attention from the locals.

The start of the trek was along an old jeep track before we headed deeper into the hills and single track paths through the jungle. On route we stopped in a homestay for some lunch and our introduction to typical village life in Vietnam.

Due to the weather all of the paths were covered in thick red sticky mud and were extremely slippy. However the route was very scenic despite the weather and it was interesting to see the large number of rice fields on the hill sides and valleys.

We crossed through some paddy fields and a number of clients were “attacked” by leeches. Gill was the leeches "tastiest" client with a total of three on her legs.

After a short stop to remove these and treat the wounds we headed down to the first village Ban Ba where we would be staying in the local houses.

The accommodation was basic and the villagers were very friendly and made us very welcome in their houses. This first night was a shock for some but we all soon settled into life in the homestays. The following pictures show typical interiors of the homestays and the activities that take place.