Out of Hanoi, into the Wild

Glad to be leaving the capital, we got picked up by Mr Linh's Adventures. Our driver is called Long, our tour guide is also called Long. Oh, and the group consists of David and Kerry.. Yes we are having a one-to-one tour with the Longs.
We were driven north out of Hanoi, a total of 340km to the Chinese border. We stopped at the Ethnic Minority museum where Long showed us the different typical houses of the different minorities (including one with someone asleep in it) and then let us wander round the rest of the museum on our own. Next stop was an hour an half later for lunch, a local restaurant with whole cooked chickens with heads still on. Long told us to sit down and he would order. We sat anxiously wondering what would be served. Luckily, a selection of steamed rice, bits of lemongrass chicken, pork ribs, whole shrimps and vegetables came out. All of it was pretty tasty and we washed it down with iced green tea.
The scenery on the way up into the hills was beautiful, although it was misty. The Longs kindly stopped so we could take some pictures. We arrived at a Nung's (local minority group) village which is known for making incense. We got out the minibus and walked with Long through the centre, past water-buffalos being washed, corn being hand-harvested and the sun setting behind the huge hills around.
Tonight we are stay at Mr Him's homestay. It is a stilted house with a downstairs kitchen/dining room/garage and outside toilets. We are sleeping upstairs on a firm (a complete understatement) mattress on the floor beneath a mosquito net and behind a curtain. We had dinner with the family just after sunset. It is customary to serve green tea and corn wine to visitors and they plied us with both. Dinner was the usual rice, chicken, pork (both BBQ and roasted) and then pig's colon. Kerry politely declined but David was braver and had a piece - it was...chewy. The rest of the food was tasty. We had a great evening chatting to Long before getting an early night. Hopefully the alcohol will help us sleep, as the mattress will not.Read more