On the road, the success of Vogage Vietnam's tours depends on their guides. Daily phone contact with the Hanoi office ensures a smooth and co-ordinated tour but the day-to-day decisions are made by the individual guides in discussion with the tour group members, to provide a customised and workable itinerary designed to suit the group's abilities and expectations.Which road to take? Has it been raining? Where to refuel, to rest, to eat, to stop for the night?... the guide must answer all these questions.
Voyage Vietnam, as a Vietnamese owned and controlled tour company, recruits and trains the best guides to lead their tours and depends on them to make the right decisions for the enjoyment, comfort and safety of their clients.
Voyage Vietnam has travel access to ALL Vietnam's touring areas and their guides have special access to host families throughout the country. The guides themselves grew up in the rice fields before heading to university.
With these roots, they are clearly the ones most able to understand and explain the attention to detail and customs of the countryside. Their love and understanding for this way of life is clearly reflected in the encounters with all the locals along the way, whether it be the children on the side of the road, the old man having a break and smoking "thuoc lao" or the women harvesting rice.
Some things change, some things stay the same. It has not always been easy to obtain travel permits to access Ha Giang province in Northern Vietnam. Although this region contains the best of rocky landscapes, superb motorcycle touring possibilities and strong H'Mong culture, Ha Giang province was off-limits to tour parties.
From its Hanoi office Voyage Vietnam now runs tours of Ha Giang and neighbouring Cao Bang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces.
Those of us who travelled with Voyage Vietnam to Ha Gian, Meo Van and Khau Vai enjoyed priviliged access to all provincial amenities; our permits to travel were easily arranged and we were granted every hospitality throughout. At the Love Market itself our guides excelled themselves by somehow securing prime overnight accommodation for us right in the middle of the festival celebrations.
After Khau Vai, the next day we made it to Lung Phin market for a real non-commercialised H'Mong cultural experience as we wandered through the trading heart of the area. Riding into Ba Be the trail became a narrow path following the river; the feeling was that men had used this track for thousands of years. Past the cascades we stopped for lunch before loading the motorcycles on board a boat for the trip down the lake to overnight with our host family.
After nine days we were back in Hanoi, somewhat changed by the grandeur of the north and vastly enriched by the whole experience countryside with Voyage Vietnam.
Full name: WALLACE Carl.
Address: AUSTRALIA.
Contact us if you want to email Mr WALLACE Carl.
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