Black River, Mai Chau Valley and Nin Binh

The problem with having superhuman guides (like Quay and Hun in the Central Highlands) is that they make all others look bad. Our guide and driver on our 4 day trip south of Hanoi not only looked bad but were complete pricks as well. If it wasn't for the wonderful scenery and remoteness of our location we would have ended it early.

The Black River is really a lake and our walk from high up in the mountains to it's shores was breathtaking. Our first home stay overlooked the lake and was with a traditional Muong family. Mr Guong, the father, welcomed us as if we were his long lost children. We shared beer, rice wine and a great meal and after a really entertaining evening we set up mattresses and mosquito nets and went to sleep. The next day saw us trekking up and away from the lake and then through jungle and down to a village of White Thai people. Nothing could come close to Mr Guong's hospitality but we had a pleasant evening that included some traditional dancing and music which brought most of the village into the house.

Our third morning was spent walking through the villages and rice fields of the beautiful Mai Chau valley and after lunch we were taken off to Nin Binh, which is nicknamed Halong Bay of the Rice Paddies and is where we spent the last day of our trip. We walked, cycled and were shunted down a narrow canal on a little boat. The scenery was amazing but the unexpected and bizarre highlight of the day was witnessing a father and son's karaoke competition while sipping on a cup of green tea in their lounge.

We were joined on the trip by a Canadian couple who work as cops in Montreal and the 4 of us got on really well. We'd had a great trip but by lunch on day 4 Jacks was furious and I was ready to kick our guide in the balls.