Ba Be Lake

Posted 7th October 2013 by David McGuinness

We drove North out of Hanoi, through the frenetic traffic of the city until the roads got quieter. Phuong, my guide for the Northern leg of the Vietnam trip, told me about the rice harvest periods (two in the North of the country and three in the more affluent South) and how Buddhism in Vietnam is rarely pure but suffused with elements of more traditional beliefs, specifically ancestor worship and mother worship.We passed a house decorated with black and white flags, the sign of a death/funeral Phuong explained.

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and they laid out a spread of delicious dishes for us – tofu, bamboo shoots, omelette, morning glory (a green leafy veg) with fish sauce, chilli and sauce as the essential condiments. It was very tasty and equally reasonably priced. Heading further North the traffic thinned yet further but the roads were hardly empty – a herd of water buffalo, a gaggle of geese, a swarm of children on bikes.

We passed through some beautiful Tay villages before we arrived at our stop for the night, a basic bamboo homestay in a Tay village on the edge of Ba Be lake. The Tay are one of Vietnam’s many ethnic peoples, with their own customs and beliefs separate from the Viet people. The accommodation wasn’t luxury but it certainly had more charm than the government hotel on the lake that had certainly seen better days (and smells one would hope), and our hosts were friendly. Dinner was another spread, similar to the first but with more meat (two delicious pork dishes, chicken and green peppers, water buffalo, a delicious fermented wild cabbage, and naturally, rice. All washed down with a glass of rice wine, which our host was keen for us to enjoy, a key element of Tay hospitality.

The next morning we took a boat out on the lake after a breakfast of fruit and pancakes. We passed a tranquil village, and the boat navigated some small islands, one called Widow’s island that had a colourful back story. The lake is 8 kilometres long, and up to three wide and is a great way to see how the local people live. The fishermen were out early too and we passed from the end of the lake into Nang river where the foliage grew thicker. We got out at a tiny cluster of houses called Dodang and walked up and down a winding path to a small waterfall. The rainy season can be difficult to travel in at times but the upside is that there are far fewer tourists and the landscapes are stunningly green. In Winter Ba Be is cold, windy and barren, but with a beauty of its own. We stopped for a green tea in one of the houses and chatted with the locals (Phuong acting as translator). We passed through a small cave in the boat and hopped out to explore it on foot a bit.

Back in the boat a small grass snake slid across the top of the water. “Not poisonous”, Phuong assured me with a smile. Buffalo ambled down to the water’s edge for a dip, pursued by egret who follow them everywhere in a classic example of symbiosis, the egrets getting a feed of insects in return for their grooming duties. There are many walking trails in this area too, and I would have loved to spend more time and take a day to hike, and also to explore some of the other parts of the North East (Cao Bang, Ha Giang and Tac Ba reservoir where accommodation is basic – homestay mostly – but the landscapes are beautiful and there are very few tourists) but unfortunately for me the clock was ticking so it was back into the car and the drive back South to Hanoi.