4 Days in Pu Luong: Lazy, Unplanned, and Surprisingly Good

I woke up at 6:37 AM to four missed calls from the bus company.

Not 6:30. Not 6:35. Exactly 6:37 - seven minutes late, which was enough time for the driver to give up on me and move to the next pickup point 600 meters away.

So the first morning of my Pu Luong trip began with me, half-asleep, running 600 meters through Hanoi with a backpack. I made it. Barely.

Pu Luong wasn't part of any plan.

After Cat Ba, I came back to Hanoi for two rest days. Sitting around doing nothing, I opened Google Maps and started scrolling through the little red hearts I'd saved and never visited. One of them caught my eye - a small pin sitting quietly in the mountains of Thanh Hoa province.

That was Pu Luong.

The hostel booked the bus for me. 350,000 VND (~$14), 29-seater. Pickup at 6:30 AM outside St. Joseph's Cathedral.

You know what happened at 6:37.

Getting There: Hanoi to Pu Luong

The bus left at 7:00 AM. Around 130 kilometers, about 4 hours.

The landscape shifted gradually - more farmland, fewer buildings, then limestone karsts starting to appear on both sides of the road. At 9:20 we stopped for 15 minutes. I grabbed breakfast, the first food of the day since I'd been too busy sprinting to eat.

By 11:40, the bus dropped me right in front of my accommodation - Oh Pu Luong Homestay, sitting directly on the main road. 550,000 VND (~$22) for two nights in a shared stilt house. I checked in, walked around taking photos, and started trying to figure out what I was actually going to do the next day - because I'd arrived with no itinerary whatsoever.

That evening around 7, I heard commotion at the front desk. Curious, I went to see what was happening.

Six people - two older French tourists, two Japanese women, and two local guides - were standing in the middle of a pile of tents and sleeping bags. Turns out they were a hiking group that had just come down from Pu Luong Summit early. One of the French tourists had gotten sick on the way up. The two Japanese women were still in muddy clothes, with no accommodation booked for the night.

It sounded like an adventure. But my mood this trip was rest and recovery. I reminded myself not to let the dopamine talk me into signing up for a mountain hike.

I still asked the guide for his phone number. Just in case.

Day 1: Bat Cave - Hieu Waterfall - S-Curve Road

The Motorbike That Wanted a Holiday Too

Breakfast at the homestay was free but uninspiring - instant noodles and fried eggs. After eating, I asked to rent a motorbike. 250,000 VND (~$10) per day, fuel not included - check the tank when you pick it up.

All the automatic bikes were at the repair shop. A staff member offered to lend me her personal manual bike. I was too lazy to look elsewhere, so I said yes.

I went outside to get the bike.

It was in worse condition than I can describe.

But I trusted my riding skills. I tried to start it. Nothing. Two or three more tries. The engine finally turned over with a reluctant, grinding sound - like the bike itself was the one that needed a holiday, not me.

Kho Muong Village

The road into Kho Muong village runs along a narrow cliff-side slope before dropping into the valley. The village sits at the bottom, tucked beside a stream, surrounded by hills. The stilt houses look like they grew straight out of the hillside.

I rode slowly through the village. Rows of areca palms along the stream. A stone path leading toward the cave. Then suddenly, in the middle of the valley, a field of vivid green rice opened up - with a small track cutting through it. I turned in without thinking about where it went.

Kho Muong Bat Cave

Parking and entrance fee: 10,000 VND.

I hadn't looked up anything about this cave before arriving. I assumed it would be similar to the caves I'd visited in Cat Ba five days earlier.

I was wrong.

In front of me was a wide, tall cave entrance - the arch probably close to 20 meters high, dropping deep into darkness below. I was taking photos outside when a couple asked if I wanted to go down with them. The girlfriend didn't look enthusiastic - tired, and clearly uneasy about the darkness. There was nobody else around except the three of us.

So we left her at the entrance. The two of us found our way down.

Stone steps took us about a third of the way in. After that, it was bare rock. From the halfway point, it was almost completely dark. We felt our way forward.

At the bottom I found an inner chamber with the sound of running water. I kept going. Every time I thought about turning back, something else caught my attention. The passage seemed to dead-end - or at least I couldn't find a way through. Damp, slippery. The guy I was with tried to follow but slipped, so he waited above.

After about 15 minutes of finding nothing particularly interesting, he called me back up. We climbed out.

At the entrance, another group was waiting. One of them asked: "Did you guys hear anything down there? We were going down earlier and heard something strange so we turned back."

"Probably just bats," I said - reassuring them, and also myself.

The cave is called Bat Cave. I didn't see a single bat.

Hieu Waterfall

Free entry. Parking: 5,000 VND.

There's a fork near the end of the path - signs point left up the hill, Google Maps says go straight along the lower road. Follow Google Maps. Both routes reach the same waterfall, but the left path is significantly steeper. I found this out on the way back.

Holiday crowds meant the pool at the base was packed. Clear water, people swimming everywhere. It was 10:30 AM. I did the math: wait about an hour, everyone goes up for lunch, the pool empties out.

While waiting, I hiked up alongside the waterfall. It runs in tiers for about 300 meters. The higher you go, the fewer people. The rocks here don't collect algae - you can walk straight up through the water without slipping. Gentle falls, not steep.

By the time I came back down, the pool had cleared out exactly as predicted.

S-Curve Road and Ban Don Village

Ban Don is the closest thing Pu Luong has to a center - more guesthouses, retreat-style accommodations, and the best views of the terraced rice fields in the area.

Vietnamese people have a thing for roads shaped like the letter S. It vaguely resembles the outline of Vietnam itself. So when a road bends that way, it gets named the S-curve - and people hang Vietnamese flags along the whole stretch, not because anyone told them to, but because they want to.

The photographer I'd met at Bat Cave warned me: "It's a holiday - it's going to be packed. Yesterday people were gridlocked on that road just from all the photo stops."

So I applied the same strategy as the waterfall: show up at noon, when everyone's eating. It worked. Though noon in the mountains with no shade is genuinely brutal. A few people looked at me like I'd made a questionable life decision.

By 3 PM I headed back. I'd thought about stopping at the water wheel on the way - about 10 kilometers from Ban Don - but the bike was already testing my patience, and I was done.

Day 2: Lazy Day and an Unexpected Reunion

The last day of the holiday. Everyone was heading back to Hanoi. The place had gone quiet.

I went back and forth about the Pho Doan ethnic minority market - open every Thursday and Sunday, one of the standard highlights in the area. But I'd seen plenty of local markets. I wanted to sit still more than I wanted to ride anywhere.

I was just sitting there when a Western guy walked past. He looked familiar.

I'm not great at recognizing faces, but this one - I thought I'd just been on a group boat tour with him in Cat Ba a few days ago. To be sure, I opened Instagram and checked his story. He was posting from Pu Luong.

That was him.

I called out. Turns out we'd both suspected it since the day before but neither said anything first. He'd also checked my Instagram and confirmed I was here. Neither of us wanted to be the one to say something first.

Quick reunion, then he got on his bike back to Hanoi. If he ever comes to Saigon, we'd meet up.

I decided to change accommodations. Moved to Pu Luong Serenity Lodge, 2 kilometers away - set back from the main road, quieter. 770,000 VND (~$30) for two nights in a private room. A small path leads straight down to the village, terraced rice fields on both sides. The view from the balcony looks directly out over those fields.

"This is exactly the kind of place to sit and work," I thought.

In the morning I walked down the path into the village. In the afternoon I sat on the balcony and watched rain fall across the fields in the distance.

This was what I'd imagined Pu Luong would feel like - not sunburned and grinding through mountain roads on a dying bike.

Day 3: Working with a View

I work remotely. So I sat there and worked all day.

Every now and then a motorbike passed on the road below the rice fields and then went quiet again. I'd open the laptop, type for a while, then look out the window. Clouds moved across the far peaks, their shadows sliding across the terraces before drifting away.

At some point I wondered whether the two Japanese women from the first night had made it back to work yet - or whether they were still on Golden Week.

Day 4: Back to Saigon - And Getting Scammed in the Last Hour

The trip had been good. I'd started to genuinely like this place.

Then the last day happened.

I booked a bus from the homestay to Tho Xuan Airport for the flight back to Saigon - about 100 kilometers, roughly 2 hours. The homestay arranged it through a company called Manh Tan, 29-seater. Quoted price: around 120,000-150,000 VND.

The bus arrived at 12:30. Besides passengers, it was also hauling bags of produce for local vendors - bamboo shoots, vegetables stacked everywhere. No smell, everything fine.

Things went sideways when I realized the driver wasn't heading to the airport. He was going straight to Thanh Hoa City. By the time I figured it out, we were 30 kilometers in the wrong direction.

The driver called another vehicle going the opposite way. When I got out, he said: "That'll be 250,000 VND."

I pointed out that other passengers going to Thanh Hoa City had paid 110,000-120,000. He said this was the standard rate.

I was worried about missing my flight. I paid and got in the other car.

Another 45 minutes back. But the second car didn't go to the airport either - it stopped at an intersection 2 kilometers from the entrance and told me to get a taxi from there.

No taxis anywhere. A private car pulled up and quoted 60,000 VND.

I didn't have time to negotiate.

Total: 310,000 VND for a journey that should have cost 150,000.

In one last attempt, I called the Manh Tan hotline to complain. The person who picked up was the driver who had charged me.

I hung up. There was nothing left to say.

On the flight back to Saigon, I kept thinking about that afternoon on the balcony - watching rain fall across the terraced fields while doing nothing in particular.

That small heart on Google Maps. I finally understood why I'd saved it.

How to Do Pu Luong

Most people do 3 days, 2 nights - trekking, the local market, the main spots. I covered the main attractions in one day on a motorbike, then spent the rest of the time doing almost nothing.

Pu Luong is small. One day of riding covers everything. The rest is for breathing.

Suggested route (Day 1 motorbike loop, ~50km): Kho Muong Village - Bat Cave - Hieu Waterfall - S-Curve Road - Ban Don

Other options for longer stays:

• Pho Doan ethnic minority market (Thursdays and Sundays only)
• Water wheel, ~10km from Ban Don
• Bamboo raft on Cham Stream
• Pu Luong Summit hike (1,700m - requires registration and guide, ~6-7 hours)

Pu Luong pairs well with Ninh Binh/Tam Coc - about 130 kilometers between them, easily combined in one trip from Hanoi.

If You'd Rather Join a Tour

Local operator Expats' Way Travel (0912 941 193 / 0981 146 624) runs several options:

• Half-day Paradise Tour ($35/person): Don Village, Uoi Village, Lan Ngoai Village, Hieu Waterfall - by motorbike or on foot
• Half-day Culinary Tour ($38/person): Doan Market, Chiem Lau Village, Cham Stream bamboo raft, Water Wheel
• Full-day Adventure Trek 8km ($35/person): Bang Village, Kho Muong Village, Bat Cave
• Full-day Trek 18km ($62/person): Bang Village through Kho Muong, Bat Cave, Pon Village, Nua Village, Lung Cao Village
• 2-day Summit Trek ($115/person): Pu Luong Peak 1,700m with overnight camping, porter, meals, campfire
• Hanoi - Pu Luong - Tam Coc 3D2N: Combined tour covering both Pu Luong and Ninh Binh

Practical Information

Getting there from Hanoi

• Shared bus: 350,000 VND (~$14), ~4 hours, departs near St. Joseph's Cathedral area
• Ask your Hanoi hostel to book - most handle this
• The bus drops you directly at accommodations along the main road

Getting to Tho Xuan Airport

• Confirm drop-off point and price in writing before getting in any vehicle
• Budget around 150,000 VND for a legitimate transfer
• Consider hiring a taxi directly to avoid routing issues

Accommodation

• Oh Pu Luong Homestay: on the main road, 550,000 VND for 2 nights in shared stilt house. Free breakfast (basic).
• Pu Luong Serenity Lodge: 2km off the main road, quieter, better views. 770,000 VND for 2 nights private room

Motorbike rental

• 250,000 VND/day, fuel not included
• Manual bikes recommended - roads are steep, automatic bikes can overheat brakes on downhill sections
• Xe om (motorbike taxi): ~400,000 VND/day if you'd rather not ride

Food

• Options around the main road are limited - mostly order from your accommodation
• Meals at homestays run 70,000-80,000 VND per dish
• Going with someone else makes eating out easier

Pho Doan Market

• Thursdays and Sundays only - plan accordingly

When to go

• Rice season (September-October) for the most dramatic terraced field colors
• Avoid major Vietnamese public holidays - crowds are significant