Around 200km west of Hanoi, Moc Chau boasts a pioneering dairy industry launched in the late 1970s with Australian and UN assistance. The dairy provides Hanoi with fresh milk, sweetened condensed milk and little tooth-rotting bars called banh sua, and the town is a good place to sample fresh milk and yoghurt. Moc Chau also produces some of Vietnam’s best tea, and the surrounding area is home to ethnic minorities, including Green Hmong, Dzao, Thai and Muong.
Vietnam in Focus offers photographic trips from Hanoi to Moc Chau's fascinating Hmong Love Market in late August/early September.
Handspan Adventure Travel runs two- and three-day trips to the area, staying in a Black Thai homestay in Ban Doi village.
A further 60km west, the agricultural Yen Chau district is known for its abundant fruit production. Apart from bananas, all fruits grown here are seasonal. Mangoes, plums and peaches are harvested from April to June, longans in July and August, and custard apples from August to September.
Yen Chau mangoes are renowned as Vietnam’s tastiest, although travellers may initially find them disappointing, as they are small and green, rather than big, yellow and juicy like those of the tropical south. Most Vietnamese actually prefer the tart flavour of the green ones, especially dipped in nuoc mam (fish sauce) and sugar.
Both Moc Chau and Yen Chau can be reached on departures to either Son La or Dien Bien Phu from Hanoi’s My Dinh bus station. Once on the road, travellers should find it relatively easy to flag down onward transport along Hwy 6.