Ba Be National Park

Off the Beaten Path in Vietnam

by Dorothy S. Conlon

The luxuriant snake-like country that is Vietnam winds sinuously down the eastern Indochinese Peninsula, lapped by the South China Sea. Some 30 nature reserves seek to preserve the country’s verdant beauty and unique flora and fauna.  Among the smallest is Ba Be National Park (pronounced Bah Bay), which I visited during a 2-month stint as a volunteer English teacher in Hanoi. This small gem is located in the northeast, some 150 miles from Hanoi, so you won’t just happen to pass by it. But its stunning scenery and manageable size make it well worth whatever effort it takes to explore for a few days.

My 4-day excursion to Ba Be was in the company of eighteen young Vietnamese foresters from all over the country who were on a training course. In our Nissan van I rode squeezed between two young foresters eager to practice their minimal English with me all day long. It took us more than eight hours on a good road, including a leisurely beery lunch en route.  Although the ride from Hanoi was mostly through farmland, we passed many villages also. No matter how small the hamlet, every one had at least two familiar signs:  Photocopy and Karaoke. We arrived at Ba Be headquarters about 6 p.m. I was assigned a comfortable room in a cottage with pleasant middle-aged Miss Chuong, the only other woman in the group and an instructor at a Forestry College.

The next morning brought misty views of the lake and its many emerald islands. Ba Be, which means Three Lakes in the local Tay language, is actually one long fresh water lake with three distinct but connected sections. It is Vietnam’s highest lake and never dries up.  During a 6-hour boat ride we visited several islands, exploring large caves or scrambling up rocky trails to see waterfalls. Vegetation is mostly evergreen forest, broken by dramatic limestone outcroppings. Ba Be is valued for its 65 mammal species, although I only saw one monkey. It is also home to 43 reptile and amphibian species and 233 bird species. I saw mostly darting turquoise kingfishers and white egrets.

On our second day, after a great breakfast of congee, a traditional Asian rice porridge served with chicken, egg and many seasonings, our group shifted focus. Instead of nature excursions, we were now divided into small teams to visit local households. I found it as absorbing as nature study. The goal was to enlist the help of local people in protecting the natural riches of the forest, but I often heard the sound of saws, so probably those riches were considered fair game for personal use. I seriously doubt that any of these nice foresters were very effective in preventing the poaching, and might even have been guilty of selling plants or animals from their parks themselves.

For me it was a rich opportunity to visit local households and observe their rural lifestyles. Some were Hmong, others of the dominant Tay ethnic minority. The children attended school three kilometers away, either morning or afternoon sessions. One head of household was a motor mechanic, one a carpenter; the others were farmers. The houses were basic but roomy, consisting of one large all-purpose room with dirt or concrete floor. A small back room was used for cooking, and overhead rafters provided storage space. Most had radios but no TVs. Walls were decorated with family and glossy calendar pages. We were served tiny cups of tea or sometimes unidentified home brew.

Of course I was as much an object of curiosity to my hosts as they and their children were to me. I was asked many questions about my family, and was even taken to be a man at one house, probably because of the jeans and turtleneck I was wearing. None of the forestry trainees were in uniform, but for these home visits they appeared in white shirts and many wore black oxfords, which got mighty dusty on the simple paths.  Friendly hospitality was evident everywhere we went. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my young escorts, unfailingly thoughtful and kind to me, even though they would have liked our English practice to continue night and day. Here I thought I was on a vacation! <

Probably more foreign tourists visit Ba Be now than when I was there, when the park logged about 800 annually. We only ran into one other group, some very noisy Vietnamese college students who strewed litter with total disregard. The foresters were quick to pick up after them.

Ba Be was originally designated a nature preserve in 1977 and formally established as a National Park in 1992. Its guest facilities have expanded over the years, and an ecological research station opened in 2004.

If you can arrange a trip to Ba Be, I promise that the verdant scenery and serene atmosphere will captivate you, even though you won’t have the pleasure of the company of my jovial foresters, who made my experience so unique.

For more information, check out www.babenationalpark.org.

Story and photos by Dorothy S. Conlon, www.dorothyconlon.com

Dorothy Conlon is an octogenarian globe-trotter who, often traveling alone, explores destinations that are well off the beaten track. She is the author of “At Home in the World:  Memoirs of a Traveling Woman.”