Minority Villages

So, you've come to Vietnam.
You've spent time in cities and towns along the tourist trail and you think, I want to see what life is like in the minority villages.

This leads to a dilemma.....

Any traditional minority village is going to be hard to get to, no buses or tours go there. People won't speak English (and possibly not Vietnamese) and you wont find a range of hotels to suit all budgets and tastes.
If tours and buses did go there - chances are it will soon morph into a tourist trap. While it is unfortunate, my experience has been that once people in (SOME) minority villages learn that there is money to be had from tourists..... they stop farming, and set up a shop filled with the same mass produced scarfs, wooden carvings, and kid sized "traditional outfits"  that you can buy in Hanoi, HCMC, and Hoi an to your hearts content.

The bad.....

One such example is in the highlands near Buon Ma Thout. This area is a hot spot for minority villages, as they all tend to be in the highland areas. I believe it is called Ban Don Village (and famous for an elephant king who captured 100's of elephants during his life).
I was expecting a quiet little village with people going about their day. I was travelling with a group of Buon Ma thout locals - so hopeful that we could get talking to a villager and maybe even invited in for tea, I could do some photography.... all in all my imagined village was beautiful.
I found something more like disneyworld than a village.

The main street is lined with houses-turned-into-shops As you walk you are constantly called to look in this shop, that shop, buy this "local made" - no, it's not.
Then we bought an entrance ticket to walk along bamboo walkways (which were quite pleasant as they wound around through tree branches and over a wide cool river - but wasn't really minority village-y!). Which lead to an island with more shops, a restaurant, a stage with very loud music that seemed to vary from "traditional performances" to karaoke and elephant rides.

All in all it was a tourist trap!
So - absolutely do your research, and if it seems that multiple companies are doing tours to one place - be suspicious, if buses are turning up on regular occasions..... chances are the town has turned into a tourist machine.

The Good......

Lak Lake. About 1 hour from Buon Ma Thout and on the way to Dalat is beautiful.
You are able to stay overnight in long houses for about $5 per person (phone Mr Duc at the Cafe Duc Mai - right outside the village, on 0905371633). You house will have a basic mattress on the ground with moquito net. And toilets and showers are available at the cafe. They also do set menus for lunch and dinner at a very reasonable price. Breakfast is served.... but was basic eggs on bread style.

There are a couple of souvenir shops down near the lake, but for the most part the villagers are going about their everyday, ignoring tourists. It was a great chance to walk around the village and watch people doing everyday job (like chopping up banana trees to feed to the pigs, or walking the cows out to pasture) without being hassled to buy anything.

Plus, it is possible to get a bus from Dalat or Buon Ma Thout!

Anywhere else?

I will update as I find more places that are accessible and not tourist traps. But the otherway you can get to see minority villages is to take a private tour (car based if you are a group of people, easy riders for one or two are cheapest) and tell them you want to see villages and minority areas.