We spent a night in Yen Duc Village as part of our three day-two night Dragon Legend tour with Indochina Junk. We arrived and our guide Cuc, who was a fluent English speaker, immediately took us into the village culture. We harvested morning glory with the villagers; we visited an elder in the community and learned about the importance of family in Vietnam; we separated rice from its husks; we even stomped in the mud to hand catch fish! I had a sprained ankle and only watched this activity but it was a hoot! We were treated to a multi-course Vietnamese dinner that was delicious in every menu item. After dinner we had a cooking class and learned to make the traditional floating cake (which we then ate!). Two lovely villagers in traditional costume arrived and gave the four of us who were there a private concert. The village is set up to host eight people. This night there were only four – my friend and I and two other Americans who had made the same choice in schedule. The rooms were comfortable and lovely and we slept well. The next morning we did exercises at the beginning of the day and then went to the village market (after a sumptuous breakfast, of course). We shopped at the market and visited with the merchants. We went to the village temple and at our request visited the cemetery and learned all about Vietnamese burial customs. We visited another villager who makes brooms in the traditional way and we made brooms with her. Then we were treated to another lovely lunch, followed by a water puppet show before leaving to return to Hanoi.
Collection of reviews about Yen Duc village tour, luxury homestay near Ha Long Bay, Vietnam 