Imagine waking up to the sight of mist rolling over the dragon-backed ridges of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. The air is crisp, scented with the fragrance of ripening rice and woodsmoke from distant Hmong chimneys. You are standing on a mountain ridge at 1,600 meters above sea level, looking down into the deep, emerald-green abyss of the Muong Hoa Valley.

Imagine waking up to the sight of mist rolling over the dragon-backed ridges of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. The air is crisp, scented with the fragrance of ripening rice and the faint aroma of woodsmoke from distant Hmong chimneys. You are standing on a mountain ridge at 1,500 meters above sea level, looking down into the deep, emerald-green abyss of a valley that feels as if it belongs to another century.