It’s hard not to be awestruck by the natural beauty of Son La province. Bordered by Laos to the South and Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Lao Chau provinces to the north, Son La is Vietnam’s 5th largest province.  The weather is temperate and roughly 80% of its land is mountainous, making it a hiker’s paradise.

Sweeping valleys

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Clack, clamp, scrape. Clack, clamp, scrape. The sound of a shovel dragging up against the dirt. On a warm April afternoon, a team of men are at working leveling the hilly grounds of Son La  province. They move with methodical precision, making sure the land is pat and the bricks are laid out tightly atop each other.

Here, a school will be built.

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