My dear brother and I both share the same hobby of wandering and camping in a strange place and must be close to nature. One day at the end of March 2021, we both agreed to choose the location of Tay Giang, located in the north of Quang Nam province, at an altitude of 1369m above sea level. A very beautiful ecological place located on the majestic Truong Son mountain range that we have seen in newspapers and shared on Facebook by friends who are passionate about backpacking. As a remote mountainous district bordering Laos, sparsely populated, promises a fascinating trip with an open mind to learn about the local culture. We traveled by his motorbike and scooter named Trung with an estimated distance of more than 100km. We don't need to have a detailed plan of time because we want to go freely to see a beautiful place, we will stop by to visit, rest a bit and take pictures.
The further north of Quang Nam province the mountains seem to be more sparsely populated (because most of them are the Co Tu ethnic minority) and the forest area is also more green. About 40km on the way, we visited Dong Giang tea hill, which is a low hill where tea trees are grown to make a wonderful tea to help wake up very well. Sightseeing and taking photos when the sun was starting to get hotter and hotter, we stopped at a local shop nearby to buy more mineral water, sweets and enjoy fresh tea picked early in the morning. After chatting for a few minutes, we went on the road to continue, meeting any beautiful roadside village or unique bridge, we also turned in and wandered around the village to admire the scenery and take photos, sometimes going into a dead-end or confused, forgetting the way out. The main road had to ask people or children playing nearby.
Everyone was cute so we shared all the sweets we bought for them. Looking at the innocent smile blackened by the sun makes me happy, also glad that they have not had too much access to phones and tablets, so their childhood will be full of memories of a real child.
At 12 noon, after traveling more than 60km, we went to Prao town to take a break for fuel and lunch. Although it is a town, the infrastructure is not as good and crowded as the town in the plains, perhaps the mountainous areas are always difficult in construction and transportation problems. Eating and buying a few more sundries, we decided to go right away because there were more than 40km left and wanted to find a good place to camp before dark. The two brothers took turns driving so that one could rest after a long journey. Many times when driving, I feel sleepy, but every time I meet a beautiful pass, I wake up immediately. The further north we went, the more sparsely populated the area became. There were very few houses along the way, so we had to fill up our tank with gasoline even though we still had half a tank left. They packed each small 1 liter bottle, bought a spare bottle because the first time we came here, we did not know if we would meet again on the remaining journey.
At 12 noon, after traveling more than 60km, we went to Prao town to take a break for fuel and lunch. Although it is a town, the infrastructure is not as good and crowded as the town in the plains, perhaps the mountainous areas are always difficult in construction and transportation problems. Eating and buying a few more sundries, we decided to go right away because there were more than 40km left and wanted to find a good place to camp before dark. The two brothers took turns driving so that one could rest after a long journey. Many times when driving, I feel sleepy, but every time I meet a beautiful pass, I wake up immediately. The further north we went, the more sparsely populated the area became. There were very few houses along the way, so we had to fill up our tank with gasoline even though we still had half a tank left. They packed each small 1 liter bottle, bought a spare bottle because the first time we came here, we did not know if we would meet again on the remaining journey.
The more we go, the cooler the air gets, the lower the temperature is, we know the terrain is increasing, it's hard to describe with the vast green coverage of the mountains and forests here, there is no loud traffic noise, the road is only sporadic. a few motorbikes and a car or two. Of course, for every beautiful part, we stop for a few minutes or hang in a hammock to rest for a while to admire the scenery and feel. Drive until more than 3 pm to A Doc village and go another 3km and accidentally see a pretty shape suspension bridge over a river. Next to it is a small village located between terraced fields and rubber forests. "Peace" is the common feeling of the two brothers. We turned to visit, walking on the wooden bridge that swayed quite excitedly every time one of the two intentionally jumped. Right below the riverbank, there is a floating mound in the middle of the river with beautiful green grass with a small stream next to it.
Visiting the small village is more than 20 houses. The Co Tu up here build simple small houses out of wood. Some houses use leaves or rice straw for roofs, and some houses use corrugated iron. The houses built around the middle are a sports field for everyone's activities. There were a few kids playing football there and saw us running out and running all over with laughter. I don't see any adults whose houses are closed. Maybe they go to the forest to work in the fields or scrape rubber latex. When asked by the children, the children shook their heads in confusion, so they probably didn't know Kinh, so we took a few more pictures and then let the car climb up the hill next to it to enjoy the view from above. A small community surrounded by the green of Mother Earth can be a bit sad, but for us, we just found it wonderful and peaceful when we have been so much in the city.
Going down the mountain to take the car, continue to move another 15km through a small residential area with a road sign to the top of Que, go up a long pass (normally there will be fog), then reach the top of Que at 16:20 pm. "Wow" from the pass the scenery was beautiful and chilly to the top even though there was no sea of clouds, but the position of seeing miles away with wild mountains and forests is well worth it. There are a few huts and a place to put a kitchen to camp overnight, scattered about 6.7 people are also visiting. The two of us enjoyed the beautiful cool atmosphere and took a few pictures and then discussed going back to the village we just visited and camping (because it's crowded up here, we just want to be as quiet as possible). Return to the village on the way to stop by the market in a residential area to buy 1 duck, pork, vegetables, drink, and beer.
Arrive at the village at dusk, leave the car and walk down to the floating mound in the middle of the river to camp. I was on fire about the roast duck and pork skewers were making when I saw the lights on the other side of the river wading towards us (the river was quite shallow, only knee-deep) when approaching was a young man in the village. He asked us what to do, where to go? It was strange to know that he could speak basic Kinh and felt strange because he had never seen anyone camping near their village before.
We invited him to stay for a meal and chat. His name is Loi, the same age as me, but he looks tough and older than his age, he said he also went to Da Nang to make wood. He taught us some greetings in Co Tu. Through him, I know that young people in the village over 16 are trying to apply for a job in the city or follow their father to work in the forest. He invited us to wake up tomorrow morning to play and drink wine cooked by his family. At 21:00, when I returned, the remaining 2 people sat and chatted by the murmuring stream.
The next morning, I woke up to watch the sunrise through a bone-chilling night, crossed the bridge to meet a few girls, who were preparing to go to work, and was greeted with a few sentences that Loi taught yesterday. Everyone smiled shyly and amiably, went to see Loi and played with children, and met Loi's mother. She invited us to stay for dinner, but we thanked and asked for permission to go back to the street. Take a photo of her and be given a bottle of rice wine she cooks. We got on the bus back at more than 8 am and ran non-stop, taking turns driving back to the city at 12:30 pm. Although being tired, we had more wonderful experiences together. We look forward to another trip together soon.
Each journey is each story that I'm passionate to write down and hope you enjoy reading (I put the Vietnamese version in the comment section). Photos were taken by both of us.
Thank you everyone for reading and have a great weekend!!
