Hello travel lovers!
How are you guys doing today, have a good new week and work really well!
Certainly, in the past years, you have had your own travel plans but because the Covid epidemic is not over and is still complicated with many different strains. In the last two years, the Covid epidemic has caused a decline in the economy, especially in tourism. Our country of Vietnam is no exception, all flights are canceled, when the situation is still uncontrolled you cannot move between provinces, so all my plans have been canceled. Now almost all people have been vaccinated, and maybe we have to move into the new era of living with the pandemic.
And in the early days of spring of 2022, I had a very valuable trip. The last days of February were the days when the North of Vietnam welcomed the first cold season of the year, also the beginning of our trip to this northern land, Ha Giang province, immersed under the freezing cold of 1°C, and watched peach blossoms and plum bloom brightly.
Ha Giang is a province located in the north of Vietnam, with the northernmost point of the country - Lung Cu, the North is adjacent to China with a border of more than 277 km, the East is adjacent to Cao Bang province, the West and Southwest are adjacent to Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces, and the South is adjacent to Tuyen Quang province. For Vietnamese youth, Ha Giang is always the dreamland of the adventurous people, because this place is a destination with extremely attractive features because part of this place is the northernmost point of the Fatherland, part is the terrain here, with majestic mountains, horny high mountain ranges, cheeses, along with geology is limestone, winding roads that challenge the steering... These are all reasons that anyone wants to visit Ha Giang once in their life, including foreign tourists who like to explore like us.
Ha Giang is probably the most beautiful in the early days of spring, the time when you will admire the "specialty" here with plum trees with white flowers or peach trees with pink flowers to show off the blooming colors. And this is also our biggest attraction for our plan to come to Ha Giang this time: watching flowers. Plum blossoms, peach blossoms are a type of flower only in the northern mountains of Vietnam, but in other areas, you will not be able to find them. Because they only live in mountainous climates, and they only bloom in the spring, only once a year. When you come here, you will see peach trees, plum trees with bare leaves, only branches with blooming flowers.
My friends and I have been planning this trip for a long time, but this year the blooming season is later than it has been all year, so we are very lucky to have arranged our work. But what's more special about that is that our plan fell right into the cold, dark cold of the North, and we had a more special moment, which was the frost, which only in recent years has been caused by climate change in Vietnam. For those of us who live in hot areas like ours, with temperatures of no more than 16°C for days that are considered cold, this is the first time we've experienced in Vietnam, when temperatures drop, sometimes to -1 degree Celsius. Although I have had the opportunity to spend the winter in Japan with the snow-white landscape, it may be strange in Vietnam. The cold came freezing, our hands and feet were trembling. Sewing the shirts, the heat pants helped keep our bodies warm from the cold.
We start the bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang city, there are many buses for you to choose from, prices range from 180,000-300,000 VND/ way/ person. The best time you can choose is to go in the evening, the travel time is about 6-7 hours. After 1 sleep, you will go to Ha Giang in the morning, you can rent a motorbike and explore Ha Giang in different directions. We chose the road from Ha Giang city, followed National Highway 14c, passed Quan Ba and Yen Minh districts, then visited the Lung Cu flagpole - the north pole of the Fatherland, followed by Dong Van and Cat Vac districts and returned to Ha Giang city. When you reach Ha Giang, you will pass through Dong Van limestone plateau, which has an altitude of about 1400-1600m above sea level. With 80% of the plateau area is limestone terrain, horned mountains, this place was recognized by UNESCO as a global geopark in 2010. Walking through these mountains, you will come across simple houses of ethnic minorities such as Mong, Dao, Tay, Nung... The peculiarities of the houses here are the stone fence, and in the streets, or in front of each house, there are plum trees and peach trees. The floral white and red roses make the scenery here even more special and magical. And this is also the most attractive point that attracts us to Ha Giang on this trip.
We start the bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang city, there are many buses for you to choose from, prices range from 180,000-300,000 VND/ way/ person. The best time you can choose is to go in the evening, the travel time is about 6-7 hours. After 1 sleep, you will go to Ha Giang in the morning, you can rent a motorbike and explore Ha Giang in different directions. We chose the road from Ha Giang city, followed National Highway 14C( QL14C), passed Quan Ba and Yen Minh districts, then visited the Lung Cu flagpole - the north pole of the Fatherland, followed by Dong Van and Cat Vac districts and returned to Ha Giang city. When you reach Ha Giang, you will pass through Dong Van limestone plateau, which has an altitude of about 1400-1600m above sea level. With 80% of the plateau area being limestone terrain, horned mountains, this place was recognized by UNESCO as a global geopark in 2010. Walking through these mountains, you will come across simple houses of ethnic minorities such as Mong, Dao, Tay, Nung... The peculiarities of the houses here are the stone fence, and in the streets, or in front of each house, there are plum trees and peach trees. The floral white and red-pink make the scenery here even more special and magical. And this is also the most attractive point that attracts us to Ha Giang on this trip.
This is the phenomenon of water freezing when the temperature is low
Coming to Dong Van rock plateau, you can also go through and admire the beauty of one of the " four peaks of the pass" of Vietnam with the legendary Ma Pi Leng pass, standing on the top of the pass you can see the Nho Que River with its blue water. And I firmly believe that when you come here, you can't ignore this amazing place and conquer the winding pass roads, watching the majestic forest mountain scenery that goes all over Vietnam, you won't find a second place with a great view like here. In addition to peach and plum flowers, Ha Giang is also famous for its triangular circuit, yellow radish flowers. In the spring, the radiant yellow radish flowers will bloom, while the triangular circuit will bloom around September-October, its flowers will turn from white to pink and purple. With limestone terrain, people will not be able to grow rice like the plains, so the main crop used for food in the mountainous areas is corn. Corn berries are used as daily food and stored over the seasons of the year. The dish is made from corn is Men Men, a specialty dish of the Mong people. In addition, the triangular circuits are also a plant for seeds, and their seeds are used to make delicious cakes.
On the way, we came across these lovely innocent H'Mong ethnic group babies, we gave them cakes and sweets. And this is what tourists or backpackers often do when visiting Ha Giang land. The children living in the highlands are very difficult and physically and mentally deprived because life is still poor, so there are often charities under the city that bring gifts such as books, clothes, confectionery, and essential items here to give to their relatives and children.
Although we could not fully explore Ha Giang, this trip, gave us valuable experiences and great memories. Through the pictures, I hope you will like them and somewhat see the beauty of this magnificent land. I will return to Ha Giang and explore this land at the nearest time. This is a place worth experiencing when coming to Vietnam, and I firmly believe that it will not disappoint you.
The pictures were taken by me and my team friends during that trip. Thank you for following my article today, hope you have a moment of relaxation. See you in the next post. Have a nice day! ❤️