Life
in Vietnam’s northernmost province is simple, tough and beautiful
When people ask me what the most beautiful
spot in Vietnam is, I say without hesitation: Ha Giang.
Tourists in China’s Yunan Province may be
mesmerized by the beauty of the Shilin Rock Forest, but Shilin is less than 100
square kilometers while the towering limestone karsts of Ha Giang, Vietnam’s
northernmost province, seem to go on forever.
The area - which borders China and is known as
Vietnam’s “Final Frontier - has been listed by UNESCO as an official Global
Geopark, thanks to its 400 million year-old landscape.
The stones and rocks of Ha Giang are converted
into many things, most commonly into stoves, fences and stables. The simple
structures are foreign to Vietnam’s delta dwellers.
The kids here are simple, hospitable and as
beautiful as a picture. They always wave to greet strangers. They rush out of
their homes to say hello when they hear the sound of an engine coming down the
road.
The best way to see the area is on two wheels.
But if you take a motorcycle, make sure you stop frequently to take in the
incredible scenery. You can’t take too many pictures in Ha Giang.
The ethnic minority people in Ha Giang are
beautiful and hard-working. Each community is different and they all wear
unique and brightly colored clothes that change with the seasons.
The best thing about Ha Giang is just simply
driving it’s wondrous roads through the other-worldly landscape. Many of the
area’s most marvelous images have been etched into my mind, and I’ll die having
never forgotten them. The main roads cut through mesmerizing valleys of
staircase rice terraces and steep mountainsides. In some places the road dips down
into a valley of rice paddies with the giant karsts looming above on all sides.
Cliffs of colorful rocks drop off into lush riverbeds and everywhere is a mix
of stone and greenery.
From a distance, the main road looks like a
silk thread stretched across a valley or woven through a mountain top. The
roads can be narrow and treacherous, and some smaller roads running through the
forest or through mud on the mountainside are just for dare-devils.
Ha Giang’s cultural specialty is its markets.
There are weekend market sessions at Meo Vac, Dong Van, Hoang Su Phi, Xin Man
and Quan Ba. The famous Phong Luu Khau Vai is a “love market” that meets only
once a year. The event is a chance for people to find love or their “other halves.”
It runs only from the evening of the 26th to the afternoon of the 27th of the
third lunar month every year.
People go to the market to look, listen, and
meet friends. It’s a simple but entertaining outing for many, and the people of
Ha Giang don’t ask for much more. The markets are also an interesting
socio-economic mix where some shoppers dress in the height of local ethnic
fashion while others come in taters.
I met a family of five in ragged clothes at
Meo Vac Market and I bought them five pairs of shoes. It cost little more than
VND100,000. They were so happy and wrapped up their old shoes to take home to
wear in the house.
At Hoang Su Phi Market, I tried carrying a
basket of firewood carried by a H’mong girl. It must have been over 40 kilos of
firewood but it cost only VND25,000.
I realized that she and her husband work for
two days to earn just enough for a cup of coffee in Ho Chi Minh City. We in the
so-called “modern” world are spoiled and could learn a lot from the beautiful
people of Ha Giang.
By Nguyen Van My
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