Ha Giang, Vietnam, the nature, the people and the story

I wouldn't make up my mind straight away for this trip to a part of Vietnam. At first, I was so sure about going to Ninh Binh in which the movie Kong was filmed, sadly November is not an ideal month to explore the place. Then it came to Da Lat, however, I was warned that Da Lat would be super busy during this time. Being tired of the crowd, I chose to skip Da Lat. Finally it came to Ha Giang. Ha Giang is 500km away from Hanoi, no flight but 9 hours driving to the extreme north of Vietnam, it's a much less popular travel option. I just did some simple research on the destination and when google search popped out some pictures of Ma Pi Leng pass, I was like "Goddamnit, let's go!"

First day, it was rainy and foggy, from inside of the car, I couldn't help sighing. When the car stopped at Quan Ba village, from the hill, the local guy pointed down and told me "If it's not as foggy, from here you would have a good view of the Double Mountain (or in another translation, it's Fairy Mountain, or in my very own words it's "Fairy Tits Mountain"). As I have mentioned in an old post, everything in Vietnam has a story behind its name, so does this mountain. It's a story of a fairy felt in love with lip lute sound of a H'mong guy. She left the zenith to the lower world for him, they felt in love and together had a baby boy. God found out and was so angry, he ordered the fairy to go back to the zenith. Loving her husband and her son, the fairy left her breasts on the earth. The breasts fed her son to grow up and turned into a mountain. Thanks to the water from the mountain, the people living nearby would grow incredibly yummy fruits, veggies and corn. Indeed, it's a touching story, but I couldn't help busting to laugh. "Too bad it's so foggy, we can't see any tits today" The dude's sincere comment didn't help to make me stop laughing. My only thought was "Hey Mountain, I'm so gonna name you Fairy Tits Mountain!" As the laughter came, the trip and the weather seemed to get better.

I wouldn't take any photo of Fairy Tits Mountain, here is an awesome photo of it, from Google search

At 6am of next day, I was already up for a simple breakfast and went on two-hours drive to Meo Vac village. On the way, I stopped at the a Tam Giac Mach flower field, being surrounded by Ha Giang's iconic flowers in early dew and hoar frost, it's just so surreal.

By the time I reached the village, I finally got the very first sun light of the day. It simply put the brightest smile on my face. I saw a lot of cute kids carrying saddles of gorgeous yellow rape-flower. From my experience in Sapa, Lao Cai, another province in Vietnam, I thought these kids might follow me around selling something or asking for money, but they ain't asking for anything. Or else, they were supposed to follow me as how the adults taught them, but they just didn't give a damn about us, the adults. I joined them and literally I ain't worried for nothing or anything. Kids here are just so adorable in their very own way. The cold of the highland gives them red cheeks, the most basic food made by corn gives them a solid body, the sunlight gives them a healthy glow of sun-kissed skin and the simple life gives them a simple happiness. Watching them playing brought so much of light in me.

Before leaving, I gratefully gave them small change, thinking that it might get them a better meal today. But there was a guy noticing me doing that, he came to me and said "You should not do that, these kids might skip school and just come here for that easy money from tourists." It's not the first time I fell into that dilemma, I wanted to help but I didn't do it right.

Leaving the village, I went to Lung Cu, it's about 70 km away from Meo Vac, the pass really scared the shit out of me. It was so small, curvy and bumpy. Lung Cu is well-known for the Flag Tower, the mark of the northernmost point in Vietnam. It was 3pm, the frost was totally cleared by beautiful sunlight and the view from the summit of Lung Cu Peak was breathtaking. I told myself "All I need right now is a monkey to carry me, so that I would be like Lion King for real." We, humans are so small in front of nature, but when you feel so strong about yourself, you don't feel small anymore. I felt empowered by the air that I was breathing, by the sunlight that I was reaching and by the beauty that I was witnessing.

After Lung Cu Flag Tower, I visited the night market at Dong Van village and tried some local dishes. My favourite is definitely grilled corn on charcoal. I love corn. I would have it as my daily carb. I noticed the food is somehow reflecting the characters of people here, simple, fresh and down-to-earth. I couldn't wait for the next day to come, cos I finally going to Ma Pi Leng pass. I just couldn't wait.

The uphill road to get to Ma Pi Leng Pass was even worse, it's about 80km from Dong Van town. It was super narrow and sloping with a number of sharp bends. I was surprised that I didn't get sick motion because of the road. Indeed, I was super excited about the scenery along the way. It was beautiful beautiful out there, however, the pass was so small that even if you went by motorbike, you wouldn't have much of opportunities to stop by the road.

When I finally reached Ma Pi Leng pass, I wouldn't stop a conversation with myself "Ohh", "Wow", "Oh man", "Seriously", "Woohoo", "I can't believe it would be that beautiful!" It was about 10 in the morning, I got the cloud under my feet, the sun light above me and the most gorgeous view right across the horizon. I got what I needed the most- the interaction with nature by all senses to find the inner peace within myself.

I don't know how to write the ending of this trip, perhaps I just can't let it ended. Give Vietnam a try! I was absolutely amazed by what the country would offer:) More to come Steemit! ❤️