The (Further) North – Day 1

We departed Ha Giang at about 0800. Our driver was the same as the day before, Hiep (pronounced Yep). Our guide was Tuna (that’s what he told us) and we had a trainee guide call Tiem with us also. Hiep and Tuna are of the Nung ethnic group, Tiem was Tai. There are 17 ethnic groups in the north of Vietnam, and 54 in all of Vietnam. The day was already hot (it wasn’t just us complaining about the heat, everyone was, including the locals) but the car was air-conditioned. Our destination was Dong Van, with some stops along the way. The itinerary we were sent when booking our trip said we would be at Dong Van at about 1700.

We drove up and down mountains through the province of Ha Giang. Several stops were made for photo opportunities, including at Heavens Gate (1,600 m), with its great views. The French built a 150 cm thick gate here in 1939 to control the area. The gate is gone but the views haven’t. As we gained and lost altitude we noticed a change in the crops, at low altitude mostly rice, and higher up corn. Unfortunately the atmosphere was a bit hazy, so we didn’t have quite the view we wanted. But what can you do? We made the most of what we had.

Heaven’s gate is also the entry point to the UNESCO recognised Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. The area is dotted with spectacular limestone and granite mountains and outcrops, which just reach upwards from the flat plateau around them. Nearby we walked up 100 concrete steps to get a really good view, including the Fairy Mountains, two smaller mountains right next to each other which resemble the breasts of a young woman, or in this case, a fairy (there is a legend to go with this).

On we went, stopping whenever we asked to enjoy the view and take photos. We visited Nam Dam, a small village with a cluster of home stays where we had a delicious lunch of traditional food. The buildings are all built in the adobe style, so are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This is a Dao village, the Dao being one of several ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang province. When we arrived the family had a shaman visiting; he was talking (in Chinese) to the dead ancestors for them This is done annually to pass on news from the living to the afterlife, and to get the blessing of the ancestors.

After lunch we continued on and stopped at a Hmong (another ethnic group) village to see how they use the hemp plant to make fabric. This was interesting, and also fun to see fields of hemp which look like fields of marijuana. The Hmong people live at higher altitudes where rice can’t be grown, so they grow corn and it was everywhere. We saw it growing all around us, wherever it could be planted, and laid out to dry as ears and kernels.

Travelling on, we stopped in a dusty, uninteresting town called Yen Minh. We only stopped for cold drinks and a break. Then it was on to see the Vuong Palace. This was the residence of the King of the Hmong people. It was built for Vuong Chinh Duc, who was recognised as King by the French and other rulers in Vietnam, in the early 1900’s. He sold 70% of his opium crop to the French, which helped to foster a good and profitable relationship. The palace was interesting with an interesting history, not of just the building but also the family.

Finally we headed through the Rocky Mountains to Dong Van. The Rocky Mountains are exactly that, rocky. There are some impressive natural rock formations, but more impressive is the quantity of corn growing in tiny areas between rocks. At some point locals have carried soil up the mountains to spread between the rocks so they can plant corn. All the corn is hand sowed and harvested. We also noticed that it is the Hmong women that do all the work, we saw several of them walking a long way with large bundles of grass on their backs. The grass is for animal feed in the winter. The Hmong men seem happy relaxing (and drinking).

It was almost dark when we got to Dong Van. The town is famous for its Sunday market, but since it was Sunday when we arrived, we had missed it. But we had dinner then went to bed, we were tired. It had been a long but enjoyable day. The roads were paved, but windy and narrow. The scenery varied and spectacular. We drove past fields of corn and elephant grass (for animal feed), and of course, hemp, The people were friendly and our guides and driver excellent at their jobs and good company.

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