The first time I heard the name “Male”, I asked the homestay manager: “Do you only welcome male guests?” (because the word Male means male). Then we burst out laughing.
In fact, Male is a compound word of the name of Ma Le commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang - where the house is located. What is special is that the house is over 200 years old but still retains its original architecture, imbued with the cultural identity of the Giay people.
Ma Le is not noisy and bustling.
Ma Le is a variant of the word "Mia" which refers to the land of the Lo Lo people, but after the Giay people came to live there, they misread it as Ma Le. For those whose souls have belonged to the roads, the name Ma Le arouses even more curiosity. It is as mysterious as the remoteness and wilderness of this land.
Ma Le is about 12 km north of Dong Van center, because of its isolated location, this place is not too crowded with tourists. From Ha Giang city to Lung Cu flagpole, few people turn to Ma Le because this place is not on the "must-visit" list when coming to the northernmost land of the Fatherland. Coming to Male's house are mainly photographers or people who want to find out about the life of the indigenous people with intact values.
Buckwheat hills in Ma Le in early winter.
The road to Ma Le in late autumn and early winter is the bright pink buckwheat hills in the sun and the valleys covered in clouds, the undulating colorful clothes of children following their mothers to the fields. After hours of wandering on the road, stopping at the ancient village of Ma Le, staying overnight at Male Homestay is when you can experience the space imbued with the identity of the Giay ethnic group.
Giay culture in the ancient house
Male Homestay is located in the ancient village of Ma Le, surrounded by rocky mountains, with cool air all year round. The village has many ancient houses that are over 100 years old, built by the Giay people. More than 50 households live here, most of whom are Giay ethnic people. Male homestay is not only a place to rest, but also a place where you can experience the local people's lifestyle in the most authentic way.
Front of Male Homestay.
The house's architecture is still more or less influenced by the H'Mong people. The two-story stilt house has a ground floor of golden-yellow earthen walls and a roof covered with characteristic yin-yang tiles.
While the footprints of time have left their mark on the walls and old tiled roofs, the culture of the Giay people expressed in their architecture has not been lost. The Giay people use stone to build the entire foundation and footing of the walls, and use ironwood, pine, and red pine to make extremely sturdy houses. They sculpt dragon heads, bats, and elephants to support the beams. On the stone slabs, the carved patterns show the sophisticated technique and talent of the Giay people. The motifs are mainly animals, flowers, leaves, etc., reflecting the lives of the people.
Characteristic yin-yang tiled roof.
Wood carving in ancient house architecture of the Giay people.
The house pillars are made of stone,
The stone carvings reflect the life of the Giay people.
The resting place of wandering hearts
In recent years, the house has been used as a homestay to develop local community tourism.
When arriving at Male’s house, guests will be surprised to see the sign “house with fierce dog”. And then, immediately, 2 dogs trotted out wagging their tails. They are Ly and Sua, who have been living in Male for over a year now. Ly and Sua are hospitable hosts that anyone who comes here, stays close to when they stay, and misses when they leave.
The upper floor of Male Homestay has a balcony with a small corner for a guitar and a few books. There, guests can read books, drink tea and share old stories, some random things, sometimes lively, sometimes quiet enough to hear the wind whistling outside and the sounds of life in the mountain village.
From Male’s balcony, you can see the quiet yin-yang tiled roof, facing the mountains that are surrounded by clouds all year round. Because Ha Giang’s weather changes constantly, from morning to night, enjoying that sky with a cup of hot tea will certainly not be boring. Sometimes it is foggy, sometimes it is red sunset. Sitting here, just in one place, you can discover many new things in things that seem repetitive.
Imagine the changing of the seasons, in the middle of the quiet hills, in the early winter cold, the sound of the guitar mixed with the pattering of rain, how would that feel? That space is enough to make people just want to pamper themselves a little, "lazily" lean back on the cushion and sip a few sips of tea, flipping through a few pages of a book.
On a beautiful afternoon, the balcony suddenly becomes a "stage" for the sunlight to "perform". The sunlight passes through the bars, shining golden streaks, then casting shadows on the floor. This kind of sunlight has become addictive to many visitors.
Sunny balcony of Male Homestay.
Male’s house always has flowers on the table. Just by looking at the vase, you can tell what flowers are blooming in Ha Giang that season. Spring has white plum blossoms, pink peach blossoms, late autumn in October has gentle orange chrysanthemums, November when the weather starts to get cold has buckwheat flowers, sometimes the vase has a bunch of ripe plums in the flowerless seasons.
Every night, the fire in the middle of the house flickers. In the dim light, the strong aroma of corn wine lingers and smiles sparkle. The cups of wine - the drink that the Ha Giang people offer to guests - are as full as their affection and hospitality. This kitchen is very special. The kitchen is a place of warmth, a place where strangers can gather together; a place where they invite each other to grill chicken, drink corn wine over a pot of thang co in the cold of the highlands. There are not many restaurants in the village, this kitchen can also be used by guests if they want to cook for themselves. And it is also where stories last until night.
On busy days, guests can also rent a tent and camp overnight on the hill in front of the house, enjoying the starry sky and the fresh mountain air, a luxury in the city.
A new day in Ma Le begins with the clanging of the plowing gongs of the buffalo herd going to the fields, the chirping of birds, crowing of roosters, and barking of dogs like in many other mountain villages. Although tourism has developed, the lives of the people and their customs and habits remain the same. In front of Male’s house, there are still buffalo pens and haystacks. The sounds and colors are very familiar to the people of the highlands, but strange to those who come from the city.
How long does it take to understand and love a land? No one knows the exact answer. Coming to Ma Le, walking around the village, chatting with the locals, going to the market… you can more or less feel the rustic lifestyle of the people here.
Life "Leaving the city for the forest" - lessons from the simplest things
Male Homestay is currently managed and cared for by Nguyen Sy Duc (1995), who has “left the city for the forest” for more than 2 years because of his love for Ha Giang. For the 27-year-old man, the land of cat ear rocks is beautiful from every angle and time of the year. Each season has its own unique color.
Guests arrive at Male Homestay.
The first days in Ma Le were a big challenge for Duc when life "turned 360 degrees", everything was surprisingly strange.
“There were days when I fumbled around in the forest to fix the water, groping and muttering, or I should just go back to the lowlands right now, find a light office job, work 8 hours a day and then go to Ta Hien on the weekends. There were days when I traveled hundreds of kilometers of mountain passes, which seemed like half the world, just to buy a few simple things like nails and screws. There were days when it rained and there was no electricity, even though the young man was big, he was still afraid of being alone at times like that” - Duc recalled, “Ha Giang still lacks many things, lacks clean water filters, lacks convenience stores, and there are no cinemas for young people who like to watch horror movies at 2-3 pm to buy tickets for the whole theater”.
Nguyen Sy Duc has a special passion for photography.
After that, everything gradually became familiar, life in Ma Le helped Duc learn how to wake up at 6am to make a pot of hot tea, learn how to grow flowers, raise dogs; most of all, he had more time for books. “Cutting flowers is a seemingly easy but difficult task. Because I always want to watch the flowers swaying in the wind, I don’t like the flowers lying still in that ceramic jar. But I still have to cut them, so that the plant can grow new buds, new shoots”, Duc learned many things from the simplest things.
During the pandemic, Ha Giang stopped welcoming visitors, which was a time when Duc lived more slowly. Ma Le's life seemed to add more colors to Duc's picture of youth, whether gloomy or bright, which he cherished.
In the small notebook left by people who happened to stay at Male's house, there is a passage that says: "Come to Ma Le on a rainy day, light a fire in the firebox of the big room, then lie down on the floor, feel the cold of the wood seep through your skin, listen to the sound of rain falling on the yin-yang tiled roof, the sound of firewood crackling, watch the smoke billow up the wooden beams, up the yellow lamp inside the birdcage covered with spider webs for no reason at all."
Perhaps what people remember about a place is sometimes just the feeling of having belonged there, for things that don't need to be too elaborate or grand, even just for a few fleeting moments.
Contact MALE Homestay
Phone: +84982951190
Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/MALEhomestay
