The story of two young boys conquering Ta Xua.

Prepare

The Ta Xua mountain range forms a natural boundary between Son La and Yen Bai provinces. The peak of the Ta Xua range, at 2,875 meters, is located in Tram Tau district, Yen Bai province. Conquering this peak requires physical fitness and experience, as the hiking trail is very difficult and strenuous. However, wanting to give the children a chance to experience and train them, and believing that with proper planning, they can be just as capable as adults, I chose Ta Xua – Bac Yen – Son La as our destination this season to admire the cloud paradise. The trip only takes 2 days and 1 night, so we took advantage of our two-day weekend.

My two sons, Minh Dang (9 years old) and Quang Huy (7 years old), were very excited when they learned about the mountain climbing and cloud-chasing trip. Because they've had quite a few similar experiences before, they prepared their own clothes, folded and organized their personal belongings. It gets quite cold on the mountain at night, so they needed long pants (jeans, thermal pants) and a jacket. Minh Dang also made sure to charge his camera, prepare snacks, and fill his water bottle, packing it in his backpack. The two brothers also asked their dad to prepare some candy and toys to give to the children on the mountain.

Day 1: Conquering the "Dinosaur's Backbone"

At 6 a.m., the whole group departed from Hanoi. If going via Son Tay, there are two options: the route via Trung Ha Bridge and the route via Dong Quang Bridge. The route via Trung Ha Bridge has some sections of rather bad road, so you should take the route via Dong Quang Bridge.

After breakfast in Son Tay, we headed straight to Ta Xua, a journey of over 200 km that took more than 5 hours to reach our destination. We booked accommodation and meals at Ta Xua Hill, which can accommodate about 50 guests. There are 4 cocoon-shaped tents priced at 250,000 VND each, each tent can sleep 2-4 people, but we slept collectively in the stilt house because all the tents were occupied. Each person had a mattress and a warm blanket for only 90,000 VND, including breakfast (purple sticky rice or instant noodles).

After more than 5 hours of bumpy travel in the car, everyone was quite hungry. We arrived in Ta Xua right at lunchtime. Lunch was impressive because the dishes were simple but delicious, thanks to the completely natural food. Free-range pork, odorless mountain goat, mountain-raised chicken, and vegetables grown right in the garden. After a 30-minute rest after lunch, we set off for the "dinosaur's spine" – Hang Dong. The distance from the Ta Xua cloud-watching spot to the "dinosaur's spine" is about 40 km, and the road is difficult to travel quickly because some sections are prone to landslides after the rainy season. But the scenery along the way is stunning; from the car, we could admire the majestic mountains of Northwest Vietnam and the valleys full of terraced rice fields stretching out before our eyes.

To reach the Dinosaur Ridge, you have to walk about 2.5 km to get to the final point, where you get the best view. Minh Dang and Quang Huy had been there once before and were familiar with the route, so they happily ran along the ridge, leading the group to distribute snacks and candy to the children tending the cows. The path along the ridge is narrow, with ravines on both sides; some young people manage to ride motorbikes almost to the final point. Near the final point, there's a very narrow section of road, only about 40 cm wide, making it quite dangerous. Everyone had to walk in a line because there wasn't enough space to pass each other.

Quang Huy happily ran back and forth, exploring and admiring the beautiful spots to point out to Minh Dang so he could take photos. Their father provided them with a small camera so they could both take pictures and record videos of their favorite moments and angles. With this small camera, the two brothers freely took selfies and checked in. This time, they decided to run to the end of the dinosaur ridge first to take photos, then sat down to play, rest, and chat about the trip while waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Up on the dinosaur's back, the wind was quite strong. Many photography enthusiasts and scenic viewpoints set up tents to sleep in the wide open areas to watch the sunrise and the sea of ​​clouds in the early morning. The feeling of standing on the last promontory of the dinosaur's spine at dawn, with clouds right below your feet and a sea of ​​fluffy clouds all around, must be amazing. But I'll probably let my two younger children experience this feeling on a next trip, as I want them to get used to it gradually.

After conquering the "Dinosaur's Backbone," dinner at Ta Xua Hill was also a wonderful experience because the ingredients were all products of the mountains and forests. The best dish for me was the mustard greens grown in the garden, eaten raw. The mustard greens here have a hundred times more fragrant than those grown in the lowlands. The pungent spiciness hits your nose like eating wasabi; they're perfect for wrapping fish or beef in mustard greens.

While the men socialized, the women and children gathered around a bonfire in the yard to roast sweet potatoes grown in the mountains. While waiting for the potatoes to cook, Minh Dang and Quang Huy ran around playing and then sat gazing at the stars. Never before had the two brothers seen such a starry sky. The stars here felt bigger, brighter, and much closer than when they gazed at them in Hanoi. The members of the group also explained many things about astronomy and constellations, so the two brothers thoroughly enjoyed it.

The potatoes were roasted to perfection in no time. After their first bite, both brothers exclaimed, "We've never eaten roasted potatoes that were so fragrant and sweet!" Indeed, the roasted potatoes from Ta Xua were incredibly fragrant, soft, and sweet like honey. Sitting around the fire, enjoying the roasted potatoes, Minh Dang and Quang Huy insisted on staying until morning to watch the sea of ​​clouds, but their father disagreed, saying they needed to sleep to be strong enough for the next day. However, it wasn't until midnight that the two boys finally went up to the stilt house to sleep.

Day two: Cloud hunting in Ta Xua

At 5:30 a.m., Minh Dang and Quang Huy jumped up, wide awake, put on warm clothes, and ran out to admire the sea of ​​clouds. It was still early morning, the sun hadn't risen yet, and clouds were beginning to gather in the valley. The two brothers cheered with joy, certain that a sea of ​​clouds was coming, given the weather and the clouds gathering like that.

The sun gradually rose from behind the mountains. They had watched sunrises over the sea many times before, but this was the first time the two brothers had seen the sun rise from the sea of ​​clouds. As the sun moved, the colors of the clouds changed rapidly: from white to blue, then pink – purple – red, and finally yellow. Each color only appeared for about 5-7 minutes before changing again. Excitement, exclamations, jumping, running back and forth, pointing – these were the actions of the two brothers at that moment. Minh Dang grabbed his camera and ran around looking for the perfect angle to capture the scene.

Around 8 a.m., the sun had fully risen, so we got back in the car and headed to other cloud-watching spots. The weather was beautiful, so along the way to Xim Vang, we stopped several times because everywhere we looked, we saw a sea of ​​clouds.

On the bus, Minh Dang told Quang Huy about the times he had "eaten delicious clouds" in Pu Luong, Cao Bang, Ha Giang... Because Quang Huy "forgot to eat them" on those occasions, he eagerly suggested: "Dad, if there are lots of clouds nearby, please let me stop so I can try them." Following the advice of the bus drivers, "to eat delicious clouds, suck on a mint candy," the little boy immediately sucked on a mint candy. When the fog rolled in, he frantically demanded the bus stop so he could eat the clouds, then eagerly opened his mouth and gnawed and chewed on them. His mannerisms while eating the clouds were just like a cartoon with a dinosaur who loves to eat clouds. "It smells a bit pungent, but it tastes delicious and cool, so it's a little cold on the teeth," Quang Huy revealed, making everyone on the bus burst into laughter.

Based on my experience of chasing clouds and ripening rice fields many times, when the weather is fine in Ta Xua, Xim Vang is prone to fog, but if Ta Xua is foggy, Xim Vang is beautiful. And indeed, the sky in Xim Vang was clear and sunny, with clouds still lingering from the foot to the middle of the mountain. This was the dry season and the cloud season, so the terraced rice fields hadn't been planted yet. The Xim Vang valley is hard to beat during the rainy season or the rice harvest season. If we passed through Xim Vang, we could go to Tram Tau and then back to Hanoi, but we had an appointment in Bac Yen, so we stopped to admire some waterfalls along the way before returning to Ta Xua.

These waterfalls are all located right next to the road and have underground streams for the water to flow through. Minh Dang and Quang Huy liked the Big Waterfall (as the locals call it) the most. In the summer, locals often come here to bathe and wash clothes, and tourists also frequently come here to take photos and check in. Despite the cold, the two boys rolled up their pants, took off their shoes, and waded into the stream. The rocks in the stream were slippery, so Quang Huy fell and sat down, getting his shirt and pants wet, but he continued playing in the water. I didn't want to stop them, letting them experience it; they could change their wet clothes in the car later.

Leaving Xim Vang and returning to Ta Xua, the mountains and forests of Ta Xua were already covered in thick fog, even though it was almost noon. Our group left this cloud paradise to go down to Bac Yen for lunch before returning to Hanoi, ending our cloud-hunting trip. We promised to return to Ta Xua next time to sleep on the "Dinosaur Ridge" to hunt for early morning clouds, visit Chu Cave, and take photos of the terraced rice fields during the rainy season and the golden rice harvest season.

Best times to visit Ta Xua

- The best time to see the sea of ​​clouds is from November to early April. This is also the dry season in the mountains, so the roads are easier to travel than during the rainy season.

- The rainy season is when people channel water into the terraced rice fields to prepare for planting.

- The rice harvest season is from approximately August to October.

- If you miss the cloud-eating season, you can visit this area during the wild apple blossom season. Wild apple blossoms bloom white along the roadsides and mountains, creating a magnificent sight.

- In recent years, the Hmong people in Bac Yen have stopped planting rice according to the traditional agricultural calendar and returned to ancient farming methods, meaning they plant rice first in fields with sufficient water and suitable conditions. This has created a unique character for the terraced rice fields here. It's not difficult to see fields of golden ripe rice ready for harvest while the adjacent fields are still lush green and just beginning to bloom.

Dang Tran Van