Huu Trang (Da Nang) made a journey to explore Iceland in mid-November. For her, the Iceland road trip was truly a journey to experience the wonders of nature: seeing volcanic fields, towering cliffs, majestic waterfalls, roads that you can only see in movies, remote areas of ice and snow...
“Everything seemed so unreal in Iceland, I felt like I was living on another planet again, after my trip to Namibia the month before,” said Huu Trang.
Huu Trang just had a road trip to explore Iceland last November.
Iceland is known as the land of "fire and ice". The reason for this name is because the country has a special geology. The geology of the country includes plateaus characterized by sand and lava fields, in addition to mountains and many glaciers flowing into the sea through the lowlands.
"There will certainly not be anything outstanding in Iceland, but what is important is how we will face and experience each destination, with extremely harsh weather conditions in the days of November. For me, the road trip to Iceland is a spectacular and worth-experiencing journey because there is no place in the world that can bring you so many interesting things," said Huu Trang.
Iceland is known as the land of "fire and ice" because this country possesses special geology.
Road trip is a popular concept in America about a new type of tourism. For a long time, road trip has been understood as a journey by road, carried out with the most popular means of transport being a car.
Huu Trang's Iceland road trip started from November 9 to 20. The places she visited and experienced in Iceland were: exploring Reykjavik - the capital of Iceland - experiencing Sky Lagoon, the legendary Golden Circle route, Thingvellir park, Haukadalur geothermal area, Strokkur hot spring, Gullfoss waterfall, Southeast Iceland route, whale watching in Haugannes bay, Fjadrargljufur canyon, Crystal Iceland, West Iceland...
Iceland is known for its spectacular collection of waterfalls.
Gullfoss Waterfall - one of the most majestic and beautiful of Iceland's more than 10,000 waterfalls, is a place where she feels truly satisfied. Or the Southeast Iceland route, heading towards the southern coast, towards the magnificent Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, the famous black sand beach Reynisfjara surrounded by black basalt columns and is one of Iceland's most famous places.
As for Fjadrargljufur canyon, the place that gave Huu Trang the most overwhelming feeling in the midst of Iceland's natural scenery, made her exclaim that she wished she could come back in the summer again. This is also where the MV "I'll Show You" with more than 444 million views of the famous star Justin Bieber was made, and because of this, exploring Fjadrargljufur canyon is very limited at the present time because before the number of tourists visiting was so large that the Icelandic government was concerned about the issue of nature conservation.
Fjadrargljufur in southeastern Iceland is a canyon about 100 m deep, stretching about 2 km along the Fjadra River. It was formed at the end of the ice age due to glacier erosion, creating grooves. This is also where Justin Beber made the MV I'll show you
Next was the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where she first saw large icebergs drifting calmly towards the ocean and following their path to Diamond Beach, they looked like crystals on the black satin beach.
Alternatively, head to West Iceland to explore the magnificent Snæfellsnes Peninsula, a world of cliffs, mountain spurs, unique wildlife and ancient fishing settlements. The first stop is Gerðuberg – a cluster of hexagonal basalt columns. To reach Djúpalónssandur beach, you have to walk through a maze of lava columns created thousands of years ago. You can’t leave the Snæfellsnes Peninsula without seeing the iconic Kirkjufell mountain, one of Iceland’s most popular attractions, which was also featured in Game of Thrones as the “arrowhead mountain” beyond the wall. Alternatively, take the road north of Iceland to the small town of Hauganes and see whales in Haugannes Bay.
Djúpalónssandur - the beach that inspired the movie Frozen 2. This beach has a mysterious black sandbank covered with black pebbles and rocky outcrops of various shapes like monsters hiding to protect what belongs to it.
"The most challenging journey for me was conquering trekking into Crystal Iceland and then visiting the restored Viking village in Iceland," said Huu Trang.
When it comes to Iceland, it is impossible not to mention the Vikings, who are known as outstanding traders, warlike warriors and talented sailors. They had their own civilization (religion, society, politics) and dominated Europe from the 8th to the 11th century in a period called the “Viking Age”. Coming to Iceland, you cannot bring a weak spirit and a weak body, especially with this harsh weather, so a little “viking” spirit will help you have the motivation to overcome yourself.
The weather here is so harsh that Huu Trang is more mentally shocked than heat stroke.
"In the cold rain and wind and the dark scenery to check-in at the Ice Cave, it was freezing cold, stuffy and hard to breathe and I couldn't take any decent photos after the whole journey through the rain and dirty sand. I was soaked in the rain and exhausted but still persistently stopped by the reconstructed Viking village to let myself get lost in a story, a movie that I was both the director and the actor in," she said.
Diamond Beach attracts with its giant sparkling icebergs standing out on the black sand, creating a magical space of another world, where Huu Trang turns it into her own catwalk.
Another wonderful feeling of Huu Trang in the journey to explore the land of Iceland is the experience of snowmobiling tour. With this activity, the cost will be around 5 million, you will have an hour to run far on the endless white snow without stopping, this experience gives you the feeling of existing in a real frozen world, nothing exists but snow and white snow. This challenging experience makes her have another feeling of falling off the planet.
Experience the snowmobiling tour, you will be immersed in the white space of snow
Every trip has its own difficulties that we can all overcome, but Iceland gave her a slightly “scary” experience.
Huu Trang added: "I still remember clearly when the weather was at the yellow wind warning level. The car on the road felt like all 4 wheels were broken and flew off the ground and then fell down because of the wind. At that time, I realized that the wind in Iceland can blow the car away at any time and at the highest level. What will come will come. When I reached the black rock beach to fight the wind, took 1-2 pictures and then returned to the car, I discovered that the car door had been blown away by the wind and could not continue moving. So the whole team had to sit at the only small shop nearby and wait for the rescue vehicle to take them to the nearest hotel to stay."
Every day of the Icelandic exploration journey had to be changed and some locations had to be omitted due to weather conditions and danger warnings.
According to Huu Trang, almost every day the itinerary had to be changed and some locations had to be omitted because the weather did not allow the experience and there were warnings of danger. Another experience was trekking through the rain and ice caves in the 1-4 degree weather with rain and wind, which almost exhausted her.
Talking about Iceland's weather, she recalled with emotion: "I want to use the word scary. And to be honest, I was more mentally shocked than heat-shocked, because for heat-shock, there are thermal jackets and life jackets."
Iceland is always a place that attracts many tourists to explore.
"There was a time when I wanted to give up and buy a plane ticket to return home, but because I was still eager for the next experiences, I tried to overcome myself to go to the end. If you come to Iceland in the winter, bring courage, daring and a positive spirit. When coming to Iceland, always remember to appreciate nature, whether it is a branch, a leaf, or just a pebble on the beach," Huu Trang shared.
