Escape this world, meet another world
Starting from Hanoi, we rode a motorbike for about 120 km to Huu Lien commune, Huu Lung, Lang Son. It was winter but the weather was still mild, only two layers of clothes were enough to feel warm during the trip. After two hours of traveling, I began to feel the fresh air and the scent of grass and trees.
Huu Lien is surrounded by limestone mountains, dense forests and rice fields. Different shades of green create an extremely diverse and rich ecosystem with rugged limestone mountains, caves, underground streams, waterfalls and giant lakes that flood seasonally.
Lost in a primitive village isolated from the world, Lan Dat village of the Dao people
Every year, I come to Huu Lien once and stay at the community tourism village, which gathers the unique cultural identity of the Kinh, Tay, Dao, Nung people... with spacious and airy stilt houses. I still stay at the homestay Goc Da because I love the hospitality and delicious meals of the host family. I just wanted to get away from the city for a few days and rest at the homestay, however, the host couple offered to take us to explore an isolated village of the Dao people. So the next morning, after a full breakfast, our group followed the host Mr. Phoc trekking into the village.
Dong Lam Grassland, from here we started walking through the mountains into the village.
The road to the village has to go through cliffs and is quite difficult to go. However, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the green forest.
The only road into the village is on the right side of Dong Lam grassland. The motorbike only goes to the end of the grassland, then we park the motorbike there and start walking. We pass through cliffs with many sharp rocks, steep and rugged slopes. Surrounded by cool green forests, the sound of wind whistling, birds chirping, roosters crowing, and streams flowing.
The road to the village is dangerous, even a light rain can make it very slippery and winding with many turns, but after an hour of climbing, the first feeling when seeing the village is so peaceful. So, just a mountain range away from the Dong Lam grassland, we came to another world, the isolated world of the Dao community.
Peaceful scene in isolated village
The roofs of the Dao people's houses are faintly visible.
Village 5 is not lost in the mountains and forests.
In the middle of the vast valley, there are only a dozen small, old houses. Previously, Lan Dat village had 30 households, now there are only 16. Since last year, children in the village have been sent to the commune center for boarding school, but before, teachers still had to cross mountains and forests to get to the village to teach. During the flood season, the road to the village becomes even more difficult when villagers have to row boats to reach Dong Lam, but Dong Lam is also submerged in water at that time, so to get to the commune center, people have to continue rowing across the steppe, taking about two hours.
Dao people in Lan Dat village are honest and warm-hearted.
The flow of urbanization seems unable to reach Lan Dat. A mountain wall separates the village from the crowded world and also prevents them from contacting modern things that have become basic, which are electricity and transportation. Years have passed, the village still has 5 no's: no electricity, no roads, not a single motorbike, no market, no Internet.
The village is complete with the most pristine things such as yin-yang roofed stilt houses, green grass fields, caves, cliffs, lakes, wooden bridges, etc. The natural scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. People live in harmony and rely on nature, so they cherish every little thing in life.
Simple stilt houses nestled among the mountains and forests
The meal in the village was prepared by Mr. Trinh and his wife.
We stopped by Mr. Trinh's house for lunch with a full meal prepared by him and his wife, including turmeric chicken, local pork cooked with ginger, and vegetable soup. Chickens in the village are raised for up to 2 years before being "slaughtered". In the village, everyone lives self-sufficiently, including making tiles to build houses. Mr. Trinh told us that during flood season, Dong Lam can be flooded more than ten meters deep. Lan Dat village is submerged in water, people move up the mountain to avoid the flood, buffaloes, horses, and chickens are scattered everywhere, after the flood, they are happy to collect any chickens. Lack of modern equipment combined with the weather conditions makes farming and raising livestock in the village not easy.
The wooden bridge was designed by the villagers themselves.
Mr. Trinh knows that there are a few places in the village where he can get a phone signal, so he often walks around and holds up his phone to "wait" for a signal. If he needs to use the Internet, he has to climb a long way to the top of Ong But, which is halfway to Dong Lam, to get 3G network. Mr. Trinh's stilt house has enough basic equipment such as batteries, solar panels, electric wires, and fans, but electricity is still extremely precious. His family is ready for a life with electricity, but electricity is not yet ready to come to the village.
Because of the difficult roads, only occasionally would a group of tourists visit Lan Dat village and have a meal, which would give the villagers a little extra income. One thing I really liked about going up the mountain was that the brothers and sisters always put their heart into every little thing. They were warm and enthusiastic, took us to explore many places, cooked very well and always asked if we had any comments or if there was anything we were not satisfied with so that they could improve little by little.
On your trip to Lan Dat and Dong Lam, you can combine exploring Nong Dung Lake - a beautiful blue lake.
Mr. Trinh asked us over and over again if the turmeric chicken was tasty, if the pickled bamboo shoots were to his liking, so that he could adjust them. He did not know that, for us, people who “live in the heart of the city but dream of a deserted town”, there is nothing better than a meal in the middle of the mountains and forests, when we can relax both physically and mentally, eat simple but quality dishes, sit in the middle of the mountains and forests, take a deep breath of fresh air and chat with the simple villagers.
If one day you want to find the most pristine things, visit Lan Dat village of the Dao people!
Dong Lam grassland in the dry season
