05/07/2023
A Trip to the Hidden Villages of Vietnam
In 2013, when I wandered to Mucangchai, I was overwhelmed by the breathtaking terraced rice fields that looked like a man-made masterpiece carved into nature. I fell in love with this land because of its stunning scenery. I was captivated by the sunset fading over the majestic terraced fields, and I was mesmerized by the morning sunbeams peeking through the white clouds surrounding the distant mountains. Everything was truly amazing, like a magnet drawing me back for a second time in 2016.
This time, I decided to stay longer to find a piece of land for myself. Fortunately, I found a hill nestled in the vast valley of terraced rice fields. These fields have been the cracks on the space for hundreds of years. During my stay here, besides the beautiful scenery, I also learned about the customs and traditions of the Hmong people. These humble people wake up early in the morning to work on the high mountains, harvesting rice and corn. They live in mostly cold weather with bare feet and cracked hands, but they always have a cheerful and optimistic attitude, with innocent and happy eyes far away from the smoky and dusty city life. I admire them a lot!
However, I also saw some real injustices in their lives, caused by customs and habits. Especially for the young girls here, 14-15 years old, they have become wives, daughters-in-law, and mothers while those skills have not been carefully taught. In my opinion, they should have been studying at school and playing with their friends at this age. I witnessed the fate of these young girls and the young mothers who were too young to become wives and mothers. I also saw the injustice and inequality within their families, where women and young girls often suffer. This gave me the motivation to build the Mucangchai Ecolodge. I wanted to do something small for them. Apart from business, this is an opportunity for young Hmong mothers to work and learn from tourists. They can have a more stable income, and gradually, their role in the family will be more respected. Later, the female staff, who are young Hmong mothers, knew more about the meaning of International Women's Day (March 8th) and Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20th) when receiving flowers and gratitude from their male colleagues and especially from their husbands!
So what about the Mucangchai Ecolodge? In fact, the style of the Mucangchai Ecolodge is rustic and simple, minimizing everything to save energy. We try to reuse old houses and use local materials for construction. We value the natural scenery and try to keep it intact. We try to minimize the use of heavy concrete blocks for construction. We mainly offer tourists an open space with nature, openness, and privacy. Therefore, we usually advise against noisy tour groups, parties, and gala dinners. Besides the terraced fields during the water pouring season from April to May, tourists can also enjoy the changing scenery from June to October, from the young green rice to the light yellow rice to the ripe golden rice under the warm sunshine. If tourists think that they have only experienced Mucangchai during the rice harvest season, they are missing out on many other activities. For example, the flower seasons in Mucangchai, visiting the Tớ Dày (Mai Anh Đào) flower forest in La Pán from December to January, the Phai Blossom season in February with pink petals and purple buds, the Apple Blossom season in July, visiting the Sunday market in the town, and conquering the Lùng Cúng mountain peak over 2900m for adventure lovers and hikers!
Here, I have walked many times in the forest, on paths that only hunters know, I have crossed the poor villages hidden in the hills where only the locals know. Many times, I have taken foreign guests to their villages, and I cannot forget when the children thought they were giants and ran away to hide behind the doors but still curious, peeking through the cracks to see who those big-nosed, blue-eyed, white-skinned people were and where they came from! After a few times, they gradually learned how to interact with the strange Westerners. After some hesitation to the intimate handshakes, the refreshing laughter echoed in the corner of the village, and of course, the cups of corn wine made us forget our steps back.
After a day conquering high mountain peaks, wandering through terraced rice fields and crossing dreamy streams, we will have an evening around a warm campfire, listening to soothing music and maximizing our relaxation, so that we wake up the next day feeling completely re-energized.
Every moment here brings me a state of being myself, no longer struggling with the suffocating hustle and bustle of city life. And in me, a song suddenly rings out: "Go away to come back..."
