Spring in the mountains

Whenever I feel that my daily life is too boring, I often choose a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Sa Pa is one of those options, not too far to go and not too close for an ideal "shelter". However, this time the trip to Sa Pa was very different when I set foot in the resort town in the northwest of this country in the early days of the new year.

Sa Pa is a highland town 38km from Lao Cai city. Now there are tourist buses from Hanoi via the Hanoi – Lao Cai highway, shortening the time by half, but I still prefer to take the train. Because after a night's sleep, I arrived in Sa Pa town with a refreshed spirit.

Although I come every year, each time Sa Pa brings me different feelings and interesting experiences. If the drizzling rains and golden terraced fields in Sa Pa have been imprinted in my mind, then in the first days of the year, I can freely immerse myself in the floating fog that covers everything it passes by.

The stone church in the center, which was recently flooded with sunlight, had almost disappeared, then suddenly reappeared in the rays of sunlight interspersed with clouds. The cherry blossoms on the top of Ham Rong Mountain, which seemed to be flickering in the cold, bloomed in the sunlight amidst the lush green forest, painting a colorful picture of spring before my eyes. That scene must have only been seen in a fairyland, or I had been enchanted by Sa Pa with the most wonderful things.

This season, the pink peach buds of various colors and the pure white plum blossoms have begun to bloom despite the cold. The dew drops still lingering on the branches from the night before make the beauty of the flowers even more pure. Spring is the season of new life, of the rays of sunshine signaling the coming of a new year full of vitality.

There is nothing more wonderful than watching the branches of flowers soar up to the sky, listening to the music of young men and the simple songs of indigenous girls on a spring morning. The love market of the past is no longer as intact as it was when life in Sa Pa is developing and modernizing day by day. However, young couples in the spring still meet and make love as their ethnic tradition has been for many generations.

Heritage Magazine