Northwest roads!

Northwest? Splendid season on the roads! I have traveled through sunny and windy Northwest roads, stayed, missed them, and written poetry. The Son Nus in poetry and paintings, who were meditating with their eyes closed and reclining on the rice paddies, suddenly woke up. Still there, the terraced fields are still undulating in the middle of the sky. Upland rice in season is swirling in golden waves. I always feel the soft curves of the Northwest roads even while walking and the feeling of flying on the backs of giant, winding pythons.

Northwest? Splendid season on the roads! I have traveled through sunny and windy Northwest roads, stayed, missed them, and written poetry. The Son Nus in poetry and paintings, who were meditating with their eyes closed and reclining on the rice paddies, suddenly woke up. Still there, the terraced fields are still undulating in the middle of the sky. Upland rice in season is swirling in golden waves. I always feel the soft curves of the Northwest roads even while walking and the feeling of flying on the backs of giant, winding pythons.

Suddenly I remembered that the poems written about the Northwest still imprinted heroic pages of history during the ancient resistance war. “Through the Northwest, mountains soar thousands of miles away. Deep streams, high passes, many difficulties to overcome. Our soldiers obeyed Father Gia's orders and came here to liberate our homeland..." Remember the famous poem by poet Che Lan Vien:

“On the Northwest! Oh ten years in the Northwest

Sacred land, forests and mountains are heroic

Where blood drops, our soul soaks the ground

Now the hedges are ripe with early spring fruit...!

I wonder if every inch of land here, in the Northwestern region of the Fatherland, has been soaked in the sweat and blood of our army and people in the long resistance war against the French colonialists? I feel very lucky to have lived my whole childhood innocently in the border region of Lao Cai and later set foot in many northern regions of the country. There, brocade sunshine spreads gold across the hills. Where there are many rivers and streams that still flow day and night following the rhythm of the wandering life of the mountain people. High in the mountains, a lifetime of silence and patience. Where the clouds are white, adventurous and leisurely. Clouds are still white for thousands of years. The Northwest has four seasons of brocade sunshine. The sun burned the skin from Yen Bai and Lao Cai to Lai Chau and Dien Bien, and the sun poured down to Son La and Hoa Binh. Names of six beloved mountainous provinces.

The Northwest roads with charming curves are captivating! They carry strength and aura in the high mountains and deep forests and always captivate the feet of those who love nature and are passionate about the love of art. Many artists, just because of their burning passion for photography and painting, have always crossed the mountains, they come here to look for frames and realize their ideas for paintings. All because of the desire to "hunt" for natural beauty, the beauty of mountain people. Worthy of respect and pride because the eternal dreams of art and beauty are taking off!

From Mai Chau, Hoa Binh go to Son La, this is the route to the Northwest from Hanoi. Perhaps this is the easiest route to conquer. We started a long journey to the Northwest from Mai Chau - Hoa Binh to Son La. Driving through Thung Khe pass, everyone wants to get off to take the first pictures in the Tay Tien journey when exploring the Northwest. The route from Mai Chau, Hoa Binh to Son La is so beautiful. Along that 250km long road, the beauty of white blooming mustard flower fields always invites you to come down and check in. Everyone is more beautiful and happier when standing in front of thousands of flowers. “Small, pretty flowers. Small but full of love...". It is a wonderful stopping place, a paradise for girls who love gentle, white and pure beauty.

From Son La to Dien Bien is a beautiful Northwest road. The car passes through the historic Pha Din pass. This is a famous pass during the resistance war against the French, a place that marked the blood and bones of Vietnamese soldiers and militia in the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign with the "famous Dien Bien victory, shaking the earth". ” that everyone has heard and is proud of. As picturesque as it is, Pha Din Pass sings a heroic epic about the ancient Northwest with the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu.

Today, many generations of young people have not forgotten the country's heroic history. They work enthusiastically and love to travel to the Northwest, especially enjoying the freedom to conquer dangerous roads by motorbike when backpacking. And the Northwest roads still stand there, always challenging the footsteps to conquer nature.

Pha Din Pass is located at an altitude of more than 1648m above sea level. The name Pha Din was given by the Thai people, meaning the place of transition between heaven and earth. The beautiful scenery here is like standing in front of heaven's gate. White clouds flocked down, floating clouds draped over the dangerous roads. The color of the blue sky is more vast among the green of the trees. Standing on the top of the pass, clearly feel the harmony between the sky and the ground.. The majestic, soft, winding roads are picturesque! The Northwest forests are endlessly windy and the rice fields are just about ripe and about to turn yellow. The beautiful scenery of the Northwest always captivates nature lovers and adventurous souls who always look forward to conquering the roads. Fall in love with the mountains and the beauty of the roads on the windy plateau!

Fa din pass is located on Highway 6 - one of the 4 largest passes in the northern mountains of our country! I have gone through those 3 big passes, which are O Quy Ho, Khau Pha and Ma Pi Leng passes! Any road is beautiful, but Ma Pi Leng Pass (Ha Giang) has the highest altitude and danger! It was surprising that when our group passed the top of Pha din pass, it seemed like we had just encountered a small corner of Da Lat here, the cold weather with glimpses of red flowers, green pine trees and golden sunshine. Listen to the whistling winds above. Forget all your tiredness when you see the bright colors of flowers under the sun. Silently listening to flowers bloom...

Traveling on the more than 32 km long road connecting Son La with Dien Bien, you will admire the beauty of majestic nature. Where the beautiful mountain scenery becomes more magical in the natural region of heaven and earth. On the winding pass, we can freely look out into the distance and see the beautiful Ta Phinh plateau in the mist. This is one of the most splendid plateaus of the Northwest when the rice season is ripe. Our car went to the Northwest provinces through Lao Cai, saw O Quy Ho pass, then continued to Lai Chau. This is a quite beautiful, uneven, and magical road. The danger has made many backpackers want to conquer it in their journey to explore the Northwest. In the past, people called it Cloud Pass because when going there, people could freely watch the white clouds flying in a magical journey. Conquering this spectacular road challenges both the courage and determination of young people, because the road is quite long with more than 50km of uneven and winding passes. When standing at an altitude of over 2000m and looking down there, that feeling is not special but very different! The mountains are high above the clouds and steep. If those roads want to last a long time, there will be no other way but to gently curve along the foot of the mountain, the back of the mountain and patiently follow the mountain slope.

The car is still going fast in the clouds! The golden sunlight slants the tree silhouettes. The mountain twists its body and spreads its umbrella in a strange way. In front is the Hoang Lien Son range running long. Looking up at the majestic and soaring mountains. Looking down, it's beautiful down there. Those are the stilt houses and terraced fields of San Sa Ho! Suddenly I miss the Dao girls with their red scarves. Hmong boys carry flutes down the mountain town of Sapa. The girls with backs carrying baskets came out of a beautiful village called Cat Cat...

The higher you go, the more rolling the blue mountains sparkle with yellow. The terrain undulates in arcs. Your arms or the cuffs of your sleeves? O Quy Ho, where legendary bird sounds seem to be pouring down into space from the top of the sky. The sound of birds chirping, then sinking into the deep valley and gradually disappearing. The sound of birds seems to have come here from somewhere, in a distant memory, from a far away place...

O Quy Ho Pass is one of the four greatest, most dangerous, most majestic, and most beautiful passes in our country! Thanks to these passes, the Northwest roads will become famous and their magnificence will still mark beautiful impressions in poetry and art. Through O Quy Ho Pass - a famous beautiful pass, one side is land. Lai Chau, one side is Sapa - Lao Cai. Admire the white clouds that stretch across the mountain's chest. In the yellow sunlight, bright streaks are shining brightly from the other side of the mountain range, this side is a dark streak of shadow. Nature is so mysterious when it comes to shaping natural paintings to make them more majestic. The morning mist has cleared, the mountains and hills and the green apricot forest look like a beautiful dreamy girl who hasn't woken up yet. Last night, where heaven and earth met in a whirlwind of intercourse, lingering traces of dew remained on the hill's chest. Your road is winding, thin like a soft cold thread, tying my back day and night to the mountainside! Oh Quy Ho, the sound of a bird calling for its mate has been ringing in my memories ever since.

Do you want to conquer these roads? It will be a joy and pride to stand in front of this magnificent natural scene and be overcome with emotion. A priceless gift from mother nature to humans. Enjoy admiring the majestic Hoang Lien Son range, admiring the Silver Waterfall splashing white foam in the sky. Sapa is where heaven and earth meet and we are more proud and in love when we are at Heaven's Gate! Soft and twisted curves. The Northwest roads will beautify and soften the natural picture with soft brush strokes on the backs of hills and mountains! The paths of love always follow the footsteps of friends.

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Update day : 17/11/2023