Finding the hometown

This is a new land. Here sameness takes me home. Here smiles crease faces; there I walk along the alleys meeting familiar sights. I feel cosily warm, even in the middle of Hanoi humidity. Here, the eyes stretch out to meet the rivers called roads. There I bump into the hand-pushed-cart – I come to senses and see the xe-om driver looking at me with questioning eyes.

There is a buzz in the belly as I cross the streets for the first few weeks. At such times, I find myself sitting on a temporary-seat propped up on the throbbing engine of a bus in Kolkata. Conical hats walk out from the realms of stories as fields glide by from the train leaving Kolkata. From up above the city, Kolkata has a lot of green pastures. I breathe deeply as I stand in front of Ho Ba Mau; the leaves whisper calm in the middle of cacophony.

Familiar it is here. Homesick I am.

Chattering houses wrap up the gas chamber of silence at a three-storeyed empty house in Đong Đa. With footsteps lost in the ngõ of Le Duan, I trek back to the thoughts lost in the labyrinth of time. My soul aches as I find myself here, in the now.

Familiarity of this city brings memories of my hometown crashing down upon me. It is as if, I have been here in another lifetime; or, there in yet another. I cannot say which the present is. I shove the sameness aside and try to settle my round figure as squarely as possible into the pattern of regularity. I try to make the differences the hallmarks of my expatriation. I tell myself- they have a fit body, while my potbelly makes my Việt maid think I am pregnant. The pattern of distinction ends abruptly here.

I try to think of how the flower and fruit vendors abound in Hanoi, pursuing the customers to buy something. I remember the bargaining act that makes buying so much interactive in my hometown. I try to think of the unabashed Việt loud chatter and the cracking laughter in restaurants. I remember all the time spent in neighbourhood shattering laughter at the same old jokes in roadside stalls in Kolkata. I try to remember the hassle of jumping in and off a bus in Hanoi; I remember the familiar smile of the bus conductor on my regular route to college in Kolkata.

It seems as if I have travelled across the subcontinent only to reach my home. It is uncanny, but it is true – Hanoi is my hometown now.

Provide by Vietnam travel guide

Gau Tao – A special feature of Mong culture

This is the largest cultural festival of Mong ethnic minority people living mostly in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam.

It is held in early spring to express their gratitude to Heaven and Earth, pray for good luck and happiness in the New Year. The Gau Tao festival is also a good opportunity for family reunions, traditional games and other activities in preparation for new crops to grow soon.

It often takes place in the first half of the first lunar month, lasting either three days (for three consecutive years) or nine days (every fourth year). The festival, which encompasses both religious rituals and cultural activities, is celebrated in almost every Mong ethnic commune and district.

It is hosted by a family or a clan, often on a large flat hill in the beautiful landscape of the northern mountains with Vietnam travel guide.

A priest selects an appropriate venue for ritual performance and planting of a large apricot tree with colourful decorations called Cay Neu. Two big logs, about 10m high, are also erected to support a jar of wine on a bar spanning their summit.

A person is chosen to plant the Cay Neu at the end of the 12^th lunar month and later play the lead in worshiping ancestors and deities and praying for every family or clan’s prosperity and happiness.

When the Cay Neu is planted, everyone knows that the Gau Tao Festival is coming soon.

During the ritual, a priest burns incense and presents offerings to Heaven, Earth, and deities while reciting poetic sermons and local proverbs, before participants are divided into groups of adults and children to party and play folk games.

Young Mong people join music and dance competitions, performing songs written in their ethnic language to the accompaniment of traditional instruments.

At the end of the festival, a ceremony is held to uproot the Cay Neu. Its decorations are brought to the host’s household as a good omen for luck, prosperity and happiness.

Some photos of the festival:

Higher learning

A trip to Vietnam's mountainous and beautiful north allows visitors to experience authentic tribal life, writes Rob McFarland.

Teetering down steep stone stairs in inappropriate shoes and tight white designer jeans is a young, affluent Vietnamese woman. She's holding a multicoloured umbrella to protect her from the sun and is being led carefully by the hand by a private guide.

Coming up the other way is a young girl from the local Black Hmong hill tribe, dressed in an embroidered jacket and wearing the tribe's trademark black hat. Her face is creased with effort as she struggles with a large basket of sticks strapped to her back. She stops to let the descending woman pass and they exchange a glance that speaks volumes about the extremes of modern-day Vietnam.

Although technically still a communist country, Vietnam is now home to a generation of youngsters who've embraced capitalism. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have the sort of designer boutiques and high-end restaurants you'd expect to find in any fast-paced Asian city.

And although both are compelling destinations, if you're looking for a respite from the chaotic din of motorbike horns and the extreme sport of crossing the road, you need to head north and, in particular, visit a beguiling hillside town that's nestled among some of the country's most spectacular scenery.

Sapa was once an old French hill station but has developed over the past 20 years into a popular tourist destination for Vietnam travel guide. Travellers are drawn here by the dramatic landscape of mountain peaks and plunging valleys and the chance to interact with the locals.

Getting to Sapa, which is located 380km north of Hanoi, is an adventure in itself. After stocking up on biscuits and beer at Hanoi train station, we drag our luggage across several sets of tracks to board the overnight train to Lao Cai.

Our final destination is the swish Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa and, if it wasn't a Saturday night, we'd be delivered there in a velvet and mahogany-panelled carriage of the resort's private train. Unfortunately, tonight is the one night it doesn't run so we're on an older, shakier version.

We arrive at Lao Cai in the murky pre-dawn light and watch the market town come to life. Normally you'd take a 1.5-hour bus transfer straight to Sapa, but today we're making a detour to one of the region's must-sees: the Sunday market at Bac Ha.

Local minority groups from around the north-west congregate in Bac Ha each week to trade and socialise. Beautifully dressed hill tribe women in embroidered dresses and bright headscarves barter and laugh while a lazy procession of motorbikes, horses, carts and water buffalo ambles by. Wicker baskets full of live pigs and chickens are prodded while, nearby, raw meat is hacked apart.

Our onward journey to Sapa reveals tantalising glimpses of the Alps-like scenery for which the region is famous. As we climb into the clouds, verdant valleys plunge away from us on all sides to reveal hundreds of metres of carefully terraced rice fields.

With its polished wooden floors and cosy feel, the Victoria Resort is a welcoming haven at the end of our trip. Rooms are on the small side but are beautifully furnished with antiques and local handicrafts.

Sapa is a much bigger tourist destination than Bac Ha and inevitably it has a different feel. Expect to be surrounded by grinning, trinket-laden hill tribe girls the moment you step outside, and much of the market here is devoted to souvenirs rather than essential supplies for locals.

Although you could easily spend a couple of days ambling around town, the big drawcard is the chance to get among the scenery and interact with the local people.

The next day we set off for Cat Cat, a small Black Hmong village 3km south of Sapa. The second we emerge from the hotel we're befriended by a group of Hmong women who pair off so we each have a guide. Their grasp of English varies, but all have mastered the basics: "Where you from?" and "How old are you?". Particularly important is "You married?" and when I reveal I'm not at the prehistoric age of 37, my companion looks shocked and cries, "Why not?"

Getting hitched is a serious business around here and the hill tribes engage in some interesting wooing techniques. As recently as a decade ago, men would kidnap girls from a neighbouring village to trial them for marriage. If they got on she'd stay, if they didn't she'd be returned. Weekly love markets to pair off youngsters were also commonplace, although an unhealthy interest from tourists has all but stamped these out.

The village of Cat Cat comprises simple wooden shacks along a steep path that leads to a waterfall. Many locals have set up stalls outside their houses selling scarfs and jewellery, and gorgeous children chase each other around courtyards.

It's here that I witness the glance between the affluent city girl and her basket-laden hill tribe counterpart. To be fair, both look equally uncomfortable in the 30-degree heat.

The following day we tackle an even more spectacular trek, starting at the Black Hmong village of Lao Chai and passing through the Giay village of Ta Van as we follow a stream along the valley floor. It's all camera-happy stuff, but I already know that it's not what I'll remember most. The enduring memories will be of those little glimpses I've gained of day-to-day life for the minority groups that eke out an existence here.

On the way back to Sapa, we pass two children herding a pair of enormous water buffalo along a ridge. At one stage the giggling little girl clambers on top of one of the animals and lies down while her brother shepherds them along with a stick. It's about as far away from inappropriate shoes and designer jeans as you can get.

Con Son Mountain - Historical and national attractive destination

Con Son mountain - closely related with Nguyen Trai hero, make you feel comfortable and interested in finding about Nguyen Trai hero life and seeing Hai Duong province from Con Son mountain.

Con Son Mountain looks like a resting lion. With a shrine on the top, its 238m northern ridge adjoins Ngu Nhac Mountain. Con Son borders U Bo Mountain and a valley with bamboo hedges to the west. Next to it is the 72-peak Phuong Hoang (phoenix) mountain range with its vast pine forests, sparkling streams, rugged cliffs and ancient towers and pagodas.

Con Son is also known as Tu Phuc or Hun. In the 10th century, Dinh Bo Linh, who would later become future King Dinh Tien Hoang, from Hoa Lu in present-day Ninh Binh Province rose up against 12 warlords competing for power. Pursued by Dinh Bo Linh’s forces, Pham Phong At, one of the warlords who ruled the northeast region, fled to Con Son Mountain to hide together with his entourage. Following the advice from his subordinate, Dinh Bo Linh set the forests on fire to smoke out the warlord, who had to surrender and was captured.

Con Son Pagoda overview

Located at the foot of Con Son Mountain is Con Son Pagoda built at the end of the 13th century. The pagoda was one of the three centers of the Buddhist Truc Lam Trinity under the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). The pagoda was extended in 1329 and underwent several restorations during the 17th and 18th centuries and in the last few decades. But the pagoda’s slipper-shaped tiles and stone pedestals from the Tran Dynasty are still preserved.

Gieng Ngoc ( Pearl Well)

Gieng Ngoc, or Pearl Well, is located on the side of Ky Lan Mountain at the foot of a tower. Legend has it that in the full moon night of the seventh lunar month, Huyen Quang, one of the founders of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism, sleeping in his room at Con Son Pagoda dreamt of seeing a shiny pearl on the side of the mountain. He wanted to get closer to scrutinize the pearl, but the sound of the pagoda’s bell woke him up. However, he could not stop thinking about his dream. So together with his assistants, Huyen Quang went to the mountain. There he found a well containing fresh and cool water. When the monk returned to the pagoda, he held a ceremony to thank the deities for the precious source of water. He also made the well deeper. Since then, the Pearl Well’s water has been offered in rituals at the pagoda.

Am Bach Van and Ban Co Tien

Ban Co Tien in the Con Son mountain

Am Bach Van (white cloud temple) stands on the flat top of Con Son Mountain next to Ban Co Tien (fairy chessboard) and several other large flagstones called “immortal chessboards” by local residents. Six hundred rocky steps lead up to the chessboards.

According to legend, visitors from Kinh Bac (northern citadel) arrived in Con Son on autumn afternoon. After offering incense and enjoying the scenery, the visitors stayed at the pagoda. Early the next morning, they went to the mountain to play chess and drink wine. On the way up the mountain they heard chatter and laughter. But when they reached the temple on the mountain’s top no one was there, just a board with chess pieces showing an interrupted game. The visitors thought that some heavenly deities must have ridden clouds to Con Son Mountain to play chess and hurried back to heaven when somebody approached the top of the mountain.

Con Son Stream and Thach Ban

Aside from these magic places, Con Son boasts many pine tree forests, some having grown for several centuries, and several smaller forests of bamboo, myrtle and peony. When the spring comes, it looks as if Con Son wears a flower dress.

Gently flowing all year round, Con Son Stream is also a well-known tourist destination. Locals call the two large flat rocks on the stream’s banks Thach Ban (stone table). A legend says Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), a politician and poet under the post-Le Dynasty (1427-1789), used to sit on these rocks, composing poems and pondering national issues.

Nguyen Trai Temple

The temple was dedicated to Nguyen Trai, built at Con Son in December 2000 and inaugurated in 2002 in celebration of the 600th birthday anniversary of Nguyen Trai.

The constructions of the temple cover an area of 10,000m². The main temple stands at the foot of To Son Mountain, flanked by two mountains An Lac and Ngu Nhac. To its right is Con Son Stream. Inside the temple there are also the right and left ceremonial halls, inside and outside gates, stele house, the urn for burning votive offerings and Nghia Lake. The temple is a token of gratitude of the Vietnamese people to Nguyen Trai, the World Cultural Celebrity.

If tourists in Vietnam Travel have chance to visit Hai Duong Procinve, Con Son mountain is a must-see place that should not be missed!