Quynh Lap Beach - wild beauty

(Baonghean) - Quynh Lap beach welcomed us on a sunny day. This land of Bac Nghe is still wild: there is only sunshine, wind, golden sand and rocky reefs with many beautiful shapes. It is that wildness that makes anyone who has come here once remember forever...

If you start from Vinh, Quynh Lap is the last place in Nghe An, but if you go from Hanoi, after Thanh Hoa, you will reach Quynh Lap (belonging to Hoang Mai Town). To reach Quynh Lap, you must follow the Dong Hoi - Quynh Lap asphalt road constructed by Nghe An Department of Transport and Construction Investment and Trade Company 36 of the Ministry of National Defense and opened to traffic in 2010.

Quynh Lap Beach - Hoang Mai Town.

Welcoming us, Mr. Vuong Dai Tuong, Deputy Secretary of the Quynh Lap Commune Party Committee, was proud to know that this was the first time we had traveled on a road of strategic significance in the socio-economic development of the South Thanh Bac Nghe region. He excitedly said: This road has a total length of 12.1 km, designed according to the level 3 standards of the delta, including 2 lanes for motor vehicles and 2 lanes for rudimentary vehicles. The maximum speed for vehicles is 80 km/h. The total cost is 255.9 billion VND from the Government's stimulus fund. This is a project in the development plan of Nghe An province approved by the Prime Minister. The most encouraging thing is that since the road was built, Quynh Lap has developed a lot: trade and commerce, and seafood products of the people are transported faster.

In particular, in recent years, although not bustling, Quynh Lap beach has been known to many tourists. The goal of the Party Congress of the commune for the 2015 - 2020 term has also been determined: Promoting exploitation and attracting investment for sea tourism development is the long-term direction of the commune. Because, in addition to the potential for sea tourism, Quynh Lap also has very sacred relics such as Ha temple, Thuong temple, Moc Thong pagoda located right on this strategic road. Along with the sea, Quynh Lap also has vast pine forests that are green all year round. In particular, here, "forester" Le Duy Nguyen has invested in road construction and forest planting with the desire to plan and build an eco-tourism area "back to nature" with immense lakes, rustling pine forests so that tourists can make friends with the animals that he has released and will release there... To exploit the tourism potential, in the immediate future, Quynh Lap will immediately start propaganda and promotion...

Mr. Dung's footprints on the rocky cliff

Mr. Tuong's voice was steady on the smooth road, with endless green pine forests on both sides, the fresh air made the traveler feel relaxed... suddenly Mr. Tuong reminded: Slow down, prepare to turn onto the dirt road down to Quynh Lap beach... Luckily the journalist was driving a 4-seater car, otherwise tourists traveling in 24-seater cars could not reach Quynh Lap beach. If you want to attract tourists, investing in the road is number one.

I found Mr. Tuong's words reasonable, transportation is an important factor for socio-economic development, including tourism. When traveling, you have to explore to see all the interesting things of each land... For now, if you don't have money to build roads, then just invest in a few electric cars or set up a hybrid car team. Traveling by these means also has its own fun, you can go and enjoy the scenery, you can stop anywhere you like. The early morning market is right next to the road to the commune headquarters, there is a lot of fresh seafood, then stop by the anchovy processing village, visit, buy dried anchovies as gifts... Listening to me share, Mr. Tuong was delighted: "Just invest in a few electric cars to transport passengers like that, it's simple, Quynh Lap is ready right away".

In the middle of the story, the sea appeared before our eyes. There was a lot of wind, the wind blew strongly on all sides, the sea was a deep blue color stretching as far as the eye could see. We quickly rushed down to the sand. A shimmering amber-like yellow color stretched for 14 km. The immense beach in the midday summer sun with golden sand, clear water and the sound of waves lapping on the rocky cliffs of many strange shapes. Mr. Tuong enthusiastically introduced: the rocky cliffs shaped like a giant turtle, the shape of a lion's head facing the sea as if protecting the small fishing village, the shape of a sail symbolizing the wind-filled boats of fishermen who stick to the sea every day to protect the sky of our beloved Fatherland...

In particular, here, the mysterious footprints of Mr. Dung are still preserved. According to legend, since the formation of heaven and earth, there appeared a giant (folk call him Mr. Dung) who specialized in carrying rocks and patching the sky. Because of his enormous size, wherever he went, he left footprints. In Hoang Mai, there are still two of his footprints: the left footprint at Con Ngoai temple, the right footprint at Quynh Lap beach. In the vast space of the murmuring waves, at a quiet noon, with only wind and sunshine, seeing Mr. Dung's footprints standing out among the undulating rocks with your own eyes, the space becomes even more mysterious.

On the sandy shore, purple flowers with thin petals and thick leaves grow abundantly, creating a vast purple color. Unlike the sea daisy of Cua Lo, the Quan Am flower in Quynh Lap beach has a light, characteristic scent like the smell of a type of candy. Mr. Tuong said: Only Quynh Lap beach has this type of flower, the flower blooms all year round despite the scorching Lao wind. Along with Quan Am flowers, living on the bare rocky cliffs, there is also a type of sea squash flower with tiny clusters and pure white petals...

While struggling to choose the best angle to take pictures of the flowers, we heard the owner of the restaurant Ho Sy Luyen - where we parked our car - calling out: Come in quickly, the food is ready. The man who has spent his whole life attached to the sea has shiny black skin, his clear voice said that today there are distinguished guests, he will personally go into the kitchen to make two "specialties" of Quynh Lap: the rock crab, smaller than the crab, big body, big claws, firm, fragrant, fatty, the right smell of the sea without needing any additional spices. And the jelly dessert, also prepared by his wife. This jelly is an aquatic species of the sea, collected by the people, washed, boiled like water spinach, then the water is poured into small bowls, when cooled it forms into sheets like jelly with a light brown color, very fragrant and cool to eat. On a sunny day like this, enjoying a bowl of jelly dessert is really refreshing...

Sitting in a leafy restaurant with the sea breeze on all sides, in front of me was a plate of steamed lemongrass with red leaves, next to it were bowls of sparkling jelly. I asked why don't you arrange it in moderation, make it look nice, if it's too full, how can you finish it? The restaurant owner laughed: that's how it is in the countryside, it's not very pretty to display it in small portions. Having said that, he quickly poured beer for the guests, which was also full.

The people of Quynh Lap beach do tourism like that, welcome guests warmly and sincerely... and perhaps it is this rusticity and simplicity that creates a unique feature for Quynh Lap beach tourism so that it cannot be confused with any other land. If only Quynh Lap beach were known by many tourists; if only a few investors came to exploit this beach area considered the most beautiful in the North... so that Quynh Lap beach would be more bustling, so that the owner of Luyen restaurant would have more "competitors", then he would expand the restaurant, build a motel, plan it more beautifully, hire more staff to serve...

Article and photos:Thanh Thuy - Thu Huong