A cool haven amidst the "furnace"

(Baonghean) - During these days of persistent heat, the media likens western Nghe An to the "furnace" of the whole country. Yet, there are areas with cool microclimates even in the midday sun. These are Muong Long and Huoi Tu communes (Ky Son district). Not far from there is My Ly, also a refreshing space that helps people feel relaxed amidst the sweltering summer heat.

To reach Muong Long, Huoi Tu, and My Ly, there are two bus routes from Vinh City, but the schedules are not very convenient. One bus departs from Vinh City in the afternoon and doesn't arrive in Muong Long until midnight. Another bus arrives early in the morning and doesn't return to Vinh until late afternoon. Actually, we could choose to take two bus rides to Muong Xen and then take a motorbike taxi or wait for another bus to Huoi Tu and then Muong Long or My Ly, or visit the tourist spots in Pu Mat National Park and then continue on to Ky Son…

Cattle market in Muong Long.

After careful consideration, realizing that the journey would be inconvenient anyway, my journalist friend and I chose to travel by motorbike. It wasn't that we begrudged the 300,000 dong bus fare, but partly because we preferred the adventurous, "backpacking" style of travel. We had to leave at 4 a.m., and after six hours on the motorbike, we finally reached Muong Xen town, the center of Ky Son district. Muong Long was still 50 km away from Muong Xen. We didn't arrive in Muong Long until the afternoon. During the peak of the hot season, temperatures in Muong Xen town easily reached nearly 40°C.

Wrap yourself in a thick blanket in the middle of summer.

But as we approached the center of Huoi Tu commune, the intense heat suddenly subsided. Located at an altitude of nearly 1400 meters above sea level, this is a predominantly Hmong commune with 13 villages scattered along the road to Muong Long and My Ly. For almost 15 years, the Hmong people in Huoi Tu have been cultivating tea. Now, tea is becoming a popular crop among many households because the output is guaranteed by the Youth Volunteer Brigade 8. The Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea brand is also beginning to be established. Some Hmong households have learned how to get rich from tea, a crop that few people believed in cultivating before.

In Trung Tam village, which is also the center of Huoi Tu commune, there is the busiest market on the 54-kilometer route from Muong Xen town to My Ly commune. Several grocery vendors advised us to check our fuel tanks to avoid having to push our motorbikes, as there are no gas stations along the 16-kilometer stretch from Huoi Tu to Muong Long and even to My Ly. There are only a few small gasoline retailers in the Trung Tam village market. They have to pump gas from the nearest gas station 50 kilometers away. Each liter of gasoline sold at this market costs up to 25,000 dong.

Tham Lan Cave.

It took another half hour for us to reach the Muong Long Sky Gate. By then, the oppressive heat seemed to have vanished. I had heard about this precious microclimate. It experiences all four seasons in a single day, just like Da Lat. Down in the valley, there's a small market that meets twice a month. One market is held on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of the month, and the other on the last three days of the month. At each market, people from nearby villages bring their forest and agricultural products to sell. There's even a dedicated area for buying and selling buffalo and cattle.

The young Vice Chairman of the commune, Vu Ba Lenh, expressed his concern for us because the commune didn't have any tourist attractions. Earlier, I had mentioned over the phone that I wanted to introduce the tourism potential of Ky Son, including Muong Long commune. The Vice Chairman had kindly invited us to his home for dinner, but we declined, preferring to try a restaurant in the center of the commune to experience the local cuisine. Since there were no tourist accommodations, Mr. Lenh arranged for each of us to stay overnight at the commune's People's Committee office. The newly built offices, which also served as staff rest rooms, looked almost as good as guesthouses in the highland district town, only lacking air conditioning.

I stepped into the room and found it hotter than outside. Meanwhile, the people from the lowlands who had just arrived to sell goods at the market, not yet accustomed to the climate, had to dress warmly. I threw open all the windows to let the breeze into the room. My experience in the mountains taught me that doing this, after about half an hour of going out for dinner, would give me a bedroom with air conditioning just like in the lowlands. The only difference was that this was a natural air conditioner, costing no electricity at all. Before parting ways, Mr. Lềnh said: "Actually, only a few people come here each month to explore and visit. They usually return to the district center the same day, rarely staying in the area because of the lack of accommodation."

Like the Deputy Chairman of the commune, the restaurant owner expressed her concern: "If you want to eat rice with the black chicken of the Hmong people, you have to order in advance. There aren't many customers here, so I'm afraid we won't be able to sell it if we cook it. Just have rice with pork and vegetable soup for now." "That's fine," I said, knowing that the vegetables here are grown year-round and taste quite good. I heard that a company is planning to bring Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms and Panax notoginseng to cultivate in this area soon. During the rapeseed flower season, especially around the Lunar New Year, the rapeseed and plum blossoms create a picture with vibrant shades of green, yellow, and red, like embroidered silk. That's when Muong Long becomes most charming. While waiting for the owner to cook dinner, I took the opportunity to stroll through the plum orchards in the valley. Groups of Hmong women walked through the water, giggling among the plum trees. It's a pity that almost no plum trees have fruit this season because a hailstorm recently stripped all the plum orchards in Muong Long bare.

After dinner, I returned to my accommodation. As expected, my room was cool, just like when the air conditioner was on. All I had to do was close all the windows, and I would have a peaceful night's sleep. Around midnight, the cold woke me up. At this point, I felt the temperature in the room had dropped below 20°C. I quickly pulled up a duvet to cover myself before I could go back to sleep. It was quite an interesting experience in Muong Long, especially amidst these record-breaking hot days in nearly half a century in Central Vietnam.

The "million-person" cave next to the Thai village.

The next day, we went to My Ly commune. According to a scientist's research, this place was once an ancient Thai village, about 20 km from Muong Long commune. The climate here is quite different from Muong Long. We could still clearly feel the heat. My Ly is on the outer edge of the Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir, so the heat is somewhat moderated. If we had more time, we could have rented a boat at the Xop Tu village dock to take a boat trip around the lake, watching the locals fishing and escaping the summer heat. We chose to explore Tham Lan cave (the cave of a million people - in Thai). Recently, the media introduced this cave as Tham Dan. This is because when gathering information, journalists heard the locals, mainly the Tay Thanh Thai group, pronounce the word "lan" as "dan," leading readers to associate it with a weapons depot from wartime.

Tham Lan Cave is hidden behind trees and rocky mountains, so it attracts little attention. Recently, the local authorities built steps leading to the cave entrance for easier access. From the outside, the cave seems unappealing, but once inside, a strange and fascinating world unfolds. Moss-covered stalactites on the cave walls resemble models of prehistoric dinosaurs often seen in movies. Another recess looks like a bedroom complete with a bed and pillows. It feels like the dwelling of a mountain lord who was turned to stone by the magic of nature. My companion was both frightened and fascinated by these sights. Stretching along the approximately 300-meter-long cave floor are terraced rice fields, a truly unique sight. Later, I learned that the people of Xop Tu and Xieng Tam villages believe they learned to cultivate rice thanks to the spirit of Tham Lan Cave.

The Vice Chairman of My Ly Commune, Lo Van Lieu, is deeply committed to developing tourism in the area. He shared with me late in the afternoon, as the sun was setting, that My Ly has significant tourism potential. Coming to this place means experiencing hospitality and human kindness. The Thai ethnic minority villages, nestled amidst lush greenery, are always ready to welcome visitors from afar. Besides Tham Lan Cave, there are also the ancient Yen Hoa Tower and Canh Let Waterfall, both well worth visiting. However, exploiting these potentials requires considerable time and effort. Mr. Lieu added, “Last year, the district government suggested that the commune organize a festival at Tham Lan Cave, but considering the challenges of maintaining the festival in subsequent years, we decided against it. The locality is facing economic difficulties, and maintaining a festival requires significant funding.”

The concerns of the Vice Chairman of the commune are very practical because it must be said that not only My Ly commune or Ky Son district, but also other mountainous localities in Nghe An province still have much work to do to exploit the tourism potential. Investing in organizing festivals may not necessarily be the best approach, especially in particularly difficult areas like My Ly.

Returning from my trip and encountering the stifling heat emanating from the high-rise buildings, I truly understood the value of the microclimates I had just visited. The Muong Long basin, the Huoi Tu plateau, the Tham Lan cave in My Ly commune… are like precious gems waiting to shine. However, exploiting these potentials for tourism development requires concerted effort, as the proverb "a gem unpolished is not a treasure" certainly holds true.

Huu Vi