Noong Het the day I passed
(Baonghean) I kept wondering, because the place name of your country is Noong Het or Noong Het, so I just called a brother who works for Nhan Dan newspaper: Minh Thu, he said: before that was the name, but now it's become familiar, we still call it Noong Het. He added that, in Vietnamese, it means rhinoceros butthole. Stepping on your land, passing Dia Dam peak, I suddenly felt so warm inside, the sky on both sides was a deep blue...
(Baonghean) I kept wondering, because the place name of your country is Noong Het or Noong Het, so I just called a brother who works for Nhan Dan newspaper: Minh Thu, he said: before that was the name, but now it's become familiar, we still call it Noong Het. He added that, in Vietnamese, it means rhinoceros butthole. Stepping on your land, passing Dia Dam peak, I suddenly felt so warm inside, the sky on both sides was a deep blue...
It’s not the first time I’ve been to your country, but I still feel the same feeling of being far from home when I see the stilt houses stretching along the road I pass, stretching out as if it’s a performance, as if it’s love, but also as if it’s strange! Then, I go down to meet them, chattering hand in hand with Xamakhi. This is my home!
The pine fences, the peach trees with their bare branches and a few pink buds printed against the blue sky, blue to the very end. The Nikon 18-105 VR lens could not convey all that I personally felt. But through it all, there was the heart of the Lao girl, of the Lao mother, of the people in the Noong Het district government that I met, saw and loved.
Peaceful town of Noong Het
About 20km from Nam Can Border Gate (Ky Son), we went through steep and winding roads to reach Noong Het (Xieng Khouang province). Suddenly remembering, around a cup of warm wine in the cold of the end of the year in Vinh City, among the press with Mr. Bo Keo, Secretary of the Special Working Group (Laos Ministry of Labor), Mr. Pu Khau - Deputy Director of the Vietnam - Laos Economic Cooperation Department, we heard the explanation: Noong Het has an ancient name of Noong Het, meaning rhinoceros pool. The old story says that this land was the place where the "grandfathers" rhinoceros, giant and mysterious animals have now almost entered the subconscious. So we have the chance to touch the ancient land, surrounded by many legends in the land at the head of your country.
Buying and selling at Noong Het market
Laos appears close in the eyes of those who travel along the border at the end of the year. Here, it seems that Spring comes early on the plum branches blooming white, pure flowers beside the gray wooden fences, next to the low, time-darkened roofs. Spring is also present in the colorful dresses and the gentle music coming from the small cassettes of Lao boys and girls in the con throwing party on the roadside, where our car passes by. The landscape of Lan Xang country is as peaceful as the deep blue sky. Noong Het town is also so peaceful and gentle!
Tran Hai