Go to Nam Can to attend the Dinh Dam border market

(Baonghean) - From Muong Xen town to the border market is 24 km long, but it took us more than 1 hour to reach Nam Can border gate. The weather has just begun to fall, but in this remote border area, the cold has penetrated the skin, the weak rays of the new day have not been able to dispel the fog on the Truong Son peak...

The road to Nam Can is winding with sharp turns and slopes that seem to stretch on forever. There are sections where, stopping at the top of the slope and looking down, the road looks like a thin thread hidden in the mist. Reaching this remote area, we understood why Ky Son is likened to the Sapa of Nghe An, with an altitude of over 1,000m above sea level in some places, and an average temperature of only 15 - 20 "degrees Celsius".

When picking us up, our local friend reminded us to remember to bring warm clothes. We laughed: “It’s still hot down in the lowlands, we have to sleep in air conditioning at night!”... But his warning was indeed correct.

Panoramic view of Dinh Dam border market.

After going almost half way, climbing a few hairpin bends, Noong De suddenly appeared in the mist, we decided to stop at Noong De village, the Thai people here were also getting ready for the border market, everyone was calling each other to set off at the same time. The Noong De people often tie rolls of brocade to the back of their carts, which are weaving products (Noong De is recognized as a traditional craft village) that have long had a brand in the region. The village is located almost right in the middle of the Muong Xen road to Nam Can border gate, so the consumption of brocade products is also quite convenient.

Going down Tien Tieu slope, we could feel the hustle and bustle of people rushing to the other side of the border. Dinh Dam market appeared, located between Nam Can and Noong Het border gates. It is the only market for border residents, held three times on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of every month, so everyone from the old to the young looked forward to the market day to go to the market. Previously, the market was located on an empty land in Nam Can commune of Ky Son. When Nam Can was upgraded to an international border gate, the market moved to a plot of land in Dinh Dam village, Noong Het commune, Xieng Khouang province of Laos.

From the Noong Het Border Gate, a large crowd of people was also heading towards the market, everyone's faces were excited, carrying all kinds of goods. Interspersed among the crowd were a series of small trucks loaded with agricultural products such as sticky rice, black chicken, black pork and various vegetables, tubers and fruits. Trucks and pickup trucks have become quite popular means of transport for Lao farmers, so transporting a large amount of goods to the market has become easy.

The joy and anticipation after many days are sent to the market, where laughter and invitations easily captivate people's hearts. People from the valley go up, people from the mountains meet each other, shaking hands and greeting each other, making the land that is usually very peaceful. Some are empty-handed, some carry goods, some carry chickens, some carry pigs, some ride motorbikes, some ride bicycles, but mostly they still walk to the market. Everyone from young to old can bring anything to the market, little or much is not important, and to them, whether they sell their goods or not does not seem to really matter.

The smooth route from Muong Xen - Ky Son to Xieng Khouang, Laos, has made trading for border residents extremely convenient today. From clothes, shoes, cosmetics, household items to new-generation phones have become indispensable items in every market session. However, the most special thing about the border market is the products that Ky Son and Noong Het residents collect from this majestic mountain region.

Residents have been living on the mountain slopes for generations, their lives are connected to the forest, to the steep rocks and streams that run through the rocky valleys. This is also the place that has given them famous products, loved far and wide for their deliciousness and cleanliness. Goods are spread out under tarps on the ground but still in orderly rows, such as banana flowers, mustard greens, cucumbers, Lao ginger flowers, Loi bamboo shoots, Lao pears, bitter bamboo shoots... or tiny bunches of corn picked from the rocky hillsides after months of sowing.

Bustling trading scene at the grilled meat skewer food stall

Some medicinal roots are on sale.

The bunches of colorful mustard greens with yellow flowers seemed to glow in the colorful space of the market, shining with the joy of meeting. The Ky Son ethnic people and the Noong Het people met each other, shaking hands and greeting each other, mixed with the sounds of sellers and buyers bargaining, laughing and asking each other like old acquaintances meeting after a long time. The bunches of vegetables and chickens created meetings, acquaintances, then became husband and wife, made friends so that when the market closed, they looked forward to the day they met again. The cultural exchange between the Vietnamese and Lao people just became stronger. That is why people often call the Nam Can market the market of Vietnam - Laos friendship.

It is a market meeting for friends and acquaintances. They meet to ask about family life, children, business and on this occasion they do not forget to invite each other to drink a few glasses of wine in the joy of reunion. Each ethnic group has its own culture but all exude a pure, rustic beauty like this land. And going to the market is not just to buy and sell goods, they also come to exchange and receive joy. Our friend also said: "Many times, Mong men also bring their flutes to the market to play. So going to the market can also help them find a wife!" Lao and Vietnamese girls, going to the market, chose to wear their most beautiful clothes. For them, going to the market is also going to a festival.

Poultry goods.

We followed a few Laotian diners to the food stall in the market. The Laotian vendor spoke broken Vietnamese and greeted customers with a smile. The food stalls here were located next to each other, on the charcoal stove, pieces of roast meat sizzling, giving off a delicious aroma in the early cold of the season. The way of eating here was also very special, everyone used their hands to squeeze sticky rice, tear grilled chicken and mix some wild vegetables to dip in spicy red soy sauce, next to a basin of water and towels. In the still cold, we sat squeezing sticky rice and exclaimed over the delicious taste of Lao sticky rice and grilled black chicken. At the border market, buyers and sellers can use Vietnamese currency and Lao kip.

The market atmosphere was bustling, joyful and filled with laughter and greetings. By 2 pm, the market was starting to empty, and the people's goods were also running out. Next to a small pickup truck, a Lao couple was loading the remaining goods onto the truck, preparing to end a market session. The Ky Son people also carried their baskets on their backs and returned home, chattering happily, saying goodbye to each other forever...

Thai Orchid - Vuong Van