Stilt houses scattered around Pa Phach 2 Hamlet in Moc Chau District in Son La Province

I had dreamt of visiting Moc Chau District in Son La Province with my friends one weekend to see its world-famous flowers and finally it came true.

We decided to take the late bus from My Dinh Station in Hanoi at 7:30 p.m. and when we finally arrived at Moc Chau at around 2 a.m., the town was still soundly sleeping and streets corners were quiet and peaceful in the mist and darkness.

We had booked in advance our accommodation at a stilt house in an eco-tourist area and arrived in the room in the chill of the mountainous region. Through the windows, we could barely see deeply winding trails in the distant mist.

After a short sleep, we were up at the crack of dawn to start our journey to Pa Phach hamlets. With five motorbikes hired at VND150,000 each, we were keen to conquer the rocky and tortuous roads which looked rather adventurous with a rocky mountain on one side and deep valley on the other.

We conquered our obvious fear and discovered that the nature we experienced would stay in our hearts forever.

Firstly, we looked to see an immense greenness of plum trees appearing before us. It looked like a green carpet, stretching into the horizon as it was studded with stilt houses of ethnic people. I thought about the ancient times, primitive times, magnificence, endless nature and romance of the trip in this moment.

Along the journey, we saw ethnic women with wooden packs on their backs in slow steps and austere faces. We could also not forget the kids’ glowing red cheeks as well as pigs tramping around.

We just moved, up and down through hills and took many photos between big groves of plum trees which combined together as domes in palaces amidst white radish farms and peach blossom flowers.

At noon, we stopped for lunch. I started to imagine the images of barbarians eating in the jungle in comic books or cartoons.

We moved on to Moc Chau tea plantation. We totally lost ourselves amidst the giant plateau that is green tea hills and grass covers for cattle.

We shouted for joy when seeing a white cabbage flowers. Cabbage flowers are small, fragile and swinging in the wind, they apparently touch a girls’ soul.

Time went by quickly and the sunset started to come on the plateau. We were now in a hurry to go to the hotel.

On the next day, we discovered Dai Yem Waterfall and a pine hill. Not very big or high, the waterfall is charming due to its gentle stream, glistening sunbeams over its spumes and by the many colorful wild flowers around it.

Passing the pine hill, we indulged in the romantic scenery with pine trees shaking in the wind and small lake reflecting the sun rays and our happy faces. The setting reminded us of Dalat.

Moc Chau is 190 kilometers from Hanoi. To get there, tourists can take a motorbike trip from Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi then along National Road No.6. The roads are easy but travelers should choose a sunny day to be safe.