The spring air has not yet dissipated and people are busy holding glasses toasting and making dates at restaurants, while I am wandering here and there.
Spring on the peak of peace
In recent years, my first spring trip of the year has been the mountains and forests next to my hometown: Son Tra ( Da Nang ).
There are three main reasons for me to visit Son Tra in the spring. From getting exercise, measuring my health every year to breathing in the scent of the mountains and forests and, if I’m lucky, seeing the red-shanked douc langur.
This spring, I did not see as many langurs as last spring, even though I passed through their favorite feeding area. Perhaps this year they slept a little too much during Tet.
Only when we were about to go down the mountain did we see a troop of langurs swinging from branch to branch, their familiar long white tails slowly reaching out to pick some young leaves.
At first, I also intended to take out my phone. But then again, why force the phone's camera to work beyond its capacity. We might as well take a closer look with our naked eyes, fully enjoying the precious gift that nature is giving to those who wake up early.
The road around Son Tra Mountain, Ban Co Peak is the most reasonable stop for those who cycle, drive motorbikes, cars, walk or run. I also experienced all the above ways to get here.
In recent years, I have chosen to “mixed run” up the mountain to enjoy the scenery. That is, I run, but whenever I see something interesting, I switch to walking to enjoy it.
Spring is also the season when Son Tra often has clouds covering the path. Ban Co Peak is covered with clouds and mist. The mystical scene covers the statue of an old man frowning at a chess game that has not been solved for many years. The feeling of sitting quietly in the middle of the forest with clouds and wind, meditating for a while, listening to the rhythm of breathing comes as a very natural need.
This is also an opportunity for me to listen to my own health after a year, to see if my legs and breathing are still the same as before. It is an opportunity to listen to the sounds of the forest and enjoy the green space that I know is difficult to have regularly in my daily life.
Before the sea, remember the ancestors
For me, January is also a time to remind myself to practice more gratitude and remember my ancestors.
For example, if you invite me, I will arrange to go immediately, from Da Nang, cross several passes to stand here, Tu Hien seaport of Hue , where Cau Hai lagoon meets the East Sea.
Thanh Duyen Pagoda near Tu Hien seaport is one of the 20 sacred landscapes of the Nguyen Dynasty, located on Tuy Van mountain, only 60m high. But this landscape surprises those who come to visit.
The temple has been famous for hundreds of years but is always quiet. The forest trees cover it densely, like a green oasis overlooking the lagoon in the blazing sun. Climbing the mountain at noon is cool with rows of hundred-year-old trees. No wonder the Nguyen Dynasty kings used to come here to admire the scenery and write poems, and there are still stele inscriptions left today.
I dare not write poetry, but I dare to try drinking the water from the old well on the mountain behind the pagoda. Before and after the pagoda, at the foot of the mountain, there are two square wells of the Cham people. Although located near brackish water, the wells are always sweet and full of water all year round. In the past, the monks in the pagoda often used the water from this well.
Try a sip of cool water to wake up after a long journey of hundreds of kilometers. Until today, as I sit here typing these words, my stomach has not had any "sudden changes".
Spring at the nameless stream
Spring travel for me is not only about going to places with beautiful scenery and famous places. Sometimes, the trip starts from very simple beauties. Telling my mother to cut rice for 2 more days to go to the mountains, my mother asked what there is to do in Dong Giang, all acacia forests. I smiled at my mother, being able to go and wake up in a place far away from where I live is already a joy.
My friend has a small plot of land next to a stream that flows through large rocks. In Jo Ngay commune, Dong Giang district, as well as many other mountainous communes, people grow only acacia trees.
Luckily, in the midst of the mountains planted with acacia trees, the mountain right on your land still has quite a few old forest trees left. You said you had to be very determined to keep them from becoming “acacia”. Thanks to that, the stream is even more cool and pristine.
Following the stream back to its source, I had my own private space. It was a private “swimming pool” under the steep cliffs, under the two-tiered waterfall with white water pouring down.
Standing under the waterfall, letting the water flow over your head, your feet touching the bottom, letting the stream fish gather around and nibble at your feet as if massaging them, is an interesting feeling. This feeling is not easy to have for those who are used to living in the city.
I had two days without phone coverage. During that time, all I knew was the fragrant smell of kitchen smoke that hung around the house, from clothes to rustic dishes.
Spring here is peaceful, with only the sound of wind, leaves, babbling streams and waterfalls day and night. Occasionally there is the sound of an eagle calling and then spreading its wings to soar leisurely in the middle of the forest.
By chance, some 14-15 year old Co Tu boys in the village stopped by the hut to borrow a knife to go to the stream to butcher a chicken, giving me another excuse to go bathe in the stream and climb the waterfall. With nearly ten young children, one wild chicken was obviously not enough.
But they looked very happy, their laughter clear amidst the sound of the waterfall as the forest tilted in the afternoon sun. When asked where they went to celebrate Tet, they laughed and answered in broken Kinh: "Here it is!".
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