Miserable because of going to see plum blossoms in Moc Chau

Visitors take photos with plum blossoms in Moc Chau, February 5.

In the early days of the Year of the Snake, Moc Chau is a popular tourist destination in the North. Plum blossoms are blooming brilliantly, "the most beautiful in 6 years", according to Quang Kien, who works in tourism in Moc Chau. According to photographer Lekima Hung, who has taken many photos of Moc Chau flowers, "it has been nearly 20 years since the flowers have bloomed so beautifully".

During the weekend from February 7 to 9, the number of people coming to Moc Chau increased. According to observations of some tour guides, the number of visitors was "much higher than during Tet". On travel forums, there were continuous posts asking for overnight accommodation but all received the answer that there were no rooms available. Photographers were "full of schedules and had no time to take pictures".

"The accommodation areas are full, and there are cars everywhere," said a resident of Moc Chau. Because they did not book rooms in advance and set off on an impromptu trip, many tourists had a "half-laughing, half-crying" trip.

Hai Anh, from Hanoi , said it was like "running away from debt" because she took advantage of the day to go to Moc Chau. The group left home at 3am and returned at 11pm on Saturday. The journey from Hanoi to Moc Chau is about 180km, the travel time is more than 4 hours one way, so when they arrived, her group could only check in at one place, eat quickly and then go back.

"Luckily I have a few photos of plum blossoms to post on social media, but the trip was very tiring. I slept and ate on the bus," Hai Anh shared, advising against spontaneous trips.

Going on a day trip is quite common during this time for many tourists. Some people who have determined that they cannot book a hotel in Moc Chau have tried to stay overnight in other places such as Van Ho (15-17 km from Moc Chau), Hang Kia Pa Co (about 30 km away) or Mai Chau (in Hoa Binh , about 70 km away).

Others sleep in their cars or choose to camp in plum gardens. "It sounds romantic, but it's unbearably cold without any preparation," said Hai Anh.

Traffic jams are common throughout Moc Chau on weekends, from Highway 6 to the district center, as well as at the plum gardens. Na Ka plum valley is the busiest spot because it is close to the center, the road is easy to travel and cars can go right to the garden. Other spots that are further away and more difficult to travel to but still full of visitors are Mu Nau valley, Cho Long area, Pa Phach village, Phieng Canh village.

Because of the crowds, many tourists have to go to plum gardens far away to take beautiful photos. The owner of a garden in Phieng Canh, nearly 20 km from the town center, said "this is the first time I've seen so many tourists."

"On the morning of February 9, we were stuck for nearly two hours on the road to the plum gardens in Phieng Canh. Many impatient vehicles had to turn around after waiting for an hour," said Ms. Hoai Vu, Ha Nam.

Eating and drinking is a difficult situation for many tourists. Ms. Minh Nguyen, from Bac Ninh, and her group of friends said that every restaurant was full. Departing at 8am, the group only had breakfast at 10am after traveling around for nearly 10km.

"The first restaurant was out of food, the second restaurant was not accepting customers, we had to wander around until the third line to get food," said Ms. Minh.

Cars line up to enter plum gardens in Moc Chau

After having their last meal before returning to Hanoi at a famous restaurant in Moc Chau, Ms. Thu Trang's family got food poisoning. When she entered the restaurant and saw that it was crowded, she served herself, got the dipping sauce, ordered the food, and waited for about 30 minutes. There was not enough food, so she went to the kitchen to rush it and witnessed the stir-fried vegetables being poured into the basin, cold, and the staff serving them on plates "like industrial cooking".

"When we got home, the whole family had diarrhea for two days," Trang said, advising everyone to be careful and find clean places to eat and avoid eating in crowded restaurants.

Plum blossoms usually bloom for more than two weeks and are gradually fading. Some places have young fruit now. By the end of February, plum gardens may still have flowers, but visitors will have to go to late-blooming gardens, and will no longer be able to admire the white flowers blooming on the mountains and forests.

Ms. Thanh Hoa, who has been going to Moc Chau to see the flowers for the past 10 years, commented that "this year the plum blossoms are more beautiful than ever" so it is understandable that there are many people. "The flowers will still be in full bloom for the next few days, so tourists should hurry up and avoid going on weekends," Ms. Hoa advised.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/kho-so-vi-di-ngam-hoa-man-moc-chau-404916.html