A glimpse of Sam Neua

I had the opportunity to return to Sam Neua town, Hua Phan province, Lao PDR during the Son La - Hua Phan Cultural Tourism Festival 2024. Sam Neua today has changed dramatically, the streets are wide and airy, there are many means of transportation; goods in shops and commercial areas are quite abundant; people's lives are constantly improving.

Sam Neua today, new constructions spring up on both sides of the Nam Xam River, just bustling enough but not noisy. The streets in the town area are paved with asphalt concrete, street lights, high voltage electricity brightens the city.

Located right in front of the Hua Phan Provincial Friendship Reception House, Lao Hung Friendship Park is the venue for many major political , economic, cultural and social activities of Hua Phan Province. The park is built on a large area, next to the main traffic route of Sam Neua town, designed with unique Lao cultural features with a wall on the stage vividly recreating the beauty of Lao ethnic people in their daily life, work and production.

Leaders of Son La and Hua Phan provinces visited the beautiful photo exhibition area at Lao Hung Friendship Park.

During the Son La - Hua Phan Cultural Tourism Festival 2024, Lao Hung Friendship Park will host opening ceremonies, exhibitions, and promotions of cultural and tourism products, culinary culture, and local specialties; cultural products, and tourism promotion of the two provinces of Son La - Hua Phan.

Talking to us, Mr. Aikeo Sibounwang, reporter of Hua Phan Newspaper, shared: Lao Hung Park is a place that regularly organizes major events of the province, including trade fairs attracting the participation of small traders and businesses from Vietnamese provinces bordering Hua Phan.

The Tay ethnic museum or Ong Tu Pagoda are places to visit when coming to Sam Neua. Here, visitors will be blessed by a monk with a wrist-tying ritual, along with wishes for peace and luck, a message that each local person sends to everyone around them and to international friends.

Tourists enjoy specialties at Sam Neua market.

What is easy to see in Sam Neua is that there are no flea markets, trading activities take place in a market located on the banks of the Nam Xam River, with one side specializing in general goods and the other side specializing in food and foodstuffs. Sam Neua Market does not have many goods, mainly traditional Laotian handicrafts, the rest are imported goods from Thailand, China and Vietnam.

Tourists visit brocade stalls at Sam Neua market.

The stalls selling brocade products at Sam Neua Market always attract a large number of locals and tourists to visit and shop. According to local people, Hua Phan is the province with the most famous brocade weaving profession in Laos, with sophisticated and high-quality products.

Having visited Sam Neua many times, Ms. Lo Thi Ha Huong, who works at the Son La Province Music and Dance Theater, is familiar with the place. She took us to visit the brocade selling area and pointed to stalls selling Lao women's costumes. Ms. Huong said: Sam Neua is famous for its brocade weaving. These costumes are not too expensive, depending on the material, but the price of a set ranges from 500,000 to 700,000 Kip, equivalent to 650,000 to 800,000 VND. Every time I have the opportunity to visit Sam Neua, I buy Lao women's costumes as gifts.

Along with brocade products, unique dishes at Sam Neua market also attract tourists' curiosity, such as: Cham cheo salt, dried meat, smoked meat, Chinese sausage, sausage, buffalo bile, dried beef bile, dried rats, green frogs...

During our stay in Hua Phan, we also experienced the unique cuisine here. In addition to other traditional Lao dishes, there are always two dishes on the table: sticky rice and laap. The small, pretty sticky rice baskets made of sedge or bamboo are skillfully woven to keep the aroma of sticky rice more rich and lingering.

The business trip to Sam Neua left me with an impression of the peaceful pace of life here. Saying goodbye to Sam Neua, the image of stilt houses looming along the hills, the simple and honest people, the place with beautiful, gentle Lao girls and the captivating Lam Vong dance still lingers in my mind. I look forward to returning to Sam Neua soon.

Duy Tung

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