As a freelance photographer who loves to experience and explore new lands, Pham Quang Tuyen, currently living in Hanoi, claims to have a special love for terraced fields in Vietnam. With a camera in hand, the Gia Lai guy went through most of the most beautiful terraced fields in the Northern mountains.
Quang Tuyen shared: "I can sit all day on a cliff or a hut to watch the green patches and yellow carpets stretching and intertwining under the foot of the majestic mountains. Breathing in the gentle scent of rice, to me it is the most "addictive" scent in the world."
Mr. Tuyen said he had seen terraced fields in most locations in the East and Northwest regions such as De Xu Phinh village (Yen Bai), Tam Coc (Ninh Binh), Nam Khoa village (Ha Giang), and Ta village. Van (Sa Pa)... and visit the Central Highlands to admire the terraced fields in Con Vong Kia village (Kon Tum). The common point of these places is that they all retain their wild, majestic features and the simple life of the people.
Quang Tuyen believes that the iconic fields of Vietnamese tourism are a harmonious combination of the beauty of nature and the ingenuity and diligence of many generations of local people.
“Riding in a manual transmission car, weaving into small villages, I can feel the scent of ripe rice. Seeing the gentle lifestyle of the local people, I see that hustle and bustle cannot be present in these places" - he said.
To satisfy his passion for viewing terraced fields in the high mountains, this young man had to go through many difficulties along the way.
"Most of the roads to these points will be a bit difficult, either bad roads, or very high and steep roads, so you have to be really steady on the steering wheel," he said.
The most common problem is getting lost because of traveling on your own by motorbike and only knowing how to follow the directions app on your phone. In addition, the weather in the high mountains during the ripe rice season is often rainy and the roads are muddy, making travel difficult.
“The terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai) and Phung village (Ha Giang) are the places where I have the most difficulty moving. But I also try to enjoy the whole process of getting there" - he said.
During the trip to Lang Son, he unfortunately had a traffic accident and suffered scratches on his leg. Although the injury was not too serious, it was extremely memorable because it was the first time he encountered a collision during a travel journey in many years.
Even though his feet hurt, the male tourist still tried to climb more than 1,000 steep stone steps to reach the top of Na Lay, Bac Son with the desire to see the panoramic view of the golden rice fields from above.
"For someone like me who doesn't like exercise, it's very tiring, but worth it," he said.
Quang Tuyen affirmed that the difficulties along the way will leave him with many memorable experiences. The beautiful rice fields are also a worthy reward for those who dare to overcome difficult roads.
