One night in Nangma, Pakistan, after dinner, when everyone put out the fire and went to sleep in the tent, Minh Tuan borrowed a flashlight from a local friend and fumbled with his camera to go out and take pictures of the Milky Way. After taking a few test shots, he was speechless. In front of him at that time was a towering mountain, high above, the Milky Way freely treated him to beautiful patches of blue, yellow, and orange light.
Having been away from home for many years to explore the world, but every Lunar New Year, Hoang Minh Tuan (33 years old, Dak Lak), also known as YouTuber Chan La Ca, feels like a child again and always looks forward to sitting and chatting with family members.
Tireless legs
Tuan’s journey away from home started from Vietnam to Thailand, then to the land of Buddha - Nepal, Sri Lanka and India. Perhaps during the last two-year long trip, he spent the most time exploring India.
Having been to the Buddhist country 5 times, with his own personal experience, he understands that this vast country has many layers for him to peel, see and contemplate.
He said: “On the outermost layer, if you just walk through it, India can be chaotic, noisy and somewhat complicated. From the slices of the contrast between the different classes of the poor people in the “slum” of Dhobi Ghat and the magnificent, sparkling skyscrapers in Mumbai, I know the worries about food and money on the backs of the faded shirts of the men driving Tuk Tuks in the sweltering capital of Delhi.
Or from the rich spiritual life of people from all over the world who come on pilgrimage to the Mother River in Gangotri town, Uttarakhand, to the peacefulness of the people of Ladakh next to ancient Buddhist monasteries... To me, India is truly special."
After days of stopping to explore the Himalayas, he continued to pack his backpack and travel by road across the borders of different countries, from India to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye... then planned to continue his journey by road to Africa.
Every journey he has taken over the past two years has been memorable for Mr. Tuan, but the most unique and unforgettable country to date in the heart of the Vietnamese male tourist is Afghanistan.
“Putting aside the worries, doubts and prejudices that foreign media often portray about a country that is considered dangerous and has many potential risks for tourists, I spent 30 days in this country. There were many memorable experiences for me in Afghanistan...”, Mr. Tuan said.
Those were the first seconds when his heart beat fast when he encountered a group of Taliban soldiers checking his passport when he crossed the border from Torkham to Afghanistan. Then he was nervous and worried when he heard that, also here, some tourists had unfortunately "stayed" after becoming victims of armed conflict.
Those were sunny afternoons, Mr. Tuan wandered around the Bamiyan valley, feeling excited when before his eyes were rows of trees covered with yellow leaves, majestic mountains, and the massiveness - even though only ruins - of ancient Buddha statues dating back to the 6th century. He also accidentally learned about the poetic works of Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi), one of the most outstanding Persian poets and theologians of all time.
Anh Tuan continued to tell about his journey in Iran: “After crossing the Islam Qala border, I went to Mashhad - a city with many Muslim pilgrims in Northeastern Iran bordering Afghanistan. From Mashhad, I took a bus to the capital Tehran of Iran, then continued to Isfahan, in Central Iran.
Isfahan is famous for its typical Persian architectural works built in the 17th century such as: Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Shah Mosque... After Isfahan, I visited Shiraz city in Southern Iran, then went up to Tabriz in Northwest Iran...”.
In addition to admiring the ancient features of mosques in big cities, the silence of the streets and ancient markets, male tourists love the moment of admiring the red mountains due to the sunlight shining through the glass windows at dusk.
During the trip, he also took a bus to Candovan - a unique 700-year-old ancient village located at the foot of the mountain. This is one of the few stone villages in the world where people still live, with houses shaped like caves, hand-carved into small rooms by the villagers.
Small wish
Having “missed” two Lunar New Year holidays to travel the world, this year’s holiday, Mr. Tuan has planned to book a flight and return home to gather with his family around a hot meal. More than ever, he is eagerly waiting for this moment to quickly come closer.
“There was braised chicken, eggplant with herbs and shrimp paste, steaming spinach soup with shrimp, and the laughter of my mother and family. Traveling here and there, no matter how many delicious and strange dishes I ate, in the end, what I remember most is the taste of a bowl of home-cooked rice,” Tuan said.
His Tet holidays away from home are simple: no banh chung or banh tet, no jam, pickled onions or pickled onions... Like in 2024, he jokingly said: "New Year of the Dragon, no one thousand (lucky money)" when celebrating Tet in Raithal village in the Himalayas. Perhaps this young man's "Tet sweets" are hot cups of Chai tea eaten with fried cakes given by kind Garhwali people, or snow ice cream brought from the Himalayas not far from the village he visited.
Every time he arrives in a new country, he brings along a few small items in his backpack as Tet gifts for his family members. He brings colored paintings drawn by Garhwali children in the Garhwal Himalaya region of Uttarakhand, India; a few silver rings and necklaces from the Buddhist land of Nepal; a traditional Shalwar Kameez costume given to him by his friend Wajid from the Torkham border, Pakistan; a hand-woven carpet from Herat, Afghanistan; a few favorite books by the poet Rumi and Kalim carpets made by nomads from the Middle East, Iran... And, a diary with many stories and lessons he has collected along the way.
“After all, the backpack is heavy,” he laughed. “When I get home, the first thing I will do and will definitely do is eat my mother’s cooking. When I was in Pakistan, my mother called and said: “Honey, I’m letting some chickens out in the backyard, waiting for you to come back so I can cook them for you to eat.” Hearing those words, I was speechless with emotion, pretending to change the conversation so my mother wouldn’t notice my voice was off.”
Coming home, Mr. Tuan promised himself to eat all the delicious dishes his mother cooked to make up for the homesickness he felt during the past two years...
(Posted on the special edition of Labor Weekend Spring At Ty)
