At the end of September and the beginning of October, storms continuously made landfall in the Central and Northern provinces of our country, causing unpredictable consequences. In particular, due to the impact of the storm's circulation, heavy rains lasting for hours caused landslides, many places were isolated and submerged in water.
Therefore, tourism activities in many provinces and cities are facing difficulties. However, for Miller Machado (25 years old, Colombia) and Dimitris Goupios (25 years old, Greece), the trip to Ha Giang at the end of September was an unforgettable memory.
Strange experience
The first time coming to Vietnam, Miller and his group of friends were very excited to explore a new land. On September 26, the group landed at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City. On September 28, the group arrived in Ha Giang 2 ward, Tuyen Quang province to prepare for the planned trip to visit the stone plateau.
However, from the evening of September 28 to the early morning of September 29, storm No. 10 Bualoi began to make landfall in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, in which many provinces and cities in the Central and Northern regions were affected, causing heavy rain.
Informed about the storm, Miller and his group decided to stay in a hotel waiting for the weather to return.
From the night of September 30, the storm's circulation caused prolonged heavy rain in Tuyen Quang province. By October 1, the water level of the Lo River rose, causing many residential areas to be isolated. The streets have turned into rivers, houses, shops, and schools are submerged in water.
I really didnt know about the storm before the trip, Miller admitted.
To ensure the safety of himself and his group, during the days affected by Typhoon Bualoi, Miller spent time primarily making friends and chatting with tourists who were also stranded like him.
On October 2, the water began to recede. Local people have begun to clear mud, clean houses and clear roads to return to normal life.
At first, we thought this trip was a bit... complicated because when the streets started to flood, we couldnt leave the hotel and didnt know what to do next. The next day, when the water began to recede, we directly witnessed the mud and dirt flooding into people's houses, covering the roads.
A scene is no different from a disaster. People certainly need help. Therefore, we did not hesitate at all and contributed our efforts to help them, the young Colombian expressed.
First, Miller's group began cleaning up at the hotel where they were staying. After that, although tired, his group saw that there were still people on the other side of the road trying to clear mud and soil from sticking to their doors.
Miller continued: We were asked if we could help them? We agreed and worked with them to clean up as much as possible. That day, we started working at 7am. When will the cleaning be over? I didn't bring my phone but I probably had to wait until late at night."
The feeling of stagnation in Miller at the end of the day was a feeling of fatigue because clearing the mud was not simple. "We only used a few black boards, a table and a few pieces of wood to scrap the mud. That was all we had, but we took advantage of them very well, the male tourist happily said.
Although Miller flew back to his hometown as scheduled on October 3, meaning this trip to Ha Giang was not in accordance with the original plan, he was very satisfied. Because his goal of coming to Ha Giang is to experience new things, and joining hands to help local people overcome the consequences of storm No. 10 is an interesting experience for him.
A successful trip
Accompanying Miller's group were two members of the Goupios family, from Greece, with the goal of this journey being to visit the northern provinces and Vietnam. Before coming to Ha Giang 2 ward, Dimitris and his brother stopped in Ninh Binh and Cao Bang - a tourist destination that he especially loves.
When he arrived in Cao Bang, Dimitris noticed that the weather was starting to rain heavily, but he did not know what the situation would be like in the near future. The first night in Tuyen Quang province still passed smoothly. However, the next morning, while the male tourist was exercising, he noticed a small street nearby starting to flood.
Informed about the situation of heavy rain and the risk of floodwaters rising, Dimitris mainly stayed in the homestay to practice at the gym, sing karaoke, chat or help other tourists. More than anyone else, all the tourists trapped are praying for the situation to improve every day.
On October 2, we were informed that the water had receded, Dimitris said. However, the mud was still lying around. So we put our hands on our shirt and started moving the mud out of the yard. We all volunteer to help the people here.
mud was still sticking high on the ankles. With limited tools, we have homemade wide scrapers to be able to move as much mud as possible. Honestly, it was a long and tiring day because we kept dragging tables, chairs and wooden boards through the thick layer of mud."
Foreign tourists only take a short break to drink water and have lunch. This is a thank you gift from the homestay owner. After that, they continued to help local people.
We cant speak local languages, so we have to use Google Translate to communicate. However, we have overcome the language barrier and helped as much as we could. The nightfall was also the time when we stopped. Because the homestay still does not have tap water, we were able to go to a nearby waterfall to wash away the mud on our bodies, the male tourist revealed.
On October 3, when the weather improved and the roads were clean again, Dimitris and his brother started implementing Ha Giang Loop as planned. The route is about 350km long, running through canyons, steep passes, and deep valleys with diverse landscapes, including Ma Pi Leng Pass - one of the four great mountain pass passes in Vietnam.
For him, this trip was a great success because of the beautiful, pristine nature of Vietnam, the friendly, kind people, even though he did not speak the same language, the cultural experience of 1-0-2 that Dimitris had never witnessed in any country.
