This year, the plum blossom season in Moc Chau is said to be more beautiful than every year due to favorable weather. Therefore, tourists from all over flock to check-in and take pictures of the picturesque plum garden. Moc Chau has become one of the most attractive destinations in the North at the beginning of the year.
According to the Department of Culture and Information of Moc Chau town, from the 3rd day of Tet until now, Moc Chau has welcomed more than 200,000 visitors to visit and check-in the plum blossom season. Every day of the week, the number of visitors fluctuates around 10,000, but on weekends, this number doubles.
However, Moc Chau town currently has about 300 accommodation establishments - not enough to serve the number of visitors that has doubled compared to the same period last year.
Many tourists tend to book rooms late, even arriving in Moc Chau to find rooms, leading to passivity in accommodation facilities.
Tu Anh (24 years old, Hung Yen) said that right after Tet she planned to go to Moc Chau to see the plum blossom season. However, about 4 or 5 days before the weekend, she called 3 or 4 hotels and motels near Moc Chau plum garden but was informed that all were fully booked.
"The first time I went to Moc Chau, I heard from friends who had been there that booking a room was easy, so I was complacent. I didn't expect that last weekend's rooms would be sold out so quickly. Out of options, I had to take time off from work to book a tour for a spring trip during the week," said the female tourist.
Not only Tu Anh, many tourists also booked rooms late, falling into a situation of not having a place to stay on the weekend. To arrive at the time when the flowers are at their most beautiful, many people choose to go and return the same day.
Mr. Hoang Duong (photographer, Hanoi) provides a service to take customers from Hanoi to Moc Chau to visit plum gardens, take photos, and then return home within the day. He said that since the end of Tet holiday, he has had customers requesting to go to Moc Chau to take photos every day.
"There are many customers booking services to take photos in Moc Chau, both on weekdays and weekends. In particular, weekends are more crowded because there are many cars carrying tourists, groups, and families driving themselves from all over to visit the plum garden, leading to traffic congestion," said Mr. Duong.
To avoid traffic jams, he usually picks up guests to depart for Moc Chau at 4am. The trip takes about 4 and a half hours. Upon arrival, the group will have a light meal and then spend the day taking pictures, exploring Moc Chau plum gardens and enjoying local cuisine. In the evening, the group gets on the bus to return to Hanoi instead of staying overnight.
Ms. Phuong Thanh (Hanoi) joined the Moc Chau photo tour to see the plum blossoms in bloom during the day, saying: "To save time and avoid the difficulty of booking a room during the day off, I decided to go on a photo tour during the day. The tour includes shuttle bus, food and drinks, and photography at a reasonable price, only about 1 million VND.
Upon arrival, I rented traditional costumes from the locals right at the plum garden, at a price of 50,000 - 250,000 VND/set. It was the time when plum blossoms were at their most brilliant, so the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. I left early so the roads were quite convenient, without traffic jams."
Ms. Thanh added that during the trip to Moc Chau, there was no soliciting or asking for money like in some other Northwestern tourist destinations. The food in Moc Chau was also delicious and cheap, and buying local products as gifts was reasonably priced, without being overcharged. The entire trip made her extremely satisfied.
"Because I had to rush back to Hanoi, I only went for the day. I will definitely come back here during plum fruit season," Ms. Thanh shared.
In addition to the day tour, some tourists choose other tours to Moc Chau to see plum blossoms. The price of a 2-day, 1-night tour ranges from 1.1 million to 1.8 million VND, including transportation, meals and accommodation. Depending on the tour price, tourists will stay in communal stilt houses (10-40 people) and hotels near Moc Chau plum gardens for convenience in traveling and taking photos.
