MOC CHAU: THE PLUM BLOSSOM
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”. Generally speaking (sorry, Philippines), Christmas is not a thing in Asia... but, it still kind of is. Walking around the city and crossing so many shopping malls with crowds queueing up to take a photo with the beautiful Christmas display strategically placed there by the vendors in the attempt of making it up for their very poor performance of 2020 - thanks to COVID-19. I even saw a Christmas Buddha for crying out loud! The Asian Fusion concept brought to the next level.
Although there is no holiday shutdown per sé at our Vietnam office, I still took the liberty of placing a few days between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. With about ten (10) straight days off of work, I spontaneously decided to fly to Hanoi in the attempt of catching the last few days of the plum blossom season in the Mộc Châu district (Province of Son La), as well as finally visiting the breathtaking landscapes around Sapa (Province of Lao Cai).
Pacific Airlines’ One-Horse Open Sleigh
My early flight operated by Pacific Airlines turned out to be as jolly as Santa’s one-horse open sleigh. Shortly after the usual safety demonstration, the plane turned into a karaoke parlour with the cabin crew performing a few timeless Christmas classics accompanied by well-rehearsed choreographies. Vietnam wouldn’t be the same without its karaoke, would it! All passengers flying that day even received a Christmas gift! The cabin crew passed down the alley handing over a bag of goodies to everyone. In that bag, I found a Pacific Airlines-branded face mask, a can of Pepsi and a cute teddy bear dressed as a Pacific Airlines pilot. What a sweet gesture!
Déjà Vu
On arrival, My arranged for a private driver to pick me up from the airport so I could make it on time for our bus to Mộc Châu. I made it on time and even had a full hour to eat lunch and enjoy a hot cup of coffee before the altered 16-seater’s departure. There were only five (5) of us on the bus. Just out of Hanoi, in the outskirts, a sentiment of familiarity came to me as I thought I had recognized this highway from a former motorbike trip I had done in 2019 (The Limestone Loop). Could this be? Could my memory be that accurate? I better verify...
“Which direction are we heading toward?”, I asked, as I reminisced heading West toward the Lao border.
“I am not sure. Maybe North?”, My said, and asking the driver didn’t help either.
A quick check on Google Maps confirmed my sentiment of déjà vu. I have been on this road before, as we were heading West on the exact same road I was on during the Limestone Loop motorbike trip. Suddenly, it all came back to the surface, rushing through my mind the same way does a cà phê đen. Also the same way, I shivered and shook my head, telling myself how relieved I was to be out of this “relationshit”. During the drive, I could recognize every spot where we had picked a fight back then. What a terrible memory.
Moc Chau
We reached the Mộc Châu Eco Garden after about four (4) hours on the road. Just out of the taxi, the hotel staff rushed to pick our luggage and brought them inside the building hosting the check-in counter, also - oddly enough - the home of the resort swimming pool. Not that we had planned to use the cold water pool in such freezing weather, but let’s acknowledge nonetheless how inappropriate it is to have the hotel staff ogling at their guests while they are taking a dip. The room seemed decent - clean, organized with a balcony overlooking the valley - except for one small detail: it was cold AF! I remember noticing the featured wooden bathtub when I booked the room online. What I haven’t noticed was the tiny hot water tank that could fit at least 8 times in the tub. No chance to take a bath. A quick minute shower it is, then.
Moments after settling into the room, the hotel staff came and asked if they could interest us in joining their Christmas Dinner featuring a set lunch and a whole lot of local entertainment. Looking around, I doubt we would have found anything other than a bowl of phở within a 10 km radius… or even worse… a bowl of bún thịt chó (dog meat soup… I wish I was kidding). Sure, let’s do it! Dinner starts at 6:45 pm. Obviously, there was still no sign of food at 7:15 pm. At 7:30 pm came the first service with appetizers kicking-off the five-course meal. Not sure it was the right idea to hold a Christmas dinner outdoors in Mộc Châu. Every time a new course was served, we could count to ten (10) until the plate was cold. As far as salads go, it passes. But, with lamb chops and beef sirloin, the expectations are different. Dinner was still enjoyable, and the demonstrations of local culture made the evening even more memorable. Around dessert - in the middle of a traditional dance demonstration - the handyman just walk right in front of the performers - not giving a shit about the ongoing show - and proceeded to prepare the bonfire. It was quite funny to see him walk back and forth with a can of gasoline and a damp piece of cloth. In that kind of weather, one would think to light up the bonfire during the five-course meal. You know... to keep the guests warm... but, cold BBQ meat tastes so much better when you feel cold yourself. After dinner, guests were invited to dance in circles around the bonfire and participate in a lucky draw. The night was called around 8:30 pm. With the emptiness of the surroundings in the middle of the valley, it was pitch black and there was nothing much to do except going to bed and taking a rest before tomorrow’s big day.
Plum Blossom
The next morning, we booked a taxi and transferred to Hobbiton, a small bed & breakfast where rooms resemble the ones from The Lord of the Rings. It does sound amazing, but it was really basic. This catchy concept seemed to me like a poor excuse for saving money by garnishing the accommodations with children’s furniture. Although, they did have hot water and even a heater we could keep plugged and pointing at the bed the whole night. Just enough time to drop our luggage and off we drove to the Nà Ka Plum Valley (not to confuse with the Napa Valley in California, heaven for wine lovers). The drive was cold and windy, which is probably what ignited my next morning’s atrocious cold. Upon arrival, we noticed the plum trees almost completely naked from their blossom flowers. What a bummer! This was the very reason that brought us to the Mộc Châu district in the first place, so you can imagine our deception when the hostess told us the peak of the blossom season had happened two weeks ago. Nevertheless, we took a few photos of the surroundings and played with little Hmong children before making our way to the tea plantations. On our way there, we caught a glimpse of what looked like another plum tree orchard. Only, this time, the buds were still blooming. We got lucky! It was a real joy to walk around those beautiful trees dressed in white.
Tea Plantation
About 15 minutes further was the tea plantation, forming rows of tea trees circling the tops of every hill we could see like bull’s eyes. From a birds-eye view, it could remind me of the crop circles - these mysterious patterns in fields crop up overnight. On top of a hill, standing between rows with the mountains in the background and the sun warming up the scene, what a perfect setting for a photo shoot. I took out my gear and got real trigger-happy.
The sun was about to set and we still hadn’t had lunch yet for having too much fun taking photos in the majestic scenery. We drove back to the village in the attempt of finding a restaurant that would offer something that could warm us up a little. We stumbled upon a restaurant specialized in salmon dishes. We parked the motorbike, got in, sat down and read the menu that was handed to us. We placed the order which the waiter took note of before leaving to the kitchen. About 15 minutes later, an old man came to us to explain that they tried calling a cook to come to prepare the food for us but no one was available. What do you mean, “calling a cook”? Don’t you have a cook on-site? Apparently not... so we stood up, put our jackets on and drove further down the road where we found a goat restaurant. It was now dark outside and freezing too, not to mention that the restaurant was not heated. An order of goat hotpot will do the trick!
Before heading back to Hobbiton, we thought we’d stop at a convenience store for some late-night snacks. Evidently, the only thing to do at night time around here is to eat. As the owner added up all the items we wished to purchase, he lifted his head and saw me. He then turned to My who acted as an intermediate translator between him and I:
Owner: “Where is he from?”
My: “He’s from Canada.”
Owner: “Do they have a lot of Covid cases in Canada?”, the owner asked.
My then turned to me and said:
My: “He wants to know if there are lots of Covid cases in Canada”.
Me: “Yes, a lot!”, I answered very naively, not thinking for a second the hidden meaning of this question.
My then turned to him and translated in Vietnamese, as a lightbulb lighted up over my head. I then thought of adding:
Me: “Can you please let him know that I haven’t set foot in Canada for four (4) years?”.
Hats off to the owner for keeping it casual during my interrogation.
The next morning, we had plans to drive to the valley to take photos in a flower field, but it got cancelled for having experienced my worst night in a very long time. Basically, I was sick as a dog for having exposed myself to the cold the whole day. Some of you will say: “But, aren’t you Canadian?” Indeed, I am... but, I guess my body is not used to this type of weather anymore. To be honest, even back home I was never a fan of cold weather, to begin with. At least, in Montreal, the infrastructures are well in place to support the most extreme weather conditions. I’m talking about isolated houses, centralized heating systems, an underground network of tunnels connecting the whole downtown area, appropriate clothing, etc. In Vietnam, I don’t have my cold-weather wardrobe with me, as it didn’t make the cut when I moved here from Germany. Understandable, right? I remember spending the 2017 Holiday Season in Morocco where I struggled to a similar level and much more than during my three (3) years in Germany. To sum up, I didn’t sleep much that night. The photoshoot time slot was quickly replaced with extra sleep which was of tremendous help. When I finally found the strength to kick myself out of bed, we barely had time to check out, eat at a popular grilled chicken joint (that was absolutely delicious) and the bus picked us up from Hobbiton to bring us back to Hanoi. I felt much better, though. I was happy to have sacrificed a photoshoot in a flower field so that I could enjoy the rest of the week in the Northern Provinces. There will be other opportunities, as flowers are not exactly scarce in Vietnam. With a trip to Sapa coming up, I’d better feel good or it would be a hell of a week!