Mang Den: Follow the sun...!

I came to Mang Den not with the mindset of finding “the second Da Lat of the Central Highlands” as people say. Mang Den did not make me “wow” with its beauty, but for those who love tranquility, Mang Den is probably a place you will never want to leave.

Simply breathing makes people feel comfortable, feeling the clean scent of grass and trees, free from the smell of dust from vehicles, construction sites, and crowded people.

The wheels rolled slowly along the winding National Highway 24, leading me from Kon Tum to Mang Den town. I could see the endless hillsides of reed grass and the green valleys glowing with magical colors under the red sunset on the western slopes.

During that journey, the song "Following the sun on the distant roads I wandered..." kept ringing in my head, feeling free like plants living in the open space of the earth and sky.

It took about an hour to drive from Kon Tum town, the car kept climbing uphill, each time the slope passed the air changed a little bit, the feeling of cold seeping in more clearly. Reaching the top of the pass, Mang Den appeared before my eyes, a flat land like the name Mang Den which in Xo-dang language means flat land.

It is not without reason that people compare Mang Den to Da Lat. I came to Mang Den in the early spring days, both sides of the road were covered with green pine trees, endless peach blossoms, the sun was just pouring down, filtering through the thick pine canopy with the fragrant smell of tree resin, shining on the wild grass carpet and occasionally I even came across a few bright yellow mimosa bushes. From the climate, terrain, vegetation to the villas with French-style architecture, this place inevitably reminds people of Da Lat.

Mang Den has both the mist, the rustling pine trees, the dreamy look of Da Lat, but also carries within itself the majestic beauty of the Central Highlands, the yellow color of terraced fields in season, the red dirt roads leading to the stilt houses emitting smoke on the hillside, the wild beauty of the waterfalls splashing white foam and above all, the unique cultural features with the breath of the fertility symbol Linga-Yoni, gongs, wooden statues of tombs or "the shadow of the Kơ nia tree" with heroic epics that create the unique features of the land associated with the legend of "3 waterfalls, 7 lakes".

This time I stayed at a Homestay in Kon-Bring Village, one of the four major tourist villages in Kon Plong District, mainly inhabited by the M'Nâm people. During my days there, I followed the little friends around the village. The children were strangely beautiful with smiles as bright as the Central Highlands sunshine, their deep, jet-black eyes and long eyelashes made me want to look a little more, a little more. Among the traditional wooden stilt houses was a Krong house, towering and imposing like a giant axe.

Places to visit in Mang Den are not too far apart, only about 30 minutes drive. The 37-household area with pretty cafes will be in the same direction as the grassy hill or Pa Sy Waterfall, a little further is the fairy-tale-like Kon Tu Rang village with a suspension bridge across the Dak Bla stream flowing through the terraced fields. Mang Den is not very crowded at night. If you are lazy to go out, you can sit by the warm charcoal stove with a few stories, some grilled corn, occasionally listening to the crackling sound from the stove, feeling the warmth radiating under the night mist. Or, to be less lazy, you can take a walk in the Mang Den Night Economic Zone, where there are many delicious dishes that are enough to satisfy your stomach.

Some places in Mang Den that I think are worth visiting are Area 37 and the grass hill of Area 37, Kon Tu Rang Village, Kon Von Kia Village, Kon Bring Village, Dak Ke Lake or Lo Ba Waterfall, Pa Sy Waterfall.

Restaurants you can refer to are: A Kay snakehead fish noodle soup (there is nothing better than a bowl of steaming noodle soup, fragrant with pepper when eating in cold weather), Ms. Sinh's grilled chicken and bamboo rice, vegetarian restaurant in Area 37, or eat hot pot, grilled food, drink nut milk in Mang Den night economic zone.

Article and photos: Nhu Diem

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