Vietnamese tourists excited to see the first snow of the season

Widespread frost during the cold spell in the North made many Vietnamese tourists who were climbing mountains in Ta Xua, Y Ty excited, as if they were lost in a scene from a movie.

On the morning of January 12, on the way down from the top of Ta Xua, at an altitude of about 2,700 m, Vu Manh Linh, a resident of Hanoi, suddenly felt short of breath, had a dry nose, a headache and hypothermia. With more than 30 experiences climbing Ta Xua, Linh guessed that this feeling was a sign that ice was appearing at the bottom.

Going down a bit further, Linh's eyes were caught by a scene "as poetic as a Korean movie" when the whole forest was covered in white ice, the temperature measured at about minus 2 degrees Celsius.

"The cold wind did not dampen our excitement when we saw the ice," said Linh. The tourists said they had no intention of hunting for ice, the trip was simply to experience the new Ta Xua climbing route.

Ice at rest area No. 3 Ta Xua towards Tram Tau, altitude about 2,530 m above sea level. Photo: Vu Manh Linh

In the North and North Central regions, the lowest temperature in the past three days has dropped below 10 degrees Celsius due to the influence of strong cold air and clear clouds. Some highland areas have been cold at 0 degrees Celsius, with dense frost such as Ta Xua, Yen Bai; Phia Oac, Cao Bang and Y Ty, Lao Cai.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, a visitor from Hanoi, conquered Lung Cung peak. Yen Bai, on January 11, also unexpectedly saw ice on the road from the rest house to the top. The night before, it was freezing cold in the rest house area but he did not think ice would appear. The ice was mainly on leaves, thin so from morning to noon it had almost melted.

In the Samu peak area, Son La, January 11, porter Song A Nhenh's group occasionally saw light snowfall on the mountain climbing path. When reaching an altitude of about 2,000 m at 2:00 p.m., all the trees were almost covered in white ice and by 5:30 p.m., Nhenh felt the cold, the wind was blowing strongly and the temperature seemed below 0 degrees Celsius. Despite the unpleasant weather, he was still happy to witness the first ice of the season unexpectedly.

Information about ice and snow has significantly increased the number of tourists interested in experiencing "ice hunting", according to Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Tourism. However, the difficulty of this tour is that it is seasonal and depends on nature, so travel companies often advise customers to book some tours that often have ice and snow to Mau Son, Lang Son or Fansipan, Lao Cai.

Ice covers the ground near Lung Cung peak. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc Son

Frost on the way to Samu peak. Photo: Song A Neh

Tourists trekking Lao Than on January 11. Photo: Nguyen Trong Cung

Frost covers trees in Ta Xua on January 12. Photo: Vu Manh Linh

Nguyen Trong Cung, who led a trekking group to Lao Than Mountain on January 11, said that over the past week, trekking tours to some mountain ranges in Yen Bai and Lao Cai have attracted many visitors. Each trekking group usually has 10-15 people, but during the recent freezing days, the number of people per group has increased to 20-30 people.

Trekking routes that attract visitors to hunt for ice and snow include Ta Xua and Ta Chi Nhu in Yen Bai; Lao Cai There are Bach Moc Luong Tu, Nhiu Co San, Lao Than. Each tour ranges from 2.5 million VND to more than 3 million VND per guest.

"These are all easy routes to travel in icy terrain," said Mr. Cung, adding that the number of visitors will decrease in the two weeks before Lunar New Year and then increase again after Tet.

A representative of Ta Xua Lu Tre homestay said that the room occupancy rate always reached 100% in the first two weeks of January, with guests booking rooms a month in advance. It is expected that the number of guests booking rooms will be lower in the last two weeks of January, close to Lunar New Year, at about 50% occupancy. Shared rooms in the stilt house cost 300,000 VND per person, while a bungalow for two guests costs 1.3 million VND. Near Tet, the number of guests usually decreases, then increases again from the 2nd and 3rd.

"Tourists who book rooms in the two weeks before Tet will have the advantage of fewer people, easier service booking, and cheaper prices," said a homestay representative.

Owner of a homestay in Mo Phu Chai village, Y Ty said the accommodation has been fully booked all week since the end of December. Near Tet, foreign guests make up the majority of bookings.

Source