Source
Ta Xua is a small village in the north of Vietnam, in the territory of Son La province where the ethnic minorities are concentrated. I’ve heard of Ta Xua for several times as an amazing place for clouds hunting. There is not shortage of tourism places for clouds hunting in Vietnam, but Ta Xua still stands out and impresses me for the pristine hide-away that’s not so many people have explored yet.
The perfect time for clouds hunting in Ta Xua is from November to April. My trip in the end of March seems to be fine. I intend to spend 2 days 1 night for this trip so I don’t need to prepare much. As saying above, this place is really not for tourism. It’s still able to keep it’s own wilderness and natural beauty and that is why It’s hard to find good place for staying overnight. There are just a few homestays with low conditions. I booked the finest one with $3.5 per night. Then go to the bus station to ask for the time of departure. And that’s it, preparation is done.
There are a few ways of transportation to get Ta Xua: by bike, by bus, by private car,… I know myself well, the idea of taking bike for the distance of 240km from Hanoi is not fine to me at all. 😊 I don’t have car, of course. So I chose to go by bus - the way that suitable with my condition but much more complicated.
Waking up in early morning, packing a few personal items then hit the road. My journey to get in Ta Xua can be briefed like this: Taxi to go bus station – Take the only one available bus to go Bac Yen town (the town in the foot of mountain) about 5 hours – Then from the town, rent a bike and take a ride to go up to Ta Xua village located on the top of mountain, about 45 mins. I left my house at 9am and arrived the homestay in Ta Xua at 4.30pm. Long trip, right?
The owner of the homestay suggested me to take a ride to go up deeper to the forest to see the sunset. I did and gave up when I already finish a half way since it’s getting dark really quick and the mist surrounded made me so scare. And the road was terribly bad. The way from the town to Ta Xua was also bad and hard to go up with a lot of rocks and mud, but the way going to see sunset was even worse. So I gave up and keep hope to see the sunrise on the sea of clouds tomorrow morning.
People said that the perfect time to hunt clouds is from November to April but it doesn’t mean that you can see clouds all the time. It’s called “clouds hunting”, if you are lucky enough, you can see it and otherwise, don’t be too sad and see you next time.
The night time in Ta Xua is so sad. Too tired with the long ride, I went to bed early. I was thinking that if the fog is thick like this, there must be a lot of clouds in the morning for sure. Then I set my mind at rest and slept right away.
To see the sunrise, I woke up at 5am while it’s still pitch black. In that time, I really don’t have stomach to take a ride to the mountain. It’s freaking scary but the desire of seeing the amazing view of Ta Xua made me no longer hesitate. Wear helmet, turn on some strong music in the speaker (somehow it make me feel secure. Lol), and hit the road. I drive into the thick fog or clouds I don’t know and Al I could see is only a few feet ahead. Couldn’t go fast, I climb up the mountain with extremely low speed for my own safety.
When I went high enough, the fog was less heavy, and I started being able to see further. The more I go deeper in to the mountain, the more I enjoy the fresh clean air and the pristine of the mountainous. So much peaceful out there which I couldn’t feel of any in the city I’m living.
The curves of the mountain roads are especially dangerous. I have no choice but keep going, through the road twists and turns, rose and fell, affording me some of the most scenic views imaginable. I don’t know where the perfect spot of admiring sunrise is. But according to what the owner of homestay said, I drive deeper about 15km. The fog was gradually disappearing and it’s getting brighter. But there was no sign of clouds.
I start to worry that I might be late for the sunrise, I drive faster and faster. Until a ethnic girl tried to stop me and said that “Here here, here is the place for sunsire, park your bike here, I won’t take money”. I was doubting a bit but when I saw her face, her eyes “it’s so nice, so pure and honest”. I couldn’t help but trusted her left the bike over there.
I asked her if there are clouds to hunt today. She smiled and said that today there is no clouds for me to see. Too sad but I still walked down to the small road to go the place that looked really nice. The spot for admiring sunrise – people call it “Spine of Dinosaur”. Because it look like that, see the photo bellow.
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Source Spine of Dinosaur.
There was so much foggy but no clouds. I couldn’t see sunsire either since the sky is not clear enough. I enjoyed the view for a while and going back. The ethnic girl was so nice and she really didn’t take money for parking bike. I bought a bottle of water from her as a “thank you”.
My Photo without clouds
And here is what people take with Clouds. TT Source
I drove back to the homestay and prepare to go back city. There was a long way back waiting for me. I need to drive bike down to the town in the foot of mountain, then take bus to go the the bigger town, then from there I will take one more bus to go back Hanoi city. It was really tired. I felt quite sad because I couldn’t see the clouds, but I wasn’t disappointed at all. I really felt good for all the things that Ta Xua had offered. I love the fresh air, the mountainous view, the pristine, the natural beauty, the hospitality of people here.
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I will come back Ta Xua in November, yeah, to hunt the clouds. There is no guarantee that I will be able to see the clouds next time, but I love this place and I will go back for sure. Here is some photos showing that why Ta Xua is a desirable place.
Location information
● Tà Xùa, Bắc Yên District, Son La, Vietnam
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