For 5 consecutive Tet holidays, Vu Hoa travels to the Northeast and Northwest, or celebrates the New Year in Con Dao, instead of staying at home to celebrate the traditional New Year.

Tet is a time to rest and do the things you want, so Vu Hoa chooses to go on a trip. In 2016, ignoring the objections of family and friends, she celebrated Tet on the road for the first time. At that time, she had a stable job in Hanoi and was still at home with her parents.

The girl in her thirties shared that the reason she wanted to go away during the long holiday was to really rest, instead of celebrating the New Year, which she considers tasteless, when all day she cooks, cleans the house, and then listens to adults ask questions. about personal matters. Earlier in the summer, she had her first motorbike trip to Ha Giang and was impressed with the wild and majestic beauty here and the life of the highland ethnic people. So for the Lunar New Year, she decided to return to the East – Northwest.

Accompanying her on the trip was a friend in Vung Tau City. They met in Hanoi and then departed for Cao Bang on December 29. After visiting Ban Gioc waterfall, they went to Khuoi Ky stone village (belonging to Ban Gioc waterfall tourist area). Although people in the village did not run a homestay business at that time, an elderly woman offered to invite them to celebrate Tet with them. So instead of going to Cao Bang city to watch fireworks, they stayed with this Tay ethnic family. On the afternoon of the last day of the year, the smoke from the kitchens cooking the year-end rice spread in the sky, the sound of horseshoes scrambling on the stone road and the crisp laughter of children made Hoa feel peaceful and warm in a foreign place.

After dinner, at 10:30 p.m., the elderly and children flocked to Ban Gioc waterfall, watching the Chinese fireworks explode brightly in the sky. Near the moment of the new year, they returned to the village. At that time, the house lit red wire firecrackers, the explosion was loud, the family reunion made Hoa’s childhood memories come back clearly. This was something she hadn’t seen in Hanoi for a long time. The next morning, walking on the small path full of red firecrackers, Hoa bid farewell to the woman’s family, the host did not forget to fill her backpack with fruits and dry food to eat on the street. Impressed with the joyful atmosphere of the Tet holiday and the hospitality of the people, Hoa promised herself that she would come back here once a year.

In the following days, traveling along Ha Giang, Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Tam Duong (Lai Chau), A Pa Chai (Dien Bien), Moc Chau (Son La), Mai Chau (Hoa Binh), flowers were seen Spring flowers bloom brilliantly. The convoys of local people follow each other to wish Tet, everyone is dressed in brocade clothes, silver jewelry traveling to spring, not forgetting to carry sugar cane to eat along the way. The children about 15, 16 years old became a couple, dating each other in the spring. That year, in the early spring days, there were not many tourists, even Sa Pa town (Lao Cai) was mostly locals. They sat on the square, selling souvenirs and specialties right on the sidewalks, making the atmosphere even more bustling.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, each Chinese New Year returned to the East – Northwest, but only with a nearly 10-year-old motorbike. There are days when driving up to 250 km in cold weather, hotels and restaurants are closed, she wanders on the pass without electric lights until 8 pm. At that time, what she most wanted was to see the road marker, reassure herself that she was about to reach the finish line. In her heart, she couldn’t help but blame herself for leaving the warm blanket and soft mattress to go so hard alone. But when she reached her destination, welcomed the New Year with the locals, and watched the spring flowers at their most beautiful, Hoa knew her journey was worth it.

In 2020, Hoa celebrates Tet in Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau), when she works in a hotel. This is the time when Con Dao is in the windy season, the wind blows strongly, the seawater is clear blue, the sun is soft yellow. On this occasion, apricot blossom, also known as Con Dao cherry blossom, blooms brightly on the way from the airport to the town center.

New Year’s Eve on the island also left a beautiful memory in Hoa when watching fireworks with colleagues at the pier, the sky lit up in waves, the firecrackers fell slowly into the sea, brightening up each wave crashing on the sandy shore. . In the first days of the year, just drive around the small town to meet acquaintances, not tourists. They visit and give each other happy New Year wishes. On the first day of the year, she also went sightseeing and prayed for good fortune at Nui Mot Pagoda and Phi Yen’s temple.

After 5 years of traveling through Tet, being welcomed by many strangers like homecoming children, overcoming difficulties when traveling alone, and being exposed to many customs of different ethnic groups, she knows she learns more. many things, more mature. She shared that in the coming years, on New Year’s Day, she will continue to travel, explore the beauty of the country, to gain more experiences that are rarely available on weekdays. She also hopes that many New Year’s will be a time when her family can properly rest or travel together.

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