Driving through the night to see the plum garden with hundreds of trees blooming on the eve of Tet

Plum blossoms have just faded, and apricot blossoms have begun to bloom in the forests across Moc Chau, signaling the arrival of spring. Due to unfavorable weather, this year, apricot and plum blossoms in Moc Chau are less abundant than last year. According to local people, the number of flowers has decreased by 30 - 40%. However, in the days leading up to Lunar New Year, tourists from all over the world still flock to Moc Chau to admire the flower season.

Despite their extremely busy work, Nguyen Anh Chiem (42 years old) and Quynh Do (39 years old) and their sister and her husband still drove to Moc Chau (Son La) to see the apricot blossom season, making a "lightning-fast" trip. The family left Hanoi at 7:00 p.m. on January 12 and arrived at midnight on January 13. They stayed overnight near Dai Yem waterfall and at 6:00 a.m. started looking for the Thai Hung apricot garden, located about 2km from the waterfall. This is one of the two largest apricot gardens in the area, with hundreds of trees blooming at the same time.

Family drove from Hanoi to Moc Chau at night

Visitors can follow Google Maps or ask someone to share their location to avoid getting lost. "Because we were not familiar with the road, we got lost and it took us more than an hour to get there. My family was traveling in a 16-seat car so we couldn't go directly to the garden. I had to ask a local to show me the way," said Mr. Chiem.

Mr. Chiem has more than 10 years of experience in backpacking and camping, so for this trip, the family prepared their own food, cooking utensils, and tents. The whole family played in the apricot garden, took pictures, and then cooked a simple lunch. Because it was a weekday, the apricot garden was not too crowded, so the family could comfortably take pictures and visit.

In the afternoon, Mr. Chiem moved to an old house not far away, where the apricot blossoms were in full bloom. "Visitors should ask for directions from nearby residents to avoid going down dead-end roads," Mr. Chiem noted. The space with an old house, moss-covered roof, and a blooming apricot tree in the front yard, with petals falling in the wind, made visitors from Hanoi feel moved.

Locals here reveal how to identify apricot and plum trees by looking at the base, trunk and flower buds. Apricot trees look barren, old, taller than plum trees, with spindly branches. In addition, if you look closely at the pistil, visitors will see that apricot flowers have yellow pistils, different from the pure white color of plum flowers.

According to Mr. Chiem's ​​nearly 20 years of photography experience, the best time to take pictures of apricot blossoms is when it's sunny. The early morning or late afternoon sunlight will highlight the flowers, but if the sunlight is too strong, it will be difficult to take pictures. "That's why I decided to drive all night to catch the moment the sunlight rises and shines on the flower garden," said Mr. Chiem. "However, driving at night is quite dangerous due to the mountain pass. Tourists should consider and only go if they have a good driving skill, are experienced, and are familiar with the road. My brother-in-law and I have both been driving for many years, often driving long distances, so we are confident in making the trip," he added.

Mr. Chiem's ​​experience when driving at night is to always observe the yellow lines in the middle of the road. There are many blind spots, so drivers need to turn off their headlights and turn on their low beams to see clearly. Drivers should drive slowly and carefully on the pass.

The cost of visiting and taking photos of the flower gardens in Moc Chau is about 20,000 VND/person. However, there are no restaurants around the garden area, so visitors should prepare their own food. The nearest place to eat is Dai Yem waterfall area.

At this time, the number of tourists coming to Moc Chau to travel and buy peach blossoms, plum blossoms... is quite large, so the roads are often congested. This is also the time when the weather is foggy, so drivers need to be careful.

Mr. Chiem's ​​family trip lasted only 27 hours due to time constraints. According to him, the ideal time to travel to Moc Chau from Hanoi is 3 days and 2 nights. In addition to visiting the apricot garden, tourists can visit Dai Yem waterfall, tea hills, camping...

Coming to Moc Chau this season, visitors can join in the traditional Tet holiday of the H'Mong ethnic group, enjoying the famous Banh Day. The average temperature here is 17 degrees Celsius, visitors should bring woolen hats, warm clothes... to protect against the cold. It is expected that during the upcoming Lunar New Year, visitors will still be able to admire the apricot blossoms, along with the dreamy blooming cherry blossoms.

According to Vietnamnet