VietNamNet Bridge - Lacking of comprehensive services for the development of tourism, many historical monuments and beauty spots like Ba Gioc waterfall, Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh trail are out of reach of many Vietnamese people.

Going to see "the shape of the Fatherland" has long become a healthy movement of young people.

Their destinations are the border landmarks, historic roads and historical sites. However, these are remote and hardly-to-come places because of lack of information, services and bumpy roads. 

Too risky, lack of everything.

In addition to the four points of the Southernmost point of Ca Mau, the Northernmost point of - Lung Cu (Ha Giang), the Easternmost point of Mui Doi  (Khanh Hoa) and the Westernmost point of A Pa Chai (Dien Bien), there are also Trang Vy cape (Quang Ninh), Lung Po intersection (Lao Cai) and Indochina intersection (Kon Tum) as the locations that shape the country.

The Northernmost Point, the Southernmost Point and Trang Vy Cape are relatively easy to bring and have investment in tourism; the rest of the places have almost zero infrastructures for tourism.

“You are in the border, where the Red River runs into the land of Vietnam.” This is a sentence in the lyrics of a very popular song to the Vietnamese but not many people have been to that place, where the Red River begins to flow into Vietnam – Lung Po intersection.

The Vietnam-China border landmark in Lung Po junction, where the Red River flows into the land of Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh, a soldier of the A Pa Chai border post and a group of tourists from Ho Chi Minh City on the way to conquer landmark No. 0.

Visiting Lung Po amid summer, we were sad seeing highways and busy traffic across the border while in Vietnam there was nobody. We entered a nearby border station to hide from the sun and took lunch, and then left because there was no restaurant or motel there.

The westernmost point of A Pa Chai is 750 km from Hanoi, including about 50 km of extremely bad road. It took us three days on motorbike to reach the only stop – the A Pa Chai Border Station in Sin Thau Commune, Muong Nhe District, Dien Bien Province.

To touch the westernmost point, where is the intersection of the borders of Vietnam - Laos - China, visitors have to climb over three hills with a lot of steep, slippery slopes.

The "guides" to conquer the westernmost point are no one other than the border soldiers. During the peak season, when visitors flock to the westernmost point, officers and soldiers of the A Pa Chai Border Station have to give their rooms to tourists.

Difficult to find legends

A group of young people form HCM City calls a halt on Ho Chi Minh Trail during a trans-Vietnam journey by motorbike.

Ban Gioc waterfall is the landscape that is included in the textbooks but not many Vietnamese have been there since for decades, this landscape has overslept in the border area.

In the journey to Ban Gioc waterfall, we had to struggle with not only 80 km of bumpy road, but also had to stop several time to seek way because of the lack of road signs.

We asked Party Secretary of Cao Bang Province – Mr. Ha Ngoc Chien about this. He was "startled": "If it is the fact, the Department of Transportation, Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Cao Bang must immediately fix it, because Ban Gioc is not only the property of Cao Bang but also a site where domestic and international tourists want to visit."

Before Saigontourist kicked off the 4-star hotel project in Ban Gioc waterfall several months ago, this area had no accommodation facilities for tourists. Currently, Cao Bang authorities and the Vietnam National Tourism Administration are still struggling with the issue of "waking up potentials" of Ban Gioc.

Along with Highway 1 from north to south, the Ho Chi Minh City highway that runs parallel is regarded as a legendary road because along the road are a lot of relics of the Vietnam War: Truong Son Cemetery, Vinh Moc and Khe Sanh tunnels (Quang Tri), Khe Gat Airport, Road 20 (Quang Binh), Ben Giang, Lang Ro (Quang Nam), Thit Bam Hill (Thua Thien - Hue), Charlie Hill, Dak To base (Kon Tum) etc.

Ho Chi Minh Highway is beautiful but quiet.

In several days of traveling on the Truong Son mountain range, the impression left is the Ho Chi Minh highway is very beautiful but lacks people. Many historical places are barren with time. Not only tourism is underdeveloped on this route, we had to carry tanks of gas because the road was unpopulated for 200 km.

Mr. Nguyen Van My, Chairman of Lua Viet Picnic Company, said his company was very interested in offering tours to Ho Chi Minh trail. In 2003, the firm organized several trips along the historic trail.

"After 5-6 trips, we had to stop because of lacking services for tourists and guides who are really knowledgeable about history," My said.

The Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province has designed a project to develop tourism along the Ho Chi Minh trail with a total length of 3 km through Ca Dy Commune, Nam Giang District, which is expected to open from 2013.

This route is still in pristine beauty, winding in the woods and passing the villages of Co Tu people.

Mr. Ho Tan Cuong, the department’s Deputy Director, said this tour will not only help domestic and foreign visitors learn more about the history of Vietnam, the severity of the war but also promote cultural values of, generate revenues for Co Tu people, thereby reducing deforestation.

NLD