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Rising from the rice fields of Ha Giang Province, Tha Hamlet offers a
glimpse of rural northern life. About
ten kilometers outside the provincial capital of Ha Giang, the jagged
mountains give way to just enough space for the small village of Tha
Hamlet. Parting the hills are brown stilt houses standing over rice
paddies, ponds and pig pens. Smoke rises from the palm-leaf roves.
Irrigation divides different sections of the village.
The village paths are mostly hardened mud. Inhabited by a Tay ethnic
minority community, the village became an official Tourism Village in
2007, thanks to its traditional homes, unique agriculture and famous
terraced rice paddies, which rise up into the hills surrounding the
hamlet. Since then, the village has received government support to
maintain tourist infrastructure, such as a concrete road and
accommodation.
Living off the land
Some 113 Tay ethnic minority families with more than 500 people live
together on the 40 hectares of agricultural land. Their brown homes seem
to grow right out of the village’s fields and ponds. Underneath the
stilts, residents keep their tools, vehicles and kindling. On the side
of each house is an open area for drying rice.
The paths in the hamlet take pedestrians up along the edge of ponds and
rice paddies. The raised mud lanes look soft but they are sturdy and can
support anyone, even in the rain. Fish breed in many of the ponds. The
terraced rice fields and ponds are shallow and always filled with water
thanks to a stream flowing from the mountains into the village.
The fields are mostly khau mang rice, a new cross-breed variety
particular to Ha Giang farmers. The glutinous rice can keep for a long
time without loosing its fragrance. Tha’s rice is highly sought after
both inside and outside Ha Giang. And its price is still half as much as
normal rice. The ponds are filled mostly with bong fish, which used to
be reserved only for kings during the feudal era. But now bong is so
popular among every day people that its numbers are dwindling throughout
northern Vietnam.
A large bong can weigh up 15- 20 kilograms and its meat is rich and
flavorful. Tha Hamlet residents traditionally serve local bong to
visitors in the traditional Tay style. They often make goi, a dish with
the raw fish and vegetables. The fish is marinated in tai chua juice
before serving. Tai chua is a chayote-like fruit native to the
northwestern mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh and Bac Giang. It is both
sour and sweet. Other than goi, the fish is also eaten like Japanese
sashimi, sometimes accompanied by dill.
On location
Tha Hamlet is 10 km from Ha Giang Province’s eponymous capital, which is
320 km north of Hanoi along the National Highway 2. To get to Ha Giang
Province from Hanoi, take a motorbike along the Thang Long Bridge toward
Phu Tho Province’s Viet Tri Town. From Viet Tri head to Tuyen Quang
Province, where roads to Ha Giang are easily accessible. |
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