Y Ty is an ethnic village in Lao Cai province which is near the Vietnam – China border. The village has long been well-known for dreamy and charming beauty and becoming a promising destination for many couchsurfers.
340 kilometers from Hanoi, Y Ty is a mountainous ethnic village which is not easy to come due to the dangerous topography. However, it is not only the target place but also the challenge in the journey to find cloud of many couchsurfers. To visit Y Ty, a 3 days trip is advisable because you have to spend quite much time on travelling. First and foremost, to travel from Hanoi to Lao Cai, there are 2 best mean of transport: train or motorbike. Travelling by train, you will have to spend up to a night to reach Lao Cai station with the price of 150.000 – 200.000 VND for a normal ticket (hard –seat). Then you will hire a motorbike at Lao Cai to travel to Y Ty, the price for one – day hiring is about 150.000 VND. I highly recommended travelling by motorbike because it can be cheaper than travelling by train and you can actively and flexibly move. Besides, travelling by motorbike is very interesting when you can enjoy all the way to the mountainous area. However, travelling by motorbike is suitable for healthy and adventurous people especially experienced couchsurfers. The good news for many couchsurfers have intention of travelling to Y Ty by motorbike is that the road from Lao Cai to Y Ty has been completed; but it is easy to travel in dry weather, in rainy weather, you had better to go to Y Ty in Lao Cai – Bat Xat – Trinh Tuong for safer purpose.
The road to Y Ty
When reaching Y Ty you will be amazed by the magnificent beauty of the village. It is situated on the height of above 2000 meters above the sea level with its peak reaches 2660 meters. Due to the sky high altitude, Y Ty becoming a cloudy village with floating cloud and foggy covers; the sun seems never shine in the place which creates a mysterious layer of the village. Standing in the mountain, you will be wonder if it is land or paradise. Y Ty is the land of many ethnic minorities in Vietnam such as: Rouge Dao, Mong, Ha Nhi … In the place, you will feel lost in the dreamland when seeing magnificent scenes, the mountain appear and disappear alternately, dim houses in the foggy layer. All of them are telling you a fairy tale story that is real to you.
The view of the village in the cloudy and foggy layer
Beside traditional ethnic villages like Phin Ho, Lao Chai, Sim San, Sin Chai, Hong Ngai … cloudy and magnificent scenes, you can pay a visit to Lung Po stream in the junction with the Red River. A Lu paddy field is also an idea place to come especially in the end of September when the rice are laden ripped. A bit further is teemed Den Sang cao guo forest and sky high Cu Nhi San Mountain covered by clouds. If you travel to Y Ty in the weekends, you are lucky to have chance for joining in Muong Hum market in the early Sunday mornings which is a traditional feature of ethnic minorities in the mountainous area. In the market, you can buy something or not, it is your choice, there is no solicitation from the sellers.
Come to Y Ty, you may have a distinctive feeling; the feeling of refreshment and experience. The place is not too bustle like many big cities, but not too silent as a remote area, it just gives you the ordinary atmosphere of a special place – the kingdom of cloud in the Northwest.