Having the morning tea on the mountain
Hue with its many handsome mountains is ideal for mountain climbers. Splendid Bach Ma, great Hai Van Quan and poetic Tuy Van Mount (all located in Phu Loc District) are about 40-50 kilometers from Hue. Closer to Hue, there are Kim Phung Mount and Hon Vuon (in Huong Tra District), where many war traces. In Hue, there is Tu Tuong Mount with its famous Buddha statue.
For those who get up early and love mountain climbing, Ngu Binh Mount is the best place in their list if they cannot manage to go far or camp overnight. Ngu Binh Mount, located in the center of Hue, is 100 meters above sea level, so climbers have no difficulty getting there because it is not slopy. There are also steps for convenient hiking.
It takes 15 – 20 minutes to get to the top. All you can do is get up early enough to arrive at the mount just as the sun rises to welcome the dawn.
You can walk through the pine forest in the piping of the wind and admire the greenness of the lining fern. It is now the season of blossoming Melastoma. Standing on the top, you can behold the small violet flowers and listen to the sound of life welcoming a new day.
After satisfyingly watching the city slowly waking up in the sun, you can have a tea break at the mountain top with only a towel, a thermo bottle of water and a tea set.
It is often cool early in the spring morning and the temperature in the mountain is even lower. Holding a cup of tea to warm the hand, sipping and sensing the flavor of the tea in harmony with the aroma of nature, you will have a warm feeling pleasantly running through the body.
I enjoy sitting on Ngu Binh Mount at dawn, sipping hot tea and listening to the birds singing or watching the dew evaporate and witnessing the first sunlight shining from the mount peak. Doing so, I can feel the entire tranquility of life.
When I was young, I would climb the mountain in the early morning, overcoming the challenges of the steeply slope to reach the top of the mountain just as the moon set. But it was for making a living.
When I was 18, I ever climbed up the high Cay Mount (in Huong Tra District) for burdens of reeds and baskets of rose myrtles. I certainly beheld the sun rise on the top of the mountain and drank water from my mother’s old container, listening to the sound of life.
I was then a young man busy with making a living. I do not know what I used to think when I was on the mount top waiting for the sunrise. But I am now aware that I feel fresh and full of love when I was in harmony with the nature.
If you can, you should climb the mountain often. It is not only for seeing sights and enjoying tea, but for better health and energy. Then you can have clear mind and soul.
Story: Le Ha. Photo: Anh Quan