Hi guys, what do you usually do on weekends? Would you like to go camping and watch the clouds with me?
Taadaa... the weekend is my favorite time because I can spend time on my own, doing the things I love as a reward after a whole week of hard work 😊. Pick an ideal location, invite a few friends and pack our backpacks and let's go.
How interesting and happy life would be if we knew how to enjoy the things going on around us. Life will be filled with joy when we set foot in new lands every weekend, right?
The Place I Chosen To Camp For The Weekend
If it is camping, you must definitely choose a place on the outskirts of the city, where there are many trees and fresh air, right? And a place that meets all those requirements is Hai Van Quan - Located on the top of Hai Van Pass. It is a mountain in the Bach Ma range connecting Hue and Da Nang and jutting out into the sea. 500m above sea level, the top of the pass is covered with clouds all year round and has beautiful scenery.
As one of the few majestic passes of Vietnam, Hai Van Pass is one of the attractions for adventure lovers because this pass is considered the most dangerous in Vietnam. Currently, most cars move through Hai Van tunnel, so the pass is quite deserted. To explore this beautiful pass, you should drive carefully at a moderate speed to be able to see the beautiful scenery here.
Stopover Station
The means of transportation that I have chosen is a motorbike, because it is convenient and allows me to go and enjoy the scenery at the same time. From Da Nang city center, it took me about 1 hour to drive to the top of the pass, then we parked our motorbike here. And then we hiked up to the camping site on the top following a small path. From the parking lot to the camping site is about 3km, but it takes more than 20 minutes because the road is very steep. It was more tiring than I thought, I had to stop 2-3 times to rest before starting to continue. Even more tired than when I do Yoga. 😅
My companion is no better than me 😅. We both climbed the mountain and encouraged each other. Thinking about the moment I admire the beautiful scenery makes me feel energized, and this steep climb is also considered an exercise session. I went on a Saturday afternoon so I could camp overnight, watch the sunset and hunt for clouds on Sunday morning.
Indeed, the effort I put in was well worth it. The blue mountains are covered with white clouds, it's so close that it makes me feel like I can touch the clouds 😅. The place we chose to camp is a fairly large field in the middle of the vast mountains. From this spot, we can see both Da Nang beach, Lang Co bay and the M-shaped road of Hai Van pass.
Activities Here
Once we got there, we spent about 30 minutes taking pictures. It would be remiss not to capture these wonderful moments. True to its name "Hai Van Quan" - Hai means sea, Van means cloud and Quan means observation. It is the perfect place for us to watch the flying clouds and the sea.
After taking pictures, it is time to set up the tent. Here, the wind is quite strong so it caused quite a bit of difficulty for us in the process of setting up the tent. But with the help of many people, we finished setting up the tents and made sure they weren't blown away in the middle of the night by the wind. If we don't set up our tents carefully, we might wake up in an unknown place.
The most exciting part of a camping trip is preparing food for the dinner party. We pre-season our grilled chicken at home so it doesn't take too long to cook while camping. My job now is to light a fire and roast those chickens. I used bamboo sticks to keep the chickens from falling apart while grilling. We had grilled chicken, salad and fruit for the party. After the chicken was cooked and it was already dark, we had a wonderful dinner together, eating and talking together, enjoying every moment there.
After eating and drinking, we sat around the fire, playing the guitar and singing to each other. None of us are singers, but I think everyone sings well, maybe because I'm in a very happy mood, I feel that the friends around me are wonderful. 🥰
The stars began to appear in the night sky and I felt like I was very close to them. Sitting at such a high place, I can see the twinkling of stars that are hard to see in the city.
See the sunrise
I wake up at 5am to watch the sunrise and hunt for clouds. Dawn is the beginning of a good new day. Standing on the top of the mountain with a quiet space and a little chilly of the air, watching the first rays of the new day is wonderful. It is an unforgettable experience. The moment of standing there and peacefully watching everything change in front of my eyes thanks to the sun makes me feel strangely in love with this land. My body is as full of energy to continue the journey ahead.
At the end of the camping session, we clean up the trash, returning it to its original beauty and cleanliness. After each camping trip, we leave nothing but footprints, and take nothing but good memories. It is also a small act to show our gratitude to the places we go.
My weekend was filled with joy with my friends, how about you? How was your weekend? Please share with me. And if you have the opportunity to come to Da Nang, try to experience cloud hunting and camping at Hai Van Pass, you will surely have an interesting trip here.
Thank you for reading my post, have a nice weekend!!!