Ha Giang's tourists all try to go to the coffee at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole to sit quietly counting the drops of melancholy falling through the coffee filter.
The North Pole Coffee is now famous. People traveling to the Dong Van stone plateau tried to go there to sit quietly counting the drops of melancholy falling through the coffee filter, to bask in the feeling of the sunset. It is the North Pole cafe of Mr. Yasushi Ogura, a Japanese enthusiast in Vietnam.
The shop was built as a home for the Mong people in Ha Giang
Called the North Pole cafe is because of its geographical location. The shop is located in Lo Lo Chai village at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole. This is the first point of the country in the North.
In a suckling pig, there is a traditional architectural cafe with a wall, stone wall, wooden gate, using a bell to order drinks, using a bell hung on the neck of buffaloes, cows and goats to charge, just enjoy the dishes. delicious drinks ... while watching brocade weaving, knitting, making wine, just relaxing watching the mountains and having a friendly conversation with gentle and honest people is really interesting.
If coming at the end of the year, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy cherry blossoms blooming at the shop
There is nothing better than in the early mornings, sitting on the porch of the coffee shop, leisurely looking at the morning rays through the thin layer of fog still lingering on the board, then peering through the triangular window. on the wall to see where the birds are coming from and then sipping hot coffee. Or the sunset, sitting in the middle of the yard with the adventurers still burnt the streets, but rubble with a cup of corn wine made by the owner of the house. Looking up, in the pale blue sky, the early rising stars were as fascinating as the clear eyes.
Many visitors to Ha Giang tour choose the North Pole restaurant as a stop after the journey to discover the top of the country
Lo Lo Chai village is extremely lovely. The walls of the house were made of yellow ocher wall, the roofs were as black as the skin of a swollen belly of a pig, strewn with shingles. In the spring, when the plum blossoms blossomed, that wall, that roof formed the background for the shimmering, pinks and blues. Only about 300 people live in the village, they have maintained very good national identity, do not let the precious things fade, embryos in the vortex of golden money. This is thanks to the hard work of people like Mr. Ogura.
The shop is the home of Mr. Dieu Chien (40 years old) and Ms. Luc Thi Van (39 years old). The house was built in accordance with the Lo Lo wall, surrounded by a stone fence outside, at the entrance is a peach tree that blooms red every Tet. This is a standard Lo Lo house, with a beautiful location near the top of the village. After surveying nearly 100 houses in pine, Mr. Ogura decided to choose Chien's house to open a coffee shop. But the idea is, but convincing the host is not easy.
The items in the restaurant are very simple but create a warm and cozy feeling
It is also because for so many years, people are living in a closed life, so they are uncomfortable when strangers come in and sit right in front of their door, laughing and making noises. Not to mention the difficulties such as not knowing how to make coffee, not knowing English, not used to communicating, how can the restaurant be
Mr. Ogura had to persuade each family member to persuade everyone. He invested VND 200 million to buy wooden tables and chairs, teapots, cups and built two modern bathrooms. He invited a Hanoi girl to come to Lo Lo Chai a week to teach Ms Van the common English communication, teach her how to make coffee, tea, lemonade, waitress ...
The owner of the shop is Japanese but has been very devoted to Ha Giang and the North Pole
Just like that, the initial surprises gradually replaced with maturity. And in early 2015, the North Pole cafe opened. And suddenly, people have an extra "virtual living" check-in point like in a dream. Stone plateau, triangular field, Meo king's palace, Lung Cu flagpole, North pole shop ... all of these things form a value chain that changes the life of Lo Lo people.
With Mr. Ogura, Lo Lo Chai and Ha Giang villages became his second hometown. He loves this land really, not like "I love Vietnam" like the media slogan. Each month, he divides into 2 halves: 15 days in Japan and 15 days in Vietnam. He supervised the North Pole cafe closely not to control profit and loss but to supervise how to do it. For him, the preservation of indigenous values and national identity is the main goal. A coffee shop is a means to help Lo Lo people earn money without having to trade or lose their identity.
With the chilly atmosphere of the winter days in Ha Giang, it would be great to enjoy a hot cup of coffee at the North Pole restaurant.
Shop is home, home is a tourist destination. Neither can destroy the other but only coexist positively. Sitting by the tray of wine, he instructed the Lo Lo youngsters on how to cook and present, Mr. Ogura confided in clear Vietnamese: “I love this land so much, I decided to do something. Visitors to the crowded restaurant are very happy because the people will have the direction to exploit the local tourism potential and improve their life. But not so that losing the identity. Preserving the traditional cultural beauty of Lo Lo people and using this beauty to attract tourists, developing tourism economy is a sustainable tool for local people to improve their cultural and fine life. God. That is the way to preserve the culture and develop the economy ”.
It is the heart of a Japanese for the first land, a person who is hurt when photographing and destroying an old walled house to replace it with a gray concrete brick house, lifeless corrugated iron roof. Meanwhile, many Vietnamese are indifferent to see Dong Van, Sapa, Bac Ha ... being devastated.
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