(VOVworld) – Located ten kilometers from Sa Pa town, Ta Phin village is a popular destination for tourists. The village is famous for traditional medical remedies of wild leaves made by local Red Dao people.

In Sapa, tourists can rent a motorbike to go to Ta Phin. The road is flanded by rice terraces and sloping rice fields on the hillsides. The first stop is the monastery of Ta Phin, or rather its remains.

Many tourists like to stay in the homes of local people to experience the way Red Dao people live. In a wooden house, tourists help the hosts cook. In the morning, they go together to the nearby forest to look for medicinal plants and visit the village. In the evening, families and tourists sit around the fireplace chatting.

Regardless of their nationalities, all tourists want to learn more about the culture and traditions of the Red Dao. Max comes from Australia. He spent two days at Phan Man May’s house:

Dang Thai An and his children come from Hanoi. They spent three days with Ms. Phan Man May’s family. An says he is enjoying this experience very much. This is the first time he has taken a trip without hotel or restaurant:“It’s very interesting to live with the locals. We eat, sleep and go to the field with the host family members. We cook with them and have a bath using medicinal herbs like local Red Dao people. They prepare a large pot of medicinal plants for us. We are very interested in their tradition. We go up the mountain and visit Ms May’s relatives. It is really interesting”.

Dang Thai Vinh, Mr. An’s son has visited Sa Pa a couple of times. This time, he wants to introduce his family members to other interesting things about Sa Pa besides Ham Rong mountain, Cau May Street and Silver Waterfall. Vinh said:“I don’t want my family members to stay in the center of Sapa town because here the air is pure and good for health. And above all, we have the opportunity to mix with Red Dao people to learn their culture, their customs and even their language”.

For a long time, on the last day of the year, Dao people has taken a bath with medicinal plants they pick from the nearby forest to welcome the New Year. Having a bath with medicinal plants has become a tourist attraction in Ta Phin. In a barrel of hot water, they put up to 120 different kinds of leaves. Phan Man May says having a bath with medicinal plants is very good for health:“These leaves are picked in the forest. When there is not enough, we have to buy them in the market. Having a bath with medicinal plants, all our tiredness accumulated during the day is washed out. It will make you feel relaxed and help you sleep well. Tourists like it a lot. In summer, it's easy to boil water, while in winter it takes us three hours”.

Adding medicinal leaves to the boiling pot, Dang Thai Vinh says he and his family members all feel relaxed after having bath with medicinal plants: "This solution of the Dao people is great for health. We had to walk 13 km to get here but after taking a shower with the water, we all feel perfectly relaxed”.

Staying in a wooden house nestled in the mist, chatting over a wood fire, having a shower with wild leaves- these unique customs and traditions of the Red Dao people give visitors to Ta Phin some beautiful memories.