A motorcycle journey through the mountainous landscapes of northern Vietnam's tribal area is a journey back in time. And if you travel at the time when Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, is celebrated, you experience the many traditions of the tribesmen up close.
A dark green mandarin tree with orange fruits comes rushing at full speed and overtakes two motorbikes - inside. The many orange fruits dance and the tree bounces up and down before it swings to the right and disappears behind a oozing city bus. A few seconds later, a peach tree with pink flowers follows on the heels of the tangerine tree, before it too disappears from view.

You can just make out the small, black rubber wheels under the numerous small trees and bushes that come racing through the heavy morning traffic here in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, which in the run-up to the Vietnamese New Year, Tet, seems to have been transformed into a nursery on wheels . Once the mandarin and peach trees have arrived at their respective locations, they are placed in colossal clay pots and decorate local homes, restaurants and hotel lobbies throughout the city.

On a motorcycle through the land of the tribal people

We are a group of motorcyclists riding together through Vietnam, whose landscape is probably best known for Ha Long Bay, the long coastlines, jungle lowlands and endless green rice fields. But if you drive north from the capital, Hanoi, you will experience a landscape that is hilly and mountainous and contrasts with the flat and rather monotonous lowlands of the Mekong Delta in the south. And if you travel at the beginning of the year, you will experience the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, Tet, and it happens with pomp and splendour.

The route through the mountainous and northern part of Vietnam's landscapes goes from Hanoi in the lowlands and up through the mountainous landscape along the border with China. Here there are plenty of winding mountain roads, which are fun when you're out on two wheels. It is also in this area that many of Vietnam's ethnic minorities live. In total, there are 54 different ethnic groups in Vietnam, and the minorities make up approx. 15 percent of the population of the 3,000 kilometer long country that meanders like a dragon along the South China Sea. Most of Vietnam's tribal people immigrated in waves of migration from southern China over many centuries. Today, they live by farming and partly as hunters and gatherers on the fringes of Vietnamese society.

Ten day Vietnamese New Year cure

We park our motorbikes under a house on stilts in the village of Mai Chau, approx. 150 km from Hanoi, and are welcomed by a smiling Vietnamese hostess who leads us up a narrow staircase to a cozy dormitory, where everything has been prepared for us with mattresses, mosquito nets, freshly washed sheets and soft duvets. In Vietnam, tourists can stay in private homes of the local tribesmen, and this is a unique opportunity to get close to the traditions and customs of the local people. In these guesthouses, located in traditional villages, the Vietnamese New Year is ushered in with style, and here it's all about eating for good luck and success in the coming year of the lord. And you can bring a big appetite from home, because the New Year's party in Vietnam lasts for approx. 10 days, so it is not that little that is put to death. Vietnamese cuisine is delicate,

diverse and at times also extremely bizarre. During the time that the New Year's celebration lasts, there are daily and sumptuous festive dinners, and during this period there are many dishes that are prepared and eaten only on this one occasion, as they all have a symbolic meaning. We are asked to settle down while a sea of auspicious New Year's dishes are brought in: Here, a green-brown rice cake called chung cake is eaten, because the greenish rice represents the earth, and an accompanying cold terrine of pork symbolizes heaven. Red is an auspicious color and red sticky rice is served because it is believed to bring good luck in the new year.

Yellow pieces of steamed chicken and soups sprinkled with chopped spring onions represent the four seasons. We enjoy the many special taste experiences, while we are told by the host family that duck and dog meat, which is otherwise a festive food in the northern part of Vietnam, is not eaten over the New Year, as it is believed to bring bad luck. Before the meal is served, the host family lights incense sticks on a small house altar, and food bowls are set out with photographs of the family's ancestors on the house altar, so that they, in the beyond, also share in the glories of the New Year's feast.

Market day in northern Vietnam

The next morning we wake up early to the crowing of roosters and the grunting of pigs from the many small family-run farms in the village. We thank the host family for a pleasant overnight stay and start our many motorbikes, which together sound like a thunder dragon here at dawn in the mountain landscape. In addition to the food here in Vietnam, which you could write a whole doctoral thesis about, it is a fun experience to stop at one of the many makeshift market places that are set up along the country roads during Tet.

Here the tribal people come from the highlands and offer their many agricultural products and to eat and feast. During Tet, the markets are transformed into pure folk festivals, where both dance, traditional songs and folk music are as much a delight to the ear as it is to the eye to see the women, from the various tribes, dressed in colorful folk costumes. All the tribes have different regional costumes, and they seem to compete with each other. It is especially a delight to see the women belonging to the Mongh people, whose headdresses, with hundreds of beads and embroidery, light up the landscape like festive New Year fireworks. All kinds of animals are traded on the festival grounds, including with little black pigs straying away from the big pigs, darting in and out while the pigs howl and scream.

The sound goes through bone and marrow and mixes with the folk music in a bizarre cacophony. Our motorbikes are parked by the road and create a lot of attention as we walk around this wonderful inferno of sounds and smells, and we are almost hypnotized by the strong colors of the many different regional costumes. After having seen our fill of folk life in the marketplace, we jump on the motorbikes and speed through the countryside. On the trip through northern Vietnam, the landscape changes character every day, and it is so varied that it is almost impossible to take it all in at once.

Goodbye to the Year of the Rooster and hello to the Year of the Dog

At this Vietnamese New Year, we entered the Year of the Dog, and this means, according to local superstition, that all the children born in this year have the character traits of the Dog. For example, people born in the year of the dog are considered to be intelligent, while those born in the year of the mouse are considered to have a fierce temper, says Ahn Tuan, who is Vietnamese and guide on the motorcycle trip.

He himself was born in the year of the tiger, and that is why he loves to travel around Vietnam, he says, as the tiger always wanders from place to place. Ahn Tuan has been guiding motorcycle tours in Vietnam for more than 20 years, and everywhere we go he knows the locals, who he greets and talks to, and we are invited into private homes for tea and lunch. He is a lively and passionate narrator who turns the driving breaks along Vietnam's country roads into small lectures about the country's history, culture and political conditions. Like so many other people in this country, he has had experiences from

Vietnam's many wars very close, as several of his family members have been involved in battles against France, the United States and later against the Chinese. Ahn Tuan narrates, gestures and points out over the landscape as he gives us an insight into the harsh history that has shaped the country we now travel through by motorbike.

Back to Hanoi

After 11 days on two wheels through the northernmost part of Vietnam, we again set course for the capital, Hanoi, and as we approach the suburbs on our motorbikes, we again meet the mandarin and peach trees in the traffic, but this time they are parked on the side of the road , and now they look a little withered and tired, as if after a long and exhausting New Year's party. They are being replanted in the plantations, ready to soak up nourishment and gather strength for another trip through Hanoi traffic next New Year, when Vietnam once again celebrates Tet and the Year of the Dog turns into the Year of the Pig.

Travel information

Tết Nguyễn Đán is the full name of the Vietnamese New Year, and it is the country's undisputed biggest and most important festival. Tet follows a lunar calendar and is celebrated between the months of January and March.

Officially, Tết is a 3-day festival, but it lasts approx. two weeks. For the Vietnamese, Tet is about food and drink in large quantities, as well as spending time with friends and family. It is also a holiday when sacrifices are made to the ancestors, as well as a holiday when Buddhist and Taoist temples are visited.

Persons with a Danish passport can stay in Vietnam for up to 15 days without a tourist visa. With a valid tourist visa, you can stay in the country for up to 3 months.