There has been no strategy on the exploitation and development of the Dong Van Plateau, which has been one of the 77 geological parks of the world. The Dong Van district People’s Committee estimated that some 600,000 people flocked to the stone plateau on the three weekend days October 26-28. However, the unprofessional services here are believed to drive travelers away.
“I will not serve any more. I am too tired today,” the owner of a family restaurant in Dong Van town said to the visitors at 9 am.
There were too many visitors, while there were few restaurants there. This explained why the owner of the shops refused to serve clients, because he got too tired and he wanted to have a rest, even though there was much food left for processing, and the market is just nearby.
“No more drink left,” the salesmen at the Pho Co café told the visitors. However, loyal clients still entered the shop, found seats and then opened the refrigerator, and made orders. Coffee, tea, hot milk and fruit juice were all available at the café, but customers could not enjoy them, because the owner refused to serve them.
A group of travelers decided to leave the café with empty stomach after they sat one hour at the café but were not served.
At 10 pm, a restaurant in Dong Van was still open. The two salesmen said to each other that they wished to see the time running faster, so that they can stop serving and closing the restaurant.
The two men might not think that they betrayed the travelers who tramped a long distance to the Dong Van Plateau to enjoy the wonderful landscape here. And they have to accept, not enjoy the food here, though the quality is bad and the food is so expensive.
Travelers have noted that the food prices in Dong Van town have been skyrocketing over the last year. A meal with popular dishes in the town has the price as high as the price of a meal in a luxurious restaurant in Hanoi.
Those, who want to charter motorbikes for traveling, would have to pay the rent of 250,000 dong per day, while they would have to buy petrol with their own money.
The guest room rate has increased from 180,000 dong to 300,000 dong. On weekend, 4-6 travelers have to stay in the same room, while 10-12 people would be put in the room with three beds.
The overly high number of tourists and the lack of accommodations force trekking tourists to spend nights at cafes or on the pavement.
The problem is that the high revenue from the services has been falling into the pockets of a few shop owners. Meanwhile, ethnic minority people, the owners of the cultural value which has created the attractiveness of the Dong Van stone plateau, have not benefited from the developing tourism in their locality.
There is a very famous house here – called Sung La, which was once used as the film studio for “Chuyen cua Pao” (Pao’s story), a well-known movie. This was the house of Mua Sua Pao, a high ranking official in the H’mong’s King Vuong Chi Sinh’s army in the past. H’mong people believed that the house is just second to the house of the King.
However, the famous house, which has a very architecture style to show the owner’s power, is now in very bad conditions. There were only empty rooms with no furnishings.
Mua Phai Tua and Mua Sin Gia, the offsprings of Mua Sua Pao, who now live in the house, are very poor people. They said that the house received hundreds of visitors on weekend.
However, they are still very poor, because “no one gives us anything.” As such, Sung La, the most attractive destination in Dong Van, does not have any income from tourism.