A corner of Ho Tam homestay, Cao Son commune (Da Bac).
With the advantage of "the best distance”, about 20 km from Hoa Binh city, I have chosen Ho Tam as a place to enjoy and relax for the weekend. I thought that my group arrived the earliest, however, when we were there were already dozens of large and small cars parking there. In every corner and each area of the tourism spot the colorful skirts of women taking the advantage of the sunrise to check in fluttered. It was the first time we came there, we were free to explore and experience. Tam lake is located at an altitude of nearly 1,000m above the sea level, there are many rocky-mountains, many alternating lakes creating such a relaxing space that anyone who comes here have the feeling of being in harmony with nature and plants. Every morning, when waking up, visitors can enjoy the cool air mixed with a little poetry, counting the sun drops falling between the leaves. Being seated on the door of the stilt house, you can zoom your eyes in all directions: Looking up, you can see the whole scene of clouds and sky, looking across, you can see a rolling hilly landscape, in the distance it is a calm lake with the silver waves covering the blue water surface, and looking down you can see flowers interspersed with green grass and the highlight is the infinity pool with clear blue water.
When the female people in the group asked the question: where will guests stay overnight as there are few rooms in the homestay? The staff who are both narrators, consultants, and waiters says: Coming here, you can sleep in tents, camp by the lake, organize team building activities with fun and interesting games, practice yoga, aerobic, dance… in groups, or enjoy individually to the fresh air, beautiful landscape close to nature. Indeed! To create an interesting experience space, Ho Tam homestay has designed many items and works close to nature. Those are zigzag, winding roads lined with stones of many shapes and sizes, interspersed with green grass. A few hammocks are strung between the shady trees for visitors to relax. Under the lake, there is a small boat made of bamboo, which has faded with time, however, it still looks great in the frame. In another corner of the lake a thick net is spearding, with lovely pillows put on it for the women to transform into "the mermaids”, taking the best pictures.
With the teenage friends organizing the class meetings and experiencing the tourism products of Ho Tam homestay, Ms. Vu Thanh Huong, a tourist from Hoang Mai district (Hanoi) says: "Coming here, I am immersed myself with nature, breathe fresh air and experience very interesting activities. There are 20 people in our group, we all share that feeling and have planned for the family reunions, the company and class meeting... in the near future in Ho Tam".
As the native people, I have also been to some homestay tourism in Da Bac, Tan Lac and Lac Son districts, I am more interested in eating, staying, experiencing service, learning the typical area culture. Coming to Ho Tam homestay, I feel happy because this tourism establishment still retains the simplicity and inelegance in its business method, they do not drag, slash, or serve in the style of "elephant head, mouse tail”. If tourists come there for visiting without eating or staying, the facility will charge 60,000 VN an adult and 30,000 VND a child. If ordering at the restaurant, visitors can choose the typical dishes of the locality such as the armpit pork with different dishes, the grilled jogging chicken with Doi seeds, the steamed chicken with lemon leaves, the braised chicken with bamboo shoots; the grilled fish, the sturgeon hotpot, the crispy carp, the braised fish hotpot with bamboo shoots; the grilled buffalo meat, the veal, the goat, the lemongrass, steamed, stir-fried; the seasonal vegetables, priority is given to wild vegetables such as field cabbage, sturgeon, Sam, mugwort, papaya leaves... and other dishes such as five-color sticky rice, chicken sticky rice, chicken mushroom soup, fried corn, French fries, sausage, Ninh Binh elderberry, porridge, vermicelli... at the affordable prices. Although the service team is not really professional, the dishes are not really rich and beautiful, in return diners can feel the delicious taste of fresh food. The restaurant area is located on the first floor, if it's shady, you can dine outdoors, enjoy the fresh air, mingle with nature, bringing a very peaceful feeling.