Negative Habits While Trekking in Hà Giang

Littering, displaying negative attitudes towards ethnic minority customs, damaging landscapes... are the factors that leave a negative impression on tourists in the rocky plateau.

Negative Habits While Trekking in Hà Giang

Recently, the post “What are you doing to my homeland?” by a girl in Hà Giang has attracted public attention. The writer uses gentle yet persuasive words to discuss the awareness of young people when visiting Hà Giang to admire buckwheat flowers.

Travelers often share the famous slogan: “Take nothing but photos. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time.” from the Baltimore Grotto, an association of exploration and cave conservation in the United States, to remind each other about maintaining consciousness during the trekking journey. In reality, we easily encounter ugly images, indicating that many people lack responsible awareness when traveling.

Littering

Negative Impacts of Irresponsible Traveling in Hà Giang

Trampling on Flowers

To capture stunning photos to share online, many travelers are willing to wade into fields of mustard flowers or buckwheat, posing lying down, sitting, or jumping up high... as long as they get the most pleasing images. These actions break delicate, tiny flowers that are the source of livelihood and the result of the hard work of locals in the rocky plateau.

Lack of Respect for Local Culture, Indigenous People

Mountainous provinces are home to many ethnic minorities, each with its own culture and traditions. Some individuals lack awareness when facing these customs, showing disrespect through their attitudes and actions.

Many people intrude into local houses without permission from the homeowners, or they laugh and talk loudly, disregarding the taboos of the ethnic people, such as not using stone benches as kitchen hearths, not wearing white linen clothes inside the house, or not whistling inside the house...

Showing disrespect to history, monuments, climbing onto border milestones.

Disregarding human life.

Many backpacking forums display a big slogan saying “Pack your bags and go” instead of “Pack your life up and go”, aiming to advise and encourage young people to be aware of self-protection. The mountainous roads are full of dangerous twists and turns. However, many young people are willing to drive at speeds of 40-50 km/h on those steep passes, regardless of the deep abyss beside them.

Many groups set up tents, lay sleeping mats right along the road, causing difficulties for passing vehicles. On these roads, there are often many large trucks. These actions not only endanger their own lives but also endanger many others.

How to travel safely and culturally is something that needs to be paid attention to before setting off. No matter where you go backpacking, always remember to protect nature and local culture. Respecting nature, respecting local culture is respecting yourself. Don't just go there to satisfy yourself, achieve something, and then leave behind ugly images, so that future trips will see the unsympathetic view of the local people.

Treat local culture and heritage with the utmost respect. Engage in responsible tourism practices, leaving only footprints and taking only memories. By doing so, you not only enrich your own travel experience but also contribute to the preservation of the destinations you visit.

According to Zing News

***

Reference: Travel guide from Mytour