The old Japanese tourist stood silently for a long time in front of a wooden bed in a thatched house in Lang Sen. He expressed a wish that made the tour guide stunned and choked up...

Finding the warmth of Ho Chi Minh in his homeland

Every year, April and May are the peak times for the staff of the Propaganda and Education Department, as they welcome thousands of visitors to the Kim Lien National Historical Site (Nam Dan, Nghe An) every day. In particular, during the recent April 30 and May 1 holidays, there were days when the site welcomed nearly 2,000 groups of visitors to visit Uncle Ho's hometown.

In lotus-colored ao dai and Nghe An conical hats, in the 39-40 degree Celsius heat, the tour guides, with their unique voices, still diligently introduce to tourists the simple thatched house with bamboo walls, and the simple household items associated with the childhood of President Ho Chi Minh and his relatives.

While domestic tourists and tour guides feel the familiarity of people far from home returning to their homeland and roots, foreign tourists always leave them with special emotions.

Although she has returned to work as a manager, Ms. Nguyen Thi An Vinh (48 years old, Deputy Head of the Department of Propaganda and Education) still remembers clearly the story of a visitor from Japan. At that time, Ms. Vinh had just taken the exam to become a tour guide here for 2 years. On a day at the end of 1998, the weather was quite cold, Ms. Vinh was assigned to welcome a foreign visitor. He was an old man of medium height, his face was wrinkled but still exuded a sharp look. He listened attentively to the interpreter translating the tour guide's introduction of each artifact associated with Uncle Ho's 5 years of childhood in the house of Mr. Pho Bang Nguyen Sinh Sac in Lang Sen.

He stood silently for a long time in front of the wooden bed where Nguyen Tat Thanh and his brother slept every night. This bed, which was later lent to a relative by Mr. Pho Bang, was unfortunately burnt in one corner due to burning coal for winter heating. When collected, the relic management board sawed off the burnt part. During his visit to his hometown after 50 years away, President Ho Chi Minh still discovered that the bed had become shorter than before.

"Hearing me introduce the bed, the Japanese guest was very moved, he cried and then asked cautiously, "Can I sit on this bed for a while to find the warmth of Ho Chi Minh? I was surprised and stunned by this request but tears welled up. He must have loved President Ho very much to have such a special request," Ms. An Vinh recalled.

Every year, the Kim Lien National Historical Site welcomes millions of visitors, including many international tourists. In particular, for the Lao ethnic people, President Ho Chi Minh has become a symbol of Vietnam - Laos solidarity, building and nurturing the good feelings between the Party, Government and people of the two countries "forever green, forever sustainable".

He is also a great symbol of the desire for independence and freedom, tirelessly fighting for the cause of national liberation, class liberation, fighting for peace and happiness of the Vietnamese people and together with the leaders of the Lao Party and State, tirelessly fighting for the cause of peace of the people of the world. Therefore, every year, many groups of Lao tourists, from leaders to people, return to the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.

Ms. An Vinh continued: "That time, I welcomed a group of tourists from the Lao People's Democratic Republic to visit Hoang Tru village, Uncle Ho's maternal hometown. They asked to listen to the explanation in Vietnamese, without an interpreter. Hearing about all the artifacts where Uncle Ho cried when he was born, sobs rang out. Their tears made me feel drawn into that emotion. In the simple thatched house, we hugged each other and sang the song "Vietnam - Laos brotherly love": " You are on this side of the Western Truong Son Mountains/ I am on this side of the Eastern Truong Son Mountains/ Always sending each other songs of love.../ The two countries hear the same rooster crowing in the morning/ The land of Champa, the land of the Dragon and Fairy/ Together we move forward to build a love/ The love of Vietnam and Laos brothers...".

Special catalyst

The Propaganda and Education Department has 20 staff members, 3 of whom are in charge of management, 3 of whom are in charge of welcoming registered tourist groups, and 17 tour guides in charge of guiding and introducing at Sen Village, Uncle Ho's paternal hometown, Hoang Tru, Uncle Ho's maternal hometown, Hoang Thi Loan's tomb, and Chung Son Temple - where Uncle Ho's relatives are worshiped.

It can be seen that the work pressure of the tour guide team at Kim Lien Relic Site is very high, especially on peak days when they welcome about 20,000 tourists. With their deep, warm voices, typical of Nghe An's dialect but round and clear, they bring tourists back to the old days, where Uncle Ho spent his childhood or the two times he visited his hometown in 1957 and 1961. For tour guides, tourists are both the objects of service and a source of inspiration, a special catalyst for them to always find their work new and attractive.

In the middle of May in the land of Nghe An, whether it is a weekday or a weekend, the tour guides of the Kim Lien relic site are almost always working at full capacity. Waiting for the next group of tourists, Ms. Phung Thi Huong Giang retreated to the shade to avoid the sun. Taking a sip of water, Ms. Giang smiled: "That's the secret to keeping the voice of tour guides from Uncle Ho's hometown". On average, each tour guide has to directly guide and introduce more than 20 groups of tourists a day, on peak days it can be double, even triple, at night when their throats are sore and hoarse, they have to use warm salt water to keep their voice.

"Usually, from April to September, there are many big holidays and students are on vacation, so the number of tourists visiting Uncle Ho's hometown is higher than other times of the year. Standing and talking for hours under the hot sun is tiring, but witnessing the emotions of tourists, seeing their feelings for Uncle Ho and his hometown, we forget all our fatigue, trying to convey the most complete information about Uncle Ho and his hometown to everyone. Some of us have been working for nearly 30 years, but we always find the job new and attractive, because in addition to our responsibility for the job and our own feelings for Uncle Ho, we always receive positive "catalysts" from the tourists when they come to our hometown," Ms. Phung Thi Huong Giang (48 years old) shared.

Earlier this year, Ms. Giang welcomed a very special guest, a man from Malaysia who spoke Vietnamese very well. Surprisingly, he had a deep understanding of President Ho Chi Minh and was very moved when he visited the small two-room cottage in Hoang Tru village - where Uncle Ho was born.

"When I introduced each item such as the hammock, the loom where Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan still wove cloth every night, rocked her baby to sleep and stayed up with her husband who was studying hard, he stood still for a long time. He said he loved President Ho Chi Minh very much and had read many documents about him, but he never expected that a great personality like President Ho Chi Minh would be born in such a simple, unimaginably simple place like this," Ms. Giang said.

May 18, 2023

Dantri.com.vn