In 2014, American journalist Patrick Abboud visited this mountain to learn and discover the incredible customs and life of the local people. His show has been broadcast on American SBS. Origin of custom This strange ritual dates back to the 16th century, when a young Indonesian prince named Pangeran Samudro, the son of a Javanese king, had an abusive love affair with his stepmother, Princess Nyai Ontrowulan. The two fall in love despite the ties that bind them, and then run away together to the mountain Gunung Kemukus. However, they were caught in the act of having sex and killed by the king. Their graves were built by locals and since then, many people have come here to offer flowers to pray for good luck. Gunung Kemukus mountain in Indonesia. Since then, the Pon festival on the top of Gunung Kemukus was opened. People believe that the above couple has not completed the “sexual affair”, so if you come here and have sex with a stranger, you will have luck and fortune, have a happier and richer life. According to journalist Patrick, this is a Javanese ritual and it is completely different from the Muslim world or anywhere in Indonesia. It is a mixture of beliefs between Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. 8,000 people go to the mountains to have sex with strangers During the Pon festival on Mount Gunung Kemukus, attendees will find a stranger to have sex with. Furthermore, for their wish to come true, they had to do this 7 times in 35 days. Witnessing this custom, journalist Patrick exclaimed: “Unbelievable”. But what surprised him more was the large scale of this festival, each night up to thousands of people, with a peak night of more than 8,000 people coming here to pray. It will take them several weeks to perform this ritual. Pilgrims go to the mountains to pray for good luck. From married men, married women, government officials or prostitutes, all can participate in the ritual for good luck. Most are Indonesians from all regions. In the morning, they will go to the temple to offer flowers and pray. In the evening, they would go looking for strangers to spend the night together. This ritual is so popular that Mount Gunung Kemukus has become a popular tourist destination in Indonesia, attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year. The government and local people have allowed toll fees at Gunung Kemukus mountain, and built many hotels, motels, service areas and bus routes to serve tourism. Unforeseen consequences In the Indonesian concept, going to Gunung Kemukus mountain to have sex with strangers is for good luck, has nothing to do with relationships outside of marriage. However, this also left many unpredictable consequences, Gunung Kemukus accidentally became the main territory of the sex workers. Journalist Patrick followed pilgrims up the mountain for good luck, then approached a woman named Mardiyah, a widow with difficult financial conditions. When she met Mr. Patrick, Ms. Mardiyah had just completed the ritual of having sex 7 times in 35 days. She said the ritual worked because her business got better, helping her make more money. Couples are comfortable “making love” in the hope of having a happier and richer life. Ms. Mardiyah said: “I met a man who also came here for pilgrimage named Gepeng and went with his friends. He didn’t want to reveal the story because he didn’t want his wife to find out but his life. It has also changed a lot.” According to journalist Patrick, the Pon festival inadvertently turned Gunung Kemukus mountain into a good place for prostitution. It can cause problems with sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, and has many marital and family consequences, such as adultery or children out of wedlock. “I think there’s a contradiction between this ritual and prostitution. That’s why it’s been condemned by the government and the leaders. A lot of people who have contracted sexually transmitted diseases should have it. many health clinics are built in the mountains.I spoke to a doctor and learned that most sex workers are sexually ill, men don’t use condoms often, so The risk is great,” journalist Patrick shared. In addition, this festival also entails many lucrative business activities such as karaoke bars, motels disguised as prostitution, causing bad effects, obscuring religious values. Even so, religious believers still believe in the effectiveness of the festival, while the local government turns a blind eye.

In 2015, studying in the first year of university, Dinh Le Thao Nguyen (SN 1996, Ward 3, Da Lat City, Lam Dong) decided to take a break even though her family disagreed. “Since I was in high school, I was determined not to go to university, but I did not expect to pass the exam,” the girl born in 1996 shared. However, after only a few months, the girl decided to drop out of school. The garden of Thao Nguyen is more than 7,000m2, planted with all kinds of different fruit trees. Having a passion for plants and gardening, after leaving school, Thao Nguyen and her parents planted more ornamental plants, flowers and vegetables in the garden. She also redesigned her garden in the direction of “going back to nature” and discussed with her parents the intention of inviting “strangers” to her garden to play. “The land is large, but only my parents, me and my younger brother live. Gardening is done by me and my father, so it can’t be done,” Thao Nguyen shared. She wants to invite others to work in the garden and harvest products. Guests will be free to eat and drink, while the owner has a companion when gardening. “I only choose female guests,” Thao Nguyen said. The selection of people to play will be “selected carefully” through the profile and the times the two sides talk to discuss topics related to planting trees and taking care of the garden. Guests and owners will have a month to contact and talk to each other. When it feels right to talk and feel that guests are sincere in coming to the garden, Thao Nguyen will receive the application and make an appointment for the two sides to meet. However, Thao Nguyen’s idea was opposed by her family. “My father said: “When you come to play, I take them to Da Lat city to tell me. Bringing a friend back and forcing you to garden for yourself is exploiting your labor,” Thao Nguyen recalls. There is no other way. otherwise, Thao Nguyen had to put her ideas aside. Thao Nguyen took a commemorative photo with an elderly guest who used to visit her garden. In 2020, Mr. Lac – Thao Nguyen’s father, just started letting his daughter invite strangers to his garden. Thao Nguyen posted information to find people in the provinces and cities to come to her garden to play and many people responded. “The garden is currently in the harvest season, so I want to find someone to visit, take care of the plants and harvest the products together. Every day, we will do gardening for 4 hours, including 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Gardening is sowing seeds, planting flowers, growing vegetables, watering plants, picking up trash, weeding, picking fruit… Thao Nguyen’s garden is located in the middle of Da Lat city, surrounded by a stream. The rest of the time we will cook together, walk around Da Lat. The garden will arrange accommodation and meals during your stay. If you want to wander around the restaurant and eat, I’m happy to share when eating with you. If you can take care of the garden for a month, the garden will be completely free of charge. If you only spend 1-2 weeks in the garden, the fee will be 200,000 VND/week,” she wrote. Reading about Thao Nguyen, a female friend in Hanoi asked to visit the garden for a week. After carefully reviewing the girl’s profile, Thao Nguyen agreed. The girl stayed for a week, worked in the garden, ate together and talked with the owner of the garden. Before leaving, the girl planted a green tree as a souvenir. Thao Nguyen promised, when the tree bears fruit, she will invite the girl to come and harvest. Ms. Pham My Ly (Hanoi) also registered to come to Thao Nguyen’s garden to stay for a week to practice being a farmer. “The days of gardening with Thao Nguyen, I feel very happy, comfortable and meaningful. In the morning, I go to the garden to pick vegetables and weeds. In the afternoon, I finish work early, I drive around Da Lat,” she wrote. on personal page. Recently, many people also registered to visit the garden, but Thao Nguyen did not agree, due to the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic. “This season, the garden is in the process of harvesting avocados and durians… but due to the epidemic, we can’t invite everyone to come, I’m sorry,” 9X confessed. In addition to fruit trees, Thao Nguyen also grows chrysanthemums, roses, five-color, bougainvillea… The succulent berries that Thao Nguyen can grow. She also grows more vegetables and tubers to provide clean food for her family and visitors to the garden. Thao Nguyen said that gardening also has worries, expectations, joy and fatigue like other jobs. However, since starting gardening, she finds life meaningful because she takes care of plants and immerses herself in nature. Thao Nguyen also designed an area to make a fish pond, a place to relax for family and guests. The cat is lying comfortably under the fruit-bearing jackfruit tree. Stone lotus is grown in dried coconut shells. Among these, there are trees planted by guests as souvenirs. The girls came to garden with Thao Nguyen. Up to now, Thao Nguyen has welcomed more than 20 strangers to the garden to play. In the next time, she will design a garden according to the homestay model so that she can welcome many guests, especially families with small children. Thao Nguyen and the guest visit her garden. 9X said, up to now, she always feels that the choice of garden is done right and is becoming more and more meaningful. Watch more videos: Hanoi is strangely beautiful in the rice flower season, the red color dispels the cold of Ban Tu Anh Photo: Character provided

Rajni Gill woke up with a mild fever in mid-April, the first sign that she had Covid-19. Within a few days, she had difficulty breathing and was nearly unconscious at the hospital. Desperate to be unable to arrange for Gill’s plasma treatment, her sister posted a plea on social media: “I am looking for a plasma donor for the sister who is hospitalized in Noida. She is blood type B and 43 years old “. Fortunately, the message quickly spread on Twitter and appeared on the phone of Mr. Srinivas BV, an opposition politician in nearby Delhi. He claimed to be a voluntary blood donor and went to help this Covid-19 patient. Internet cries for help spread “like wildfire” India’s health care system has been on the brink of collapse as the country records a record increase every day. Desperate, relatives and friends of the infected people have to send messages for help on social networks. Thousands of people are dying from Covid-19 in India every day. Photo: New York Times. Some people need medical oxygen, which is almost impossible to find in the capital, Delhi. Others are on the hunt for high-priced drugs on the black market, or extremely scarce ventilators. And many of those pleas received a response. The prayers for help reached all walks of life in India, from engineers, lawyers, NGO workers, workers, politicians, doctors and even tuk drivers- tuk. Online networks to help victims of Covid-19 are formed in many of the most remote places. Mr. Srinivas, 38 years old, who donated blood to patient Covid-19 in this story is also among these. As chairman of the youth union of the opposition Indian Congress Party, in early 2020, when the first pandemic struck and India had to blockade, Mr. Srinivas summoned the young volunteers. All over the country distributes food to trapped migrants along with more than 10 million masks. Srinivas said calls for help on social media began to spread “like wildfire”. So he created the hashtag #SOSIYC so that everyone could connect with his Indian Youth Congress. How online networks work India’s online help networks rely on tools and algorithms commonly used in social media marketing. Families of victims will tag with large followers to amplify their message. Meanwhile, volunteer organizers use keywords to filter requests. Abhishek Murarka, who works in finance in Mumbai, decided he needed to do more than share his Twitter posts. He began searching for “verified”, “confirmed” and “available” on Twitter to follow potential supporters like Mr. Srinivas’s team. He posted an 84-second video explaining his tricks so others can use. Hundreds of miles away, 20-year-old Praveen Mishra studied Murarka’s way and applied his own filters to search for hospital beds, oxygen and medicine. He was able to give a special medicine to a patient in Delhi after confirming that it was available in Hyderabad. Some people are even exploiting resources around the world. Nikhil Jois and his team checked and contacted charities providing oxygen, food and tampons. He shortened the list to just over a dozen organizations, then asked companies in India to stick the list on their apps or websites so that Indians could easily access it. help. “The best part of social media is that you trust strangers,” said Jois. Nikhil Jois checked aid organizations and called for donations to victims of Covid-19. Photo: Nikhil Jois. Social media is the only way to seek help However, putting your trust in social media isn’t always a good idea. Several well-known accounts offer shoddy or exorbitant prices to desperate patients. Even joking and deceiving vulnerable people can cause many conflicts of hatred. But with India in crisis and moving not a safe option, social media is the only way for some people to seek help. Aditya Jain, who lives in the capital Delhi, recently issued a call on Twitter. He felt helpless because his aunt and uncle, who lived about 200 km away in Agra, were struggling over a blockade. His aunt has spinal disease, and his uncle, a diabetic, is on dialysis every week. Unable to go out, they only ate one meal a day. They are unable to take care of themselves and cannot even bathe themselves. Through LinkedIn, he found an organization that caters to seniors and filled out a form, providing their names and locations. The next morning, the volunteers showed up in front of his aunt’s house with breakfast and adult diapers. “Social media is like a gift from heaven to us,” said Jain emotionally. But not everyone is as lucky as Jain and Miss Gill. Mr. Srinivas said his organization receives at least 10,000 messages on Twitter every day. However, for every 100 requests, he can usually only help from 30 to 40 people due to lack of manpower and material resources. A volunteer teaches a family member how to use an oxygen tank. Photo: Srinivas BV Ms. Mahua Ray Chaudhuri used to “frantically” tag Mr. Srinivas while searching for oxygen for her ailing father. His team found some, but that was not enough: There were no more ICU beds for patients in the hospital. “At least I could find oxygen for my dad, and he didn’t die of suffocation,” Ms. Chaudhuri said. “This help from these strangers on Twitter is like a relief to our pandemic mind and soul.” The chaplain’s account of the funeral for 150 Covid-19 patients before cremation Every day, Hindu cleric RamKaran Mishra performs a funeral for about 150 people who have died from Covid-19 at the Ghazipur crematory facility east of New Delhi, India.

Our group of 10 people rented a private car from Hanoi to Tram Tau to stay one night, buried in warm blankets to sleep deeply, nourished the journey of climbing Ta Xua the next morning. Reuniting with the local guide at the motel, the medical group finished the medical report, the pickup truck escorted a bumpy red dirt road to the starting point, and began to conquer Ta Xua. From this position, for the next couple or three days, contact with the outside world will be interrupted because there are only seas of clouds, sun, wind, trees … Ta Xua sea of ​​clouds Through the small slope, zooming the view of the two giant terraces winding around the hillside, you will see the village of the H’Mong people, the people who are leading their buffalo to the field, the young group excitedly calculating the construction of the wooden house. , the children engrossed in playfulness, the tangerine dogs followed the stranger as if welcoming. On both sides of the road, plum trees, plum trees have just white spots and a few flowers, the scenery here is so romantic and peaceful. The end of the village opens up a slippery dirt road, perhaps because of the rain the night before, the grass and trees have the opportunity to wear a green moss-colored shirt with shimmering crystal beads so beautiful. The first day of the journey is just the warm-up step, the group only needs to get to Shack 1 to rest, the path is not difficult but the weather is not supportive. Pausing for lunch by the apple tree tree, the group excitedly climbed to the top of the turtle to take a photo, the sun was completely out, everyone had taken away the white clouds, leaving a sad, smog-colored background. Passing through the immense and endless bamboo forest, but the weather is not getting better, a rare golden sunshine shines down on the bushes and soon disappears. Coming to the shack, when the footsteps were a bit heavy, I suddenly saw white clouds peeping behind the tall trees, the mist was blown away, the sky was clear, the sun was bright yellow and bright, my feet suddenly lightened. like flying towards the sun, according to the call of a group of friends at the top of the mountain. I have come to the real “kingdom on clouds”, all around me are clouds, countless clouds, white and thick like a giant cotton mattress floating in the blue sky. In the distance, the road known as the legendary “dinosaur’s backbone” instantly appeared in the white clouds evoking a chilling look. The rays of sunlight gradually let go of the sky, and I lay down on the big rock with great satisfaction. It turns out, summer sunbathing at the beach really likes and winter to bathe in the sunset on the sea of ​​clouds even more wonderful. That evening, our group of 10 people from all three regions of the North – Central – South gathered by the flaming fire in the middle of the mountain, under the 17 full moonlight together watching the stars, joyfully singing. “Dinosaur backbone” on the way to conquer Ta Xua peak When they wake up tomorrow morning, the group has to cross the “dinosaur spine”, find the dense forest at the end of the way to touch the top of Ta Xua and return to the shack before late afternoon. “Dinosaur’s backbone” is a small, winding, undulating mountain trail running to infinity. The road has many long continuous slopes up and down, the difficult terrain without big trees to block the wind, many small rocks are easy to slip. Local people have added a cable rail to make the climb safer, but the feeling of playing with as if standing on the edge of the abyss still exists when we look back on the way we went. Passing the last slope of the “dinosaur’s backbone”, the path was easier, the scenery was like in another world, the trees were lush green, the large, long branched trunks covered with moss of shapes freak. Out of the mossy forest is Ta Xua peak. We took a few commemorative photos and took advantage of the shack. The last day of the journey is the most gentle and enjoyable. The days in the mountains were wonderful. Every morning, I am eager to welcome the dawn, waiting for the first rays of sunlight to cool my soul, and immerse myself in the sea of ​​clouds. In the afternoon, watching the gentle sunset, in the evening, you can lean your back on the ground together to count the stars … I had brilliant, sweet, sweet days in “emir on the clouds” like that. Thank you, Ta Xua!