The photograph was taken on February 11 by Bui Thi Dung, a salesperson from Yen Chau Commune who regularly travels the route. She said she has witnessed similar scenes for the past four to five years, typically between the 22nd and 28th days of the final lunar month, as migrant workers return home for Lunar New Year or Tet holiday.
The image of labourers sleeping by the roadside in Son La Province, captured by Dung on February 11 (Photo: Supplied).
Dung said the group she saw this year were labourers from Son La and Dien Bien provinces who work away from home and travel by motorbike to reunite with their families for Tet. After hours on the road in cold, drizzly weather, they stopped to rest, lying directly on the ground because there were no refreshment stalls nearby.
She said the scene left her in tears, as her own son also works far from home and is expected to spend nine hours travelling back for Tet.
“I was very moved and shed tears, feeling pity for my son,” she said.
Motorbikes parked nearby were loaded with backpacks, clothing and Tet gifts. Dung added that some groups were travelling with young children.
She said she did not disturb the labourers as they slept, but had supported similar travellers in previous years by buying them water. After speaking with workers on earlier occasions, she said many chose motorbikes for flexibility, as Tet travel by coach can be expensive and overcrowded, while transporting motorbikes back home is difficult.
Dung dismissed online speculation that the group were backpackers, saying she encounters migrant workers returning home on the route every year and has spoken with them.
The harsh winter weather in northern Vietnam, she added, has made her anxious about her own son’s journey. She said she had urged him to stop and rest whenever he felt tired before continuing.
