Tourists explore the Tra Su Cajuput Forest in a motorboat. Situated in Tinh Bien District, about 20 km south of Chau Doc Town, the capital of An Giang Province, the 800-hectare forest is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mekong Delta region. Tra Su is a typical cajuput forest on the western part of the Hau River, a tributary of the Mekong. Waterways that cut through a forest of green melaleuca (cajeput) trees are a great way to reconnect with nature, breathing in fresh hair and listening to the sound of chirping birds, a world away from the noise of bustle of cities. Symbiotic ferns grow on cajeput trees. The Tra Su forest is home to about 140 plant species, but the dominant growth is of cajeput trees. The most suitable time of the year to visit the forest is during the lotus season, from June to September, and the flooding season, from October to November. In the Mekong Delta, cajeput … [Read more...] about Get into the flow in a Mekong Delta cajuput forest
Mekong delta tour 4 days
Key Mekong Delta roads widened to cope with Tet rush
Work has got underway on several sections of National Highways 1A and 60 that run through Long An, Tien Giang and Ben Tre Provinces in the delta. Four bridges are set to be widened on National Highway 1A in Tien Giang. Construction is more or less finished at the Ruou Bridge in Chau Thanh District, and workers are now laying the road. Huynh Thanh Son, a truck driver, said National Highway 1A - which runs around 100 kilometers (62 miles) through Tien Giang Province - has always been a nightmare for drivers, especially during weekends and holidays like the Lunar New Year (Tet), when people return home to the Mekong Delta from Saigon or its neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, which are home to many industrial parks. "The highway has six lanes, including four for automobiles, while the Ruou Bridge has only two lanes and it is easy to understand it becomes a bottleneck during heavy traffic. Normally it takes two hours to travel through Tien Giang, but during holidays it takes … [Read more...] about Key Mekong Delta roads widened to cope with Tet rush
Khmer people’s grey sedge handicraft village in the Mekong Delta
For hundreds of years, Khmerethnic minority people living near the Cambodian border have harvested grey sedge to make handicrafts for daily use. It is a common sight to see locals harvesting the plants in Phu My Commune, Kien Giang's Giang Thanh District. Before going to work in the fields, farmers wear knee-length socks to protect themselves from leeches. The grey sedge is harvested by holding the top and pulling up instead of using a sickle to cut as elsewhere in the Mekong Delta. The farmers also wear gloves to prevent scratching their hands when working with the plants. Thi Vay of Phu My Commune, who has been harvesting grey sedge for nearly 10 years, said people harvest the plant from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. every day after they finish working in rice plantation and animal husbandry. The plant is sorted immediately after being plucked out of the earth. Vay only keeps the green, hard plants, while the yellow, withering ones are discarded. … [Read more...] about Khmer people’s grey sedge handicraft village in the Mekong Delta
Water caltrop harvest peaks with floods in Mekong Delta
The workers paddle down the marshes in Long Hung Commune, Lap Vo District, to collect mature water caltrops. Districts such as Lap Vo, Cao Lanh and Tam Nong in Dong Thap Province have grown this plant for years. Water caltrop is a floating aquatic plant often grown in ponds and has an edible part called the corm. The corm grows underwater until it ripens and falls off into the muddy waters. Since the part develops and rests underwater until it is retrieved, it is technically considered a tuber rather than a fruit. In Dong Thap, farmers primarily plant the ‘buffalo horn’ variety, which has a rough texture and conical form as its name suggests. Tubers from the water caltrop plant are harvested once every quarter or so. Each plant yields five to seven tubers, and is replaced with fresh saplings after three harvests to ensure high productivity. Though harvesting the tubers seems fairly simple, the farmers must move in a single file to … [Read more...] about Water caltrop harvest peaks with floods in Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta’s rice paddies turn into riot of colors
Fields at the foot of the Ta Pa hill in Tri Ton District are a tourist attraction in An Giang Province that borders Cambodia. The place attracts visitors all year round, especially during the rice harvest season from August to early December. The main road snakes around the fields, looking like a thread woven into a golden tapestry. At the top near the mountains is Soai Check lake. This area is part of That Son or Seven Mountains in the districts of Tri Ton and Tinh Bien. The rice paddies in various stages, from freshly plowed and green to golden ripe. Visitors will be rewarded with this view if they hike up Co To mountain, the second tallest of That Son, the Seven Mountains. The natural zigzag curves across the landscape makes Ta Pa stand out from other places in An Giang. Photographer Huynh Phuc Hau, an An Giang native, promises that the harvest season is the most beautiful in his hometown, and tells visitors to take a leisurely drive early in the morning … [Read more...] about Mekong Delta’s rice paddies turn into riot of colors
