Updated date: 11/06/2023 09:09:39
I was born and raised in the Central Highlands, a place with plenty of high mountains and deep streams but without the vastness of rivers and streams in the countryside. I rarely had the opportunity to listen to traditional music or watch "live" reformed opera like in the Southwest.
That is why the image of the countryside with a boat swaying along the canal, with a scarf draped loosely over the shoulder of a young girl wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress... evokes strange nostalgia.
The West in late September and early October is the flood season. The road to the West at this time passes through fields that have not yet been flooded but are dotted with a few clusters of yellow sesban flowers. We cannot remember how many large and small bridges we have crossed. Here, it seems that communes and districts are separated by bridges and river channels.
Experience rowing a boat at Gao Giong Eco-tourism Area (Cao Lanh District, Dong Thap Province) (Photo: Quang Anh)
In the middle of the vast Southern Delta, the red rivers are heavy with alluvium. The rivers do not rush but slowly and leisurely flow, bringing joy to the people in the lowlands with the rich products only available during the flood season. The landscape and people appear strangely peaceful. Surely, anyone who has ever been to the West during the flood season, like me, can easily be captivated by the color of the sky.
True to the river region, we sailed down to Can Tho, taking a boat through Cai Rang floating market with bustling trading scenes on the river, reminiscent of the hustle and bustle of the “on the wharf, under the boat” of the past. Along the river region of Dong Thap - Vinh Long - Bac Lieu , there are scenes of houses close to the riverbanks, winding roads shaded by coconut trees.
Stopping in Dong Thap, how poetic it was to row a boat to explore the cajuput forest in Gao Giong of Cao Lanh district, listening to the splashing sound of fish in the deep ditches around the pink lotus bushes. On the undulating river, the small boat took us through the river bends, past the shady trees, the cool breeze blowing up was so pleasant.
The flood season is coming to the Mekong Delta. Far away on the canals and rivers, there are patches of water hyacinth floating, dotting the charming picture are the yellow dots of the sesbania flowers blooming along the riverbank. They are beautiful, but they will be quickly picked by women to cook sour soup or linh fish hotpot, fish sauce hotpot... to treat guests from afar. I also do not understand why linh fish - a type of fish that only comes in the flood season - must be the first linh fish of the season, cooked with sesbania flowers to create a "legendary" soup or hotpot that is memorable. The meal to treat guests from afar has a fresh first-season linh fish dish that is both soft and fatty combined with the delicious, rich and slightly bitter sesbania flowers that cannot be forgotten. Or the fish sauce hotpot that has just been brought out has "excited" the hearts of many people because of the "aggressive" aroma, but is also beautiful because of the delicate yellow color of the sesbania flowers, the ivory white of the chopstick flowers, the lovely pink of the young water lily buds...
Charming in a traditional Vietnamese dress and a Southern checkered scarf (Photo: Giang Nam)
Coming to the West along the vast river region of nine alluvial dragons, we were also warmly treated by our friends with many specialties and flavorful dishes such as: water snake hotpot, field mice, grilled snakehead fish... Not only that, we also enjoyed the fatty and rich taste of buffalo horn water chestnut - a specialty of the swamp - which has been mentioned many times in the familiar song "when we love each other, the water chestnut is also round"... Honestly, every dish of the Western people is delicious and a bit sweet, but the "sweetness" is love and generous hospitality.
Western people have a soft, clear and “sweet as sugar cane” accent but are sincere. We liked and then fell in love with Western people because of the way they used the words “darling, hen” in an extremely comfortable tone. Perhaps that is why when we stopped in front of a souvenir stall in Can Tho, before the bright smile and gentle voice of the saleswoman wearing a grass-colored ao ba ba, all of us were… stunned. And then because of that “love”, a brother in the group bought 6 scarves, just to… “wrap up” all the love of the West to bring back to the Central Highlands. The women in the group were excited, determined to wear scarves, wear ao ba ba to show off their figure and take a few photos to share their excitement with their friends.
In the land of nine dragons, right in this charming river space, we realized the fragrant heart of the Western people and were moved when thinking about saying goodbye. The whole group shared a familiar feeling like children far from home returning to visit the old place. We brought the love of the West with many memories back to the Central Highlands, telling our friends about the journey on the alluvial land so that more people would love the charm of the river region like we did...
According to Do Lan (Dak Lak Newspaper)
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