In the southernmost archipelago of the Fatherland

Kien Giang is a province with a long coastline and many large and small islands. This place is considered a "miniature Vietnam", because it has all the elements of mountains, rivers, forests, seas and plains. In addition to the famous Phu Quoc Island and Nam Du archipelago, few people know that Kien Giang also has a surprisingly pristine "Pirate" archipelago.

Pirate Islands seen from above. (Photo: MY HA)

Located less than 30km from Ha Tien city by sea, bordering Cambodia and about 40km from Phu Quoc island district, Tien Hai island commune has 16 islands and two submerged islands (with a total natural area of ​​more than 251ha) in the "Pirate" archipelago. Local people here are familiar with calling the islands with unique names such as: Big Hon Tre (also known as Hon Doc), Small Hon Tre, Tre Vinh, Big Doi Moi, Small Doi Moi, Giang Island, Duoc Island, U Island, Banh Tet, Banh It, Ruoi Island, Banh Lai, Kien Vang, Banh Quy, Banh To, Hon Phu Tu, Da Noi 1 and Da Noi 2.

Tien Hai island commune currently has 480 households with about 2,000 people, living mainly on Hon Tre Lon, Hon Giang, Hon Duoc and Hon U islands. Of which, Hon Tre Lon is the largest island - the administrative center of the commune. People on the archipelago mainly live on exploitation, fishing and aquaculture; a few households run small-scale business services.

It took us nearly an hour by speedboat from Ha Tien city to set foot on the "Pirate" archipelago. On the sea are countless seafood cages of fishermen on the island. Here, there is a long, winding stretch of fine sand with clear blue water under a rare, pristine natural space.

The "Pirate" archipelago is a strange destination for tourists right from its name. The name "Pirate archipelago" that people still call comes from the mysteries related to piracy (pirates). Around the end of the 17th century, the beginning of the 18th century, pirates were stationed, hiding, ambushing and attacking merchant ships passing through the Ha Tien-Rach Gia bay area to the Gulf of Thailand (an important shipping route from China to Western countries). Until the early years of the 20th century, piracy was still rampant in this sea area.

The name "Pirate Islands" that people still call comes from the mysteries related to piracy (pirates). Around the end of the 17th century, the beginning of the 18th century, pirates were stationed, hiding, ambushing and attacking merchant ships passing through the Ha Tien-Rach Gia bay area to the Gulf of Thailand (an important shipping route from China to Western countries). Until the early years of the 20th century, piracy was still rampant in this sea area.

In the late 1980s, foreigners invaded the island with the intention of searching for treasure. Rumors about a 300-year-old map leading to the treasure on the island and a large number of ancient coins found on the island made "Pirate" Island "particularly mysterious" to tourists (!?).

Although not as famous as Phu Quoc and Nam Du, in recent years the "Pirate" archipelago has been loved by tourists for its rare wild scenery and unique experiences when "going together" with local fishermen. One of the famous attractions here is the Vietnamese sovereignty stele built in 1958. The stele is located on the only white sand beach of the large Hon Tre island, in the southwest, less than 1km from the pier.

After visiting the sovereignty stele, the memorable experience for tourists is to rent a boat with fishermen to go to smaller islands to see corals, fish or dive for sea urchins... Sea urchins (also known as sea urchins) are a specialty here. Using a metal tong, dive to a depth of about 3m to catch the sea urchins. After being caught, the sea urchins will be sifted to break off all the spines, cut in half to eat raw, grilled with scallion oil or cooked into porridge.

On the big Hon Tre island, there is only one main road, with majestic mountains on one side and the blue sea on the other, so visitors can rent bicycles to ride around the island without fear of getting lost.

On the island, there is a white sand beach stretching several hundred meters, where visitors can freely swim and play games; or participate in diving to see coral reefs near the shore... You can even join the fishermen here to go squid fishing, fishing (at night) and diving to catch clams, crabs, snails... to experience new feelings! For about 5 years now, tourists from the mainland have gradually come to the island, creating more income from service businesses for the islanders, although tourism services are still not developed on this archipelago.

Vice Chairwoman of Tien Hai Commune People's Committee, Ms. Luong Thao Ly said: In 2017, Tien Hai Commune was officially recognized as a Provincial Tourist Area (according to Decision No. 2933/QD-UBND dated December 29, 2017 of Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee). Implementing the project "Community Tourism Development for the period 2014-2016", Tien Hai Commune established a Community Tourism Management Board, focusing on disseminating the project's content to each household on the island to create high consensus.

The commune creates conditions for households to borrow capital to invest in infrastructure for community tourism such as building and upgrading motels, restaurants, yachts, equipment, etc.; organizing training courses on tourism services, responsible community tourism, food and beverage business services, homestays and investing in opening a number of tourist routes. Up to now, businesses have boldly invested, upgraded and expanded service facilities to increasingly meet the needs of tourists.

The "Pirate" archipelago has many beautiful beaches, especially Bai Bac with a long stretch of white sand; a wharf built during the French colonial period; and a sovereignty landmark along with Dinh Ba, Son Hoa Pagoda, Phan-xi-co Parish Church (in the premises of Phan-xi-co Xa-vie Church); small surrounding islands (such as: Hon Giang, Hon Duoc, Hon Tre Vinh) with long, charming white sand beaches... The climate here is cool all year round, the sea water is clear blue and there are rarely storms. More than 100 seafood rafts of fishermen on the sea create a spectacular scene typical for tourists from the mainland...

According to Ms. Luong Thao Ly, to serve tourists coming to the island for sightseeing and relaxation, Tien Hai people have established 15 establishments for food, accommodation, shopping, and refreshment services; including six restaurants with overnight accommodation services, with a total capacity of serving 1,300 guests/day. In addition, the island commune has 12 accommodation establishments (with 105 rooms, accommodating 600-750 guests/night).

However, the number of tourists staying at the island is currently highest during holidays, Tet and weekends. Earlier this year, Tien Hai commune invested in three more electric cars to take tourists around the island.

Chairman of Tien Hai Commune People's Committee Phan Hong Phuc said: Not only knowing how to get rich from the sea, in recent years, fishermen on the "Pirate" archipelago have gradually become familiar with the tourism service profession. The archipelago is also gradually known to tourists as a new discovery point on the Vietnam tourism map. The islanders are inherently simple and friendly, always treating tourists as relatives returning home from afar.

Not only knowing how to get rich from the sea, in recent years, fishermen on the "Pirate" archipelago have gradually become familiar with the tourism service profession. The archipelago is also gradually known to tourists as a new discovery point on the Vietnam tourism map. The islanders are inherently simple and friendly, always treating tourists as relatives returning home from afar. Chairman of the People's Committee of Tien Hai Commune Phan Hong Phuc

Tourists are warmly welcomed; if they want to visit the fish rafts, go boating around the island to dive for crabs and catch snails, they are enthusiastically taken and guided as if they were relatives, so tourists really like it. The good news spreads far and wide, so more and more tourists come to explore the island commune. The islanders are also happy because they have more jobs and income.

One of the things that tourists notice when setting foot on the "Pirate" archipelago is the environmental protection awareness of the local people. It is very rare to see littering on the island. Every resident on the island is very conscious of keeping the environment clean. Walking around the island, you will often see the residents here, regardless of whether they are adults or children, actively picking up litter on the road and throwing it in the trash. And Tien Hai is also one of the very few commune-level localities in Kien Giang that has a modern waste treatment plant.

At the end of April, the commune government signed a memorandum of understanding with Newstar Tourist Company Limited (Hanoi) to jointly promote the advantages and potential for local tourism development in the next two years. Newstar Tourist Company will develop content for new products and special tourism products to enrich the local product ecosystem.

Connecting businesses in the tourism industry: travel, accommodation, transportation... to develop services, enhance the value of tourism products of Tien Hai commune. Coordinate to promote the image of tourism, destinations, people and culture of Tien Hai on mass media, websites, fanpages and social networks...

With the cooperation with Newstar Tourist Company Limited, we hope that during this year's peak tourist season, the "Pirate" archipelago will be an attractive destination welcoming visitors from near and far to explore and enjoy the pristine beauty of the islands in the southernmost part of the country.

nhandan.vn