Bustling tourism in flood season

Tourists visit the flood season on the Hau River. Photo: THANH CHINH

Bursting before the river region

At dawn, before the sun had even risen, we were already at the sampan village on the Hau River, near Long Xuyen Market, experiencing the flood season with tourists. Ms. Thuy from Pho Ba Islet, My Hoa Hung Commune, drove the shrimp-tailed engine, pushing the sampan through the water, going downstream.

Mr. Lam Anh Duc - tour guide of Thanh Kim Mai Tourism Company said that the group of tourists coming to An Giang to visit the flood season included 27 retired officials of Dong Nai province. This was the first time they stayed overnight in Long Xuyen, visiting tourist attractions such as Hau River, Long Xuyen floating market, Uncle Ton Memorial Site and En Islet in Cu Lao Gieng commune.

Sitting on a sampan with friends to visit the flood season on the Hau River, Mr. Pham Dinh Khiem (77 years old), residing in Binh Long Ward (Dong Nai) expressed: “For a long time, I have heard about the flood season in the Long Xuyen quadrangle, but because I was busy with family matters, I missed An Giang for many years. This is the first time I have visited with my friends. My feeling is that the scenery and rivers of An Giang are very beautiful. Along the river, all activities on the wharf and on the boat are simple, especially the bustling Long Xuyen floating market, with a unique feature that only exists in the river delta region. The people of An Giang are gentle and hospitable. Coming here, we also enjoy delicious dishes such as sour soup with linh fish, perch, dien dien flowers, and dong lotus flowers with the rich flavor of the flood season”.

According to Ms. Truong Hoang Mai - Director of Thanh Kim Mai Tourism Company, this is the 10th year the company has organized tours for retired officials to visit An Giang during the flood season. Every year, in the 8th lunar month, the company designs tours very carefully to promote and introduce to tourists the flood season landscape in An Giang. "The tour guide must explain to tourists in detail about the land and people here during the flood season. The company always focuses on arranging and taking care of the special dishes of the flood season to create a difference compared to tours of other localities," Ms. Mai shared.

Bustling on the water field

When the flood season comes, tourists from everywhere come to the An Giang river area to visit and sightsee. For a long time, the Mekong River flood season has always been a familiar image, close to the lives of the people. For those who are far from home, when the flood season comes, their minds are always filled with nostalgia.

Mr. Lam Anh Duc said that his hometown is Nhon My commune. He graduated from the tour guide major at Saigon Tourism School in 2023, but has been involved in this profession for 6 years. Every year, when the flood season comes, he designs tours to bring groups of tourists from the Central region, the North, and Ho Chi Minh City to An Giang to visit. “Even though I live in the city, every flood season, I miss my hometown so much. My childhood was spent in the fields, and I will never forget those memories of bathing in the fields with my friends, fishing, catching frogs, etc. Now that I have established a career in the city, I always introduce the image of An Giang's flood season to tourists,” Mr. Duc shared.

Currently, on the flood-discharged fields, the white water is like a mirror reflecting a corner of the peaceful sky. Fishermen's fishing lines are spread across the fields, looking like a matrix. Big floods mean lots of fish and shrimp, people can exploit them and earn a good income.

Specialties such as linh fish cooked in sour soup with sesban flowers, water lilies, and perch braised with pepper always make many people crave and want to go to the flooded fields to enjoy. Therefore, many people invite each other to the "fish bag" area to watch fishermen unload the nets, catch fish, process and enjoy them right in the fields.

Tourist Bui Anh Tuan said that last weekend he and a group of friends from Long Xuyen organized a trip to visit the flood season in the fields of Thanh My Tay commune. They got on a small boat, started the diesel engine and went deep into the flooded fields. After watching the fishermen unload their boats, Tuan's group bought local products and cooked on the small boat parked under the cool shade of the trees.

“While waiting for the food to be prepared, many people jumped into the fields to bathe. When they finished bathing, the food was just cooked. All the specialties of the countryside, from grilled rats, grilled snakehead fish, boiled snails, boiled crabs, sour soup with linh fish, water lilies, and sesban flowers, were delicious!”, Mr. Tuan said with a laugh.

On weekdays, if visitors from afar want to come to An Giang to bathe in the fields and enjoy the specialties of the flood season, Mr. Tuan is ready to design a tour to the vast Lang Linh fields.

This season, if you have the opportunity to go to the border across provincial road 955A, in Thoi Son ward, you will see many tourists visiting restaurants specializing in processing rice specialties of the flood season. On the 2 weekends, if you arrive late, it will be difficult for tourists to find a seat. The day we visited the restaurant, it was also the time when tourists came in large numbers, the tables and chairs were almost full, the restaurant owner prepared rice specialties at full capacity to serve in time. Mr. Nguyen Buu Phung - owner of Hai Dang restaurant said: "This season, there are countless fish, shrimp, and crabs. On weekends, my restaurant serves more than 20 tables. Coming to the restaurant, tourists can enjoy delicious food while watching the vast rice fields of the flood season, there is nothing better!".

After lunch with many specialties of the flood season, visitors continue their journey to Tra Su cajuput forest, enjoy the natural scenery, birds, fish and then return in the sunset in the mountainous region.

The flood season comes and goes quickly, but visitors who come once will forever remember this fertile land, imbued with love.

THANH CHINH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/soi-dong-du-lich-mua-nuoc-noi-a465513.html