People in Con Chim say that doing tourism to earn extra income is of course fun, but what's more fun is having regular guests and no longer feeling the village is deserted like before.
From the end of December last year to January of the year of the Snake, households working in tourism on Con Chim Island hardly had much time to celebrate Tet with their families. Because tourists kept coming, they had to serve them attentively. "Tired but happy!" - both the host and the guests said so.
Welcome guests like family
Since 2019, when the people of Con Chim hamlet (Hoa Minh commune, Chau Thanh district, Tra Vinh province) started doing tourism, I came to experience and "fell in love" the first time I set foot on this islet surrounded by the Co Chien river.
This Tet At Ty, a group of 15 people, of all ages, followed me to Con Chim, laughing and complaining about being tired from eating, drinking, playing, taking pictures... it was indescribable, so I believe after 5 years, I am not the only one who loves this tourist destination.
Check-in point not to be missed at Con Chim
The ferry docked, after checking in at the gate of "Con Chim Community Tourism Site", we took the bicycles from Ms. Sau Mai's house as a means of transportation on the islet. Welcoming guests like welcoming relatives, she happily wished them a happy new year, then gave each guest a conical hat to wear to keep cool and take cute photos. How cool it sounded!
The group cycled to the hamlet's cultural house and immediately checked in at the sentence written on the wall "Coming to Con Chim, the country people only have their hearts" as if accepting the expression of the island's people.
Every house here gave us a joy. We were tired of eating and drinking. At every house, we were offered drinks, sometimes hot tea, sometimes iced tea, and even butterfly pea flower water. At Be Thao's coconut garden, everyone enjoyed a fresh coconut.
The colorful hibiscus fence leading to Nam Lien's house makes visitors stop to take pictures.
Talking about the traditional snacks on Con Chim, Chi An said: "If we knew there were so many dishes, we wouldn't have eaten breakfast today, would we?". Start your day at the Old Southern Kitchen with a cool cup of sương sâm, and sip some ginger jam. Go to Ms. Loan's house to enjoy wild beeswax honey sprinkled with a little kumquat juice, then drink a sip of hot tea, so delicious! Go to Ms. Ba Sua's house to compete in rolling the pressed leaf-perilla cake on hot steamed coconut leaves, and dip it in the rich, fatty coconut milk, and forget to stop!
They were all foodies. The lunch menu had 6 quite attractive dishes: Bần flower salad, steamed snakehead fish with gourd, steamed shrimp, ginger chicken, boiled vegetables with fish sauce, and Bần fruit hotpot. Yet, as soon as we cycled past the Sau Giau pancake shop, everyone stopped by and ate dozens of big pancakes in a flash.
Tourists excited about the "F1 Crab Racetrack" on Con Chim
Before going to the ferry, at the end of the day, the group stopped by Ms. Nam Lien's house, each person had a bowl of chewy coconut rice with crispy roasted peanuts, a little coconut water, and fragrant ginger sugar water, it would be a pity not to eat it. The young people also stopped by a household to buy shaved ice with milk.
Playing is tiring, but thanks to that, I can release some energy so that I can continuously eat and drink. Last time, I went to Con Chim in March, the sea crabs in the pond were big enough to be harvested, so I got to experience crab fishing. This time, the whole group went shrimp fishing.
The folk games at Thanh's house are the most interesting. In the whole world, there is only one "F1 Crab Racetrack" on Con Chim. Everyone takes a number to choose a crab to race, then excitedly cheers the crabs to the finish line. Women over 50, 60 years old remember when they were in school, they all used to play chopsticks, jump rope, hopscotch..., now they have the chance to test their strength and dexterity. The boys compete with the women to see who is better at throwing cans. Laughter rings out in every game.
The more you play, the more you take pictures. The good thing about Con Chim is that in addition to the alleys in the hamlet full of flowers and shaded by coconut trees, each house has a few "chill" corners for visitors to take pictures to keep memories of this place.
Even better, the service prices on the island during Tet are the same as on normal days, and are jointly managed by households, so whether you go on Saturdays, Sundays or other holidays, you don't have to worry.
The whole island is for tourism.
Surrounded by the river, surrounded by interwoven mangrove and water coconut forests, this island was named Con Chim by the ancient people because from above, it looks like a large bird swooping on the river surface, and also because when people first came to reclaim the land, they saw many birds and storks here.
By 2010, Con Chim officially became a separate hamlet, with 54 households living there.
The road in the hamlet is shaded by coconut trees.
The people of Con Chim said that their hometown has two seasons: fresh water and salt water, not dry or rainy season. Based on these natural conditions, people raise aquatic products and grow rice. The total natural area of the whole hamlet is 62 hectares, of which 34 hectares are for aquaculture and rice cultivation, the rest is residential land and for growing fruit trees and shade trees.
Visitors coming here from November to March (salt water season) will see many shrimp, prawn, crab and fish farms. From April to October (fresh water season), visitors can see the rice fields from green to golden ripe. Therefore, do not be surprised when you come to Con Chim and see something different, but remember when you come.
Taking advantage of the vacant land, people planted rows of coconut trees to create shade, and flower paths to create a beautiful landscape. The mangrove and water coconut forests are preserved to create a peaceful space, so birds and storks still come and go in the morning and return in the afternoon on the mangrove trees.
Mr. Nguyen Van Pha (Tu Pha Homestay) confided that during the time of reclaiming land to find a living, it was difficult, so people really appreciated what nature gave, so they were aware of preserving the source of life according to the model of jointly managing the river around Con Chim to protect water resources, aquatic resources, and protective forests.
Guests experience splitting water coconuts with Mrs. Nam Lien and her husband
With the motto of "following nature", organically produced seafood, rice, vegetables and naturally exploited products (mangrove, water coconut, shrimp, river fish, honey) are brought by the people to process dishes and drinks to serve tourists, and also make specialties for tourists to bring back as gifts such as honey, shrimp paste, coconut jam, water coconut jelly, dried fish, shrimp paste...
Visiting Con Chim, we not only witnessed the hospitality, but also felt the neighborly love between households, the solidarity and mutual support to form a chain of links to create a unique itinerary for tourists, sowing in the hearts of visitors "going away with love, coming back with memories".
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Van, Director of Con Chim Community Tourism Agricultural Cooperative, shared that from the Community Tourism Cooperative (in 2019), there were 12 participating households and one tour guide. By November 2024, the cooperative was established with 50 members, including 5 tour guides. Previously, Con Chim only welcomed visitors for sightseeing and experience, now there are 5 households building homestays with 27 rooms, meeting the needs of visitors to extend their experience time.
To maintain the beautiful landscape, twice a month, members participate in cleaning the area and taking care of trees and flowers along the road. Each household has two trash cans placed on the main path and must sort the trash. Households in the tourism service supply chain have the right to be creative in how to decorate the destination and how to serve customers in a way that makes them enjoy it. Households providing entertainment services must reduce the volume to a level that is audible from 11am to 1pm and not serve from 10pm to 5am the next day to ensure quiet for guests to rest.
Enjoy the dream leaf cake at Ba Sua's house
Households are very aware of maintaining the beautiful image of Con Chim in the eyes of tourists, so there is a high consensus in complying with regulations. People say that doing tourism to earn more income is of course fun, but it is more fun to have regular guests, no longer feeling isolated, the hamlet is deserted like before.
Mrs. Sau Giau said that back then, during her free time, she didn't know what to do. Now, after taking care of shrimp, crab, or rice fields, she worries about growing vegetables. Morning and evening, she catches worms to have clean, delicious vegetables for tourists to eat with banh xeo.
Usually on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, Con Chim is crowded with tourists, many children from far away come back to help their parents serve the guests, how happy they are. Like the last Tet, on the first day, Con Chim had more than 100 tourists, the number increased every day, by the fourth and fifth day there were 400 - 500 tourists. With the coordination of the Cooperative Management Board and the smooth coordination of the tour guides, even though there were many tourists, there was no confusion.
Learn anytime, anywhere
Some young people born and raised on Con Chim are helping their parents in tourism, demonstrating their management and creativity skills, and can turn their parents' side jobs into professional jobs in the future, such as Nguyen Thi Dieu, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tu Pha; Nguyen Duong Khang, son of Mr. and Mrs. Nam Lien.
The elderly and young people on the island take advantage of every opportunity to go to school to improve their skills in organizing destinations and providing excellent service. Con Chim is showing signs of "taking off", which will surely bring visitors new and memorable experiences.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/con-chim-di-thuong-ve-nho-1962502222105238.htm
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