Daily life on the Dong Ba River. Photo: Nguyen Phong

Back then, every summer afternoon, the children in my neighborhood would bustle around the river wharf at my house. From that wharf, looking up was Hen Islet, looking down was Dinh Market Ferry. Now there is Dinh Market Bridge so the ferry has long since disappeared, but I still remember every time we held our buoys and swam out to the middle of the river under the protection of my brothers, looking towards Dinh Market Ferry, seeing the vast water "down there", a river area that held many mysteries in the minds of the children in my neighborhood. "Down there" there were ghosts, crocodiles and we believed that was the end of the Huong River. It was just imagination but sometimes it turned into arguments, anger, giving up swimming in the river, stopping swimming for a few days before playing again and excitedly talking about the imaginary things we would encounter on the journey to explore the river downstream.

Now I am sitting on the boat going from Gia Hoi bridge to Bao Vinh via Dong Ba river. I was surprised to realize that I got on Mr. Nghet and Ms. Hoa's boat with a very light and agile jump. The "jump" onto the boat did not hide a carefree childhood that made me think of my old friends. If Anh, Bung, Luu, Hue were on this trip now, how much fun would we have, would we argue about something or at least ponder, "Why are we just now looking for answers to our childhood questions?" Without any childhood friends, that day I was able to go with two old friends who "regularly appear on many TV shows talking about Hue, speaking with an extremely intelligent and profound love and understanding of Hue", one was the older sister living in "Hang Duong" - Bach Dang street, Professor, Doctor Thai Kim Lan and the other was the older brother living in Thanh Noi, researcher Pham Duc Thanh Dung.

Along the 3km length from Dong Ba Bridge to Bao Vinh, the boat sailed between the streets and gardens on both sides, making me unable to stop thinking interestingly that it was like I was sailing on the beautiful Tuber River in Rome, the Amstel River in the Netherlands that I had seen in travel programs on the small screen. Looking up from the Dong Ba River, the clouds and the rows of Bodhi trees on both banks were reflected in the green river, the scene was so beautiful and so peaceful. In 2008, the Dong Ba River ferry was brought ashore to settle, the two banks of the river were paved with stones, the original beauty of the river dug 220 years ago appeared, airy and peaceful. I read the happiness and radiance on the face of Professor Thai Kim Lan when she sailed on the river that cooled her childhood. Hue's Dong Ba River is so beautiful, more than enough to have an interesting tour. My two older friends enthusiastically talked about the potential of this tour.

There are so many interesting things to tell on the 6km round trip of this tour, all of which are fascinating stories such as the history of Dong Ba Canal associated with the history of the construction of Hue Citadel when in 1805 King Gia Long ordered the digging of Dong Ba River to be the river protecting the citadel, then the story of The Lai Thuong village, The Long pagoda, Thuan Hoa pagoda, The Lai Thuong village temple and shrine, Dieu De pagoda, the pagoda which was the potential of Thieu Tri and entered into folk songs with the verse "Dong Ba - Gia Hoi two bridges/ Looking over Dieu De four floors two bells" and also the palaces of the kings and queens whose moss-covered gates now look up from the river, silently holding the eyes of the viewer and unable to stop the imagination of a time when horses and carriages passed by this place.

On Huynh Thuc Khang street, there are also many stories related to the not-so-distant modern times, such as the Tieng Dan newspaper office of Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang at 123 Dong Ba street, Hang Be street, now 193 Huynh Thuc Khang street; or introducing a famous specialty of Hue, sesame candy with the first shop, which until now still maintains the family's traditional profession such as Nam Thuan, Hong Thuan, since 1950 has exported Hue sesame candy to Paris, Hong Kong (China)...

All rivers flow into the sea, at the end of Dong Ba river is Bao Vinh. This river section is truly vast, further on you will reach Nga Ba Sinh, where the Huong River and Bo River meet before flowing into the sea. Looking up from the river, the back of the old houses of Bao Vinh town are repainted in many colors, beautiful as a picture that will arouse excitement when telling about Thanh Ha trading port - Bao Vinh old town, the story of a time when the riverside port was associated with the history of Dang Trong trade, which developed strongly since 1636 when Lord Nguyen Phuc Lan established Thanh Ha trading port.

The boat docks, goes ashore on Tien Non or Bao Vinh side, tourists will continue their stories about the villages downstream of the Perfume River. A boat tour on the Dong Ba River like that is extremely attractive. My two big friends could not hide their eagerness to wake up the Dong Ba River one day soon with a boat tour on the Dong Ba River.

As for me, I want to send a message to my friends, "Anh, Bung, Luu, Hue, the end of the Huong River is very beautiful, let's make an appointment to go down the Dong Ba River together to see with our own eyes "Where is the end of the Huong River?" Listen, my friends and neighbors.

Xuan An