Perhaps a tough dish for many others, but the stir-fried gecko with little or no water is a popular dish to local people. They often gather to catch geckos. When there are enough geckos for this people, geckos’ heads are cut off, and the left bodies are embedded into boiling water. After that, people scrape to pull over the scales. Before being aromatized, geckos’ bodies are chopped into pieces. Then illicium verum and pimpinella anisum are put in. Keep pieces of gecko with those two spices for 30 minutes. Afterward, heat the pan and pour in some cooking oil. Heat the oil, then fry sliced garlic and onion. Put the gecko meat in and stir until there is just a little of water left. During stirring, keep the fire at medium level, do not keep it high because high fire can make this dish less delicious. When there is little water left, pour in first extract of coconut, and set fire low to allow all spices adhere to the meat. When the coconut extract is concentrated, take the pan off fire, and pour in roasted broken peanuts. The tasty smell of this dish will make people want to have one beat immediately. The gecko meat is at the most delicious taste when it is at the gecko’s tail because the fat and cartilage concentrate here. It would be best to enjoy this dish with local home-made white wine.

This dish is good for health, and now it is quite difficult to cook this dish with natural geckos.

Every year, after mating season, the beetles choose a healthy coconut tree, pierce a hole and lay eggs. Larvae are hatched from those eggs, stay inside the top of coconut tree and eat the inside. Normally there are about 100 larvae in each coconut trees. They will make the tree die gradually. The owner has to chop the body of coconut tree to find the larvae. Each larva is as big as a human being’s thumb.

Previously đuông is a popular dish; however, it has nowadays been valuable, rare and expensive. The reason is that it is difficult to find them. Even old farmers who have been working on the farm for ages can only enjoy this dish two or three times in their lives.

Use two bars of bamboo to clamp the larvae. The bar of larvae then will be grilled on firing coal with frequent turning up and down. Keep grilling the bar until the larvae are all well cooked. Untie the bars, and put larvae on plate. Take a tamarind and bury it in the firing coal to make it cooked. Then peel the covering of tamarind, put it in a bowl and pour some fish sauce, sugar and monosodium glutamate in. The tamarind fish sauce is now ready. Enjoy the grilled with this fish sauce mixture.

Grilled larvae is eaten with lettuce, cabbage, basil, balm-mint and chili. Cover a grill larva by vegetable and eat with tamarind fish sauce. Enjoy sweetness of vegetable, fragrance of grilled larvae, sourness of tamarind fish sauce, and the pungency of chili. Although this dish is popular, many other delicate dishes cannot be as that tasty. Drink some soft wine or alcohol.

There is another way of cooking larvae. They are buried in fish sauce for a while. Then cover with wheat flour before being fried. Eating with lettuce and tomato.

The sea route when in place will be attractive to international visitors, especially European travelers. Vietnam will also benefit from the route as many foreign visitors traveling to Thailand and Cambodia want to go to Phu Quoc Island offshore Kien Giang Province by the route.

“This afternoon we agreed to make surveys of tourist sites from Ha Tien, Rach Gia and Phu Quoc to Sihanoukville, Trat and Chanthaburi and the route will be opened after that,” Hoang told the Daily right after the meeting.

The new tourism route will help tourists shorten traveling time to attractive destinations in the three nations. It will take visitors about two and a half hours to go to Sihanoukville by boat from Phu Quoc and two more hours to go to Trat.

However, all the three provinces are lacking qualified tourism boats for the route. The side preparing enough ships will be allowed to be operational first as per the agreement.

“In Kien Giang, only the Duong Dong ship is qualified for this route, so we will encourage local companies to build more ships with capacity of 250-300 tourists to serve travelers,” he noted.

Hoang said Kien Giang, Trat and Chanthaburi provinces will set up more rest stops on islands so that visitors can stop by there.

There were nearly 5.6 million local and foreign visitors to Kien Giang in 2012, a year-on-year growth of 10.1%, the local tourism department reports. The number of visitors to the province is estimated at more than 5.88 million people this year.

Source: SGT

To get elected ordinary coconut wine, sweet, gentle nature sketches, such as air conditioning year round people sticking to the land of three strips cù lao must also be quite carefully and skillfully. Coconut fruit is chosen to be old, fat, fat and membrane thickness rice Jasmine ngai afraid. The external appearance of the fruit is also important.

Typically, the result from size 16 cm in diameter, weighing between 1-18cm, 2kg to 1, 4 kg shall be checked. The outside layer was smooth sùi for smooth gloss lacquer to create a beautiful gloss, impressive as a wine gourd.

Nếp (glutinous rice) was chosen as the type strain, mẩy (big round) seeds, mixed with traditional specialized wine yeast.

Then it was gouged out a small hole on the top of coconuts, the injection mixture nếp, men on a certain percentage, sealing and packing from 15 to 20 days is going to be used. Ivory white wine, etc using opaque with an authentic coconut mezzanine hovering. To make a difference by drinking coconut water is distilled into alcohol.

A natural source of pure water is distilled, deposited and where only the Sun, wind, mist net … where young, clean ” omit the life ” impermanence filled with dust dusty maneuver.

Creator also scrupulously fair bestowed upon the human world is pure breast milk line raised the ” preschool ” also natural world is sweet coconut water flow to cool the night land, Chase balls slave joke below deck, the noon shadow will stand, sauteed summer oi Saudi xạc carrying wind lulled a countryside.

Anyone who has been enjoying the new coconut wine will have their first tongue because alcohol hesitate to just not really a wine, spicy sweet water penetration but also that that right. But drank and then will be exhausted, so say ivory tusks in a manner very individually.

To be able to attract more visitors, An Giang Province has developed several traditional handicraft villages and linked them with tourism. So far these villages have proved to be very effective. An Giang Province has developed 34 traditional handicraft villages to date, many of which were founded a long, long time ago, with each traditional craft village having a cultural base with its own identity.

These are well-known in the country like blacksmiths Phu My village in Phu Tam District; Tan Chau town’s famous silk of Lanh My A brand– a kind of cocoon silk fabricated by original formulas, making it a unique product that many women dream of in the 20th century; 100-year-old Chau Giang Brocade village, which makes exquisite brocade, a perfect combination between traditional and modern and also unique in producing Cham ethnic minority specialty with a number of patterns; and Cho Thu lumber village in Cho Moi District.

Several new traditional craft villages  to make arts and crafts products from available materials from the countryside like bamboo, thot not tree or palmyra tree for numerous sugars, drinks and food, water hyacinth, are all popular gifts bought by visitors.

Nguyen Van Len, director of An Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province is launching a variety of tours such as tours for Buddhist followers, ecological tours, and agricultural tours.

Authorities also held seminars ‘Sustainable growth of arts and craft production in economic downturn’ to help enterprises and businessmen to penetrate markets locally and internationally. In addition, the People’s Committee organized fairs to display arts and craft products. 

The province has plans to preserve and develop traditional crafts villages. In the first phase, the province will spend VND60 billion (US$2.9 million) on 43 projects and in the second phase, VND4.3 billion will be invested in seven projects. An Giang Province therefore has offered jobs to more than 33,000 residents with average salary of VND1.3 million a month, said Huynh The Nang, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee.

In some special tours designed for tourists, visitors will have a chance to see artists from traditional craft villages making a shirt for visitors, weaving bamboo products or participating in baking cakes.

Second and third prizes worth VND20 million and VND15 million went to oxen number 44 of Nguyen Van Bup in Luong Phi Commune of Tri Ton District and oxen numbered 54 of Chau Kim Sang in Nui To Commune of Tri Ton District. Organizers also granted four consolation prizes.

This year’s ox race attracted 64 ox pairs from Chau Thanh, Chau Phu and Thoai Son districts in An Giang and two districts Hon Dat and Kien Luong of neighboring province Kien Giang. Additionally, the race also had participation of two ox pairs from Kirivong District of Takeo Province, Cambodia. The event also attracted over 25,000 viewers.

The paper attributed this mainly to the “Four Countries-One Destination” tourism co-operation programme between Vietnam and its three Indo-China neighbours to foster the Mekong Economic Corridor.

According to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Tourism Association, the region has welcomed 12.8 million visitors this year, a 6 percent rise year-on-year. Revenues from tourism topped VND2.6 trillion (USD124 million), a whopping 25 percent rise.

Kim Trang, a marketing executive at the Hanoi Tourism Company office in HCM City, said: “The company serves five to six groups of around 30 tourists every month.

“They want to go to Can Tho to listen to don ca tai tu (a genre of folk music) on a boat, to visit fruit orchards, the Mac Cuu imperial tomb, and Ha Tien Beach.”

“The delta has a unique position,” an executive of the US-based Fantasy Tours said. “For foreigners the Mekong River is very important because it runs through six countries and Vietnam is the last. Tourists love to travel by boat, especially on the Can Tho -Phnom Penh route.”

Fantasy Tours is among seven travel companies from the US and China who were on a familiarisation trip along with the China Eastern Airlines to Can Tho to consider starting a tour that will take in North America, Shanghai, HCM City, and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Earlier this year the carrier arranged a tour of Shanghai and Vietnam for overseas Vietnamese in the US and North America.

It is considering adding Phnom Penh to the tour next year.

Another fam trip took travel companies from the delta, HCM City, and Ha Noi to the Bokor highlands in Cambodia.

Bokor is situated 60km from the Vietnam border and at a height of 1,080m. It takes tourists around an hour by car to reach the top from where they can see the Gulf of Thailand and Phu Quoc island.

“Though infrastructure is yet to be completed in Bokor, it welcomes around 17,000 tourists every month,” Beurich Gerd, general manager of the Thansur Bokor Highland Resort said.

Nguyen Dai Ho, director of the Kien Giang-based Phuong Nam Travel Company, said the trend of going to Cambodia after visiting the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has risen sharply.

The company is co-operating with Hon Gai Travel Company to exploit the new Hanoi-HCM City-Tay Ninh-Ha Tien-Phu Quoc-Hanoi tour.

Nguyen Duc Tho, a tour guide working for Le Phong Tourist Company in HCM City, said: “Forty per cent of tourists to the region are Japanese. A tour of Xa Xia Border Gate-Ha Tien-Cambodia is feasible. It will also enable Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta residents to travel to Cambodia.”

Nga Bay Floating Market, also known as Phung Hiep floating market, is the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. It is called ‘floating market’ because of its mobility on the river. On a vast and boundless water surface, hundreds of boats, big and small, gather together and create a floating arena for trade activities. The market is open all day long, but is most spirited early in the morning.

Boats of different sizes and shapes thread their way along the waterway in an atmosphere of vibrant activity, in a fun filled yet businesslike environment, purchasing and bargaining, with sellers and buyers bellowing over noisy boat engines.  At the bow of each boat is attached a bamboo pole and a sample of the goods being sold from the boat are strung over it, making it easy for buyers to find what they need. The poles are also of different sizes, upright or bent which makes for an interesting graphic view and is a really unique form of advertising.

Bay Khanh, an 80-year-old resident in Dai Thanh Commune, recalls with nostalgia the floating market’s old glory. In the old days, around 1,000 boats, even 3,000 during Tet holidays, of all sizes gathered in Nga Bay Floating Market and lit oil lamps at night, which all appeared stunning and colorful, like garlands of flowers. Some amateur farmers sang and played music through the night, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

Duong Van Day, former director of Saigon Tourist, is a local man and had discovered the Phung Hiep floating market and exploited it for trips to the Mekong Delta. Many international holidaymakers have remarked that the floating markets in Thailand are not as beautiful as the ones in Vietnam,   although the Thai government spends a lot of money to promote and preserve floating markets for tourism.

However for traffic safety on rivers, the local government had removed the floating market to a location three kilometers further away from the old place. This subsequently and gradually reduced the hustle and bustle of the market as well as its prosperity, as fewer boats and people participated in trade activities on the river and tourists’ became less frequent. The reason could also be because of its inconvenient location with no road access.  The fact that the Nga Bay Floating Market lost its glory caused pressure on the local government and they began to call for ideas to restore it via their website.

Currently, there is an ongoing and heated debate among the public, experts, economists and travel agencies on the benefits of restoring it. According to Vo Thi Thang, former chairperson of Vietnam National Tourism, the province should restore the market and if necessary, her department will give financial support. Huynh Phong Tranh, former chairman of the People’s Committee of Hau Giang Province and current government general inspector, believes that restoring the floating market to its old location will require VND50 billion (US$2,4 million).

In mid June the Party Congress in Nga Bay Town discussed the restoring of the floating market, and developing it for tourism. In July, a seminar organized by the Information Center for the Promotion of Hau Giang Tourism, held a debate between experts, university lecturers and travel agencies.

Concerning the return of the famous floating market’s old glory, participants said the government should also help revive the traditional handicraft villages, as those products can be sold as souvenirs to tourists.  Truong Van Ngon, deputy director of Can Tho Tourist Company is optimistic that the market will return to its lost glory within a period of three years.

The restoring of the well-known floating market is not just an economic matter but also a cultural one for Hau Giang Province in particular and the Mekong Delta in general, bringing back to life its 300-year-old history.

In Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Kien Giang Provinces, authorities and people are prepared for rising waters.
Locals no longer fear the floods these days; in fact, they relish the opportunity brought by the rain to make some extra cash. At the end of July, farmers in villages prepare bamboo tools to catch fish and other aquatic animals during the flood season.

A gloomy atmosphere now prevails in 30 households in Thom Rom village in Thot Not District in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho, who specialize in making nets, because floodwaters are not rising these days.

Ho Van Ty, an elderly resident of the village and a business owner of a hand-made bamboo fishing net shop, is worried as this year there is a decrease by 50 percent compared to the previous years, as water is not rising as high as expected. Ty added that he has laid-off 20 laborers and so have other households.

The situation is the same in other villages who craft fishhooks, small boats, canoes, and bamboo fish traps in Districts Long Xuyen, An Phu, Tan Chau, Cho Moi of An Giang Province; Chau Thanh District of Hau Giang Province and Districts Hong Ngu, Tan Hong, Thanh Binh of Dong Thap Province.

People who are skilled at making bamboo fish traps were once thriving as Mrs. Huynh Thi Phuong of Lai Vung District in Dong Thap says her family stayed up late every night making traps, an activity that nets them VND5 million (US$240), but this time she cannot earn this amount.

Even shellfish, crabs and dried fish sellers have to go to Thailand and Cambodia to seek fish, as small floods cannot provide enough fish for consumption meanwhile fishermen in the region complain of small quantities of fish hauls because of low water levels.

Vo Thanh, director at the weather forecast center in An Giang Province, said flood waters this year are one meter lower than in previous years. For instance, the highest level in Tien River in Tan Chau District on September 18 was 3.17 meters and in Hau River it was 2.75 meter while it was 4.16 meter and 3.54 meter in 2011 respectively. With small floods, the Mekong delta loses profits especially farms not covered with alluvial soil.

In some province, fearing big floods, the local government did not allow the third crop. For instance, rice was planned over 4,050 hectares in Hong Ngu District in Dong Thap Province, however farmers  have just planted in 650 hectare.

Nguyen Van Man, head of the District’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said slow planting is due to incomplete pump stations and forecast of high flood.  According to the latest weather forecast, floodwaters will reach 3.8 meters so agricultural officials are encouraging farmers to plant more.

Meantime, farmers in Thuong Phuc 1 District planted of their own choice and harvested a bumper crop of 6.4 tons per hectare and earned more profit with a sale price of VND5,400 a kilogram, selling directly from the field.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing manager of Saigontourist, said her company began to promote flooding season tours last year. Brochures about this kind of tour have been sent to foreign partners of Saigontourist.

This year, the tour operator starts to seek international tourists for flooding season tours. Especially, the river tour from Cambodia to the Mekong Delta provinces, including Dong Thap, is very attractive to German and French visitors as well as local tourists.

“We are still selling tours so we have yet to sum up the total number of tourists, but the number of local tourists may be 1,000. We also consider this as a new product to lure international customers,” said Tra.

Travel firms over the past few years have offered tours for tourists to travel to the Mekong Delta provinces like An Giang and Dong Thap in the flooding season to experience how local lead their lives there. However, this kind of tour did not attract so many travelers.