Life on the water

The Mekong Delta has many floating villages on the Chau Doc and Tien rivers. Passing An Giang Province’s Chau Doc Town and the My Thuan Bridge, tourists see many long, narrow houses.

People raise fish under their homes in submerged hardwood cages covered with stainless steel nets. Hundreds of such houses are concentrated together, creating floating villages on the rivers.
Visiting these houses and studying the life of local residents can be intriguing. Tourists can stay in these houses for a few days to experience life on the water. During such a homestay, tourists are separated from life on the land. They must take a boat to visit nearby houses.
In the floating houses, tourists will find themselves in an environment with plenty of wind and fresh air. Tourists from cities will feel relaxed when hearing the babbling of water instead of the din of vehicles and construction sites.
Most residents here make a living from aquaculture and fishing. Visitors staying at the floating houses can learn how to feed and care for the fish to ensure a bumper harvest. They can see how the feed is processed. Throwing feed into the water and seeing thousands of fishes wave their tails to compete for the food is particularly fun.
Visitors can also join the host’s family to collect waterferns and weeds from the river to use as fish food. After a hard day’s work, guests can take a meal with the family. The meal is sometimes simple but fun, thanks to the family’s merry atmosphere and hospitality.
These floating villages are unique to the Mekong Delta and capture some of the bustle of life on the river. Visiting such a village can be rewarding for the tourist and the villagers, who supplement their fish raising business with income from offering homestays.
Reported by Diem Thu