The “dead” canal has revived. Now tourists and Saigonese can take a boat ride on a section of Nhieu Loc canal , sip coffee and listen to amateurs.
Tourists and Saigonese can both drink coffee and take a boat ride along a stretch of Nhieu Loc canalOnly with the fare of 30,000 VND / person in the morning, from 8:00 to 11:00, you can sit on the boat, move from Thi Nghe wharf (District 1) to Le Van Sy wharf (District 3).
The length of this distance is about 4.5 km.If you go in the afternoon and evening, the ticket price can be up to 110,000 VND to 220,000 VND depending on the time of travel and the type of boat (Phung boat, Quy boat), listen to amateurs, watch magic shows, eat fruit, Listening to explanations … If the group of tourists wants to have dinner on the boat with pre-ordered dishes, the ticket price is 299,000 VND / person.
One Saturday morning, around 9:00 am, I was at Thi Nghe boat station (No. 1 Hoang Sa, Da Kao ward, District 1) to experience the inner city boat ride on Nhieu Loc canal.
 Thi Nghe boat stationPHOTO: GIANG VU |
At this pier, there are many people sitting coffee, having breakfast here. Many visitors said that they tried to go once from District 1 to District 3, but only once, then became a habit of sitting coffee on the bank, watching tourists enter and exit on the station. Nice eyes too!If you do not like to have coffee on the bank, right below the dock, there are many boats with chairs and tables ready, you just need to buy a drink and then get off the boat to sit comfortably, take pictures.
The boat had a few dozen seats that day, although it was only me and two other guests, the boat still ran. Due to the time in the morning, the ticket price on the boat is only 30,000 VND / person. The boatman said, if there is only one guest, the boat will depart normally because it has to serve tourists wholeheartedly. If calculated, this trip, the boat house not only has no profit but also heavy losses.
Buy a drink from the coffee station that the boat brings (coffee, smoothies, coconut water, mineral water), you can sit and enjoy the cool breeze when the boat leaves the dock. The river is clear and blue, seen with the naked eye, is quite clean, especially with no impure smell, contrary to my vision of the black and stinking Nhieu Loc canal in my memory.
On the way, I saw a canoe picking up trash from the canal, mainly plastic bags, plastic bottles and household waste. Anh Quoc Lam, a tour guide, told me that the reason why traveling on the Saigon canal has not become popular with tourists from near and far and Saigon is because the inner canal still has to “bear”. Waste, efforts to clean the canals of the city need the support of the people.
When the boat reached the middle of the road between the two boats, the guide anchored the canoe to a small boat, a band of music and amateurs two people waiting for us on the canal. The sound of the guitar and the singing resounds in welcome, the sound swaying on the waves.
Having listened to amateurs on television or some other places, but to be honest, the feeling of listening to singing on the water wave channel suddenly became much more poetic and seductive.The boat continued to go to Le Van Sy wharf after the band performed, the scene on the two sides confessed nothing special, except the temple we passed by. This is a limitation of the landscape that makes boat trips on the canal just stop the fun of the water flow and the activities that the boat houses create.
Near boat wharf 2, near Le Van Sy bridge, there is more trash on the canal than the middle, there are a few dead fish floating around, at this time the canoe picking up trash is nearby, not yet cleaned. The guest accompanying me shook his head: “If people understand the tourism potential of this canal, consciously keep the water clean , many people will want to experience the boat ride on Nhieu Loc canal as well.” .On the boat station 2 for a while, this is also a cafe that people nearby also sit. We were given a cup of iced tea and canoeed back to the departure station.
Many people believe that taking a boat on the Nhieu Loc canal is not interesting. However, with a ticket price of only 30,000 VND / person, taking a boat from District 1 wharf to District 3 wharf in the morning, while drinking coffee, watching the water and enjoying the cool breeze, is listening to talented musicians. death is also worth a try.
Thanh Nien Online