Located about 4km from the city center, Chau Doc floating village is one of the favorite destinations of tourists. Coming here, you will be able to visit the river, explore the daily lives of people in the Mekong Delta River as well as have the opportunity to enjoy delicious riverside specialties.
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General information about Chau Doc floating village
Chau Doc floating village was formed in the 60s of the last century, bringing together households living on the river and practicing freshwater fish farming. Floating houses and fish rafts nestled close together form a “village”, stretching several kilometers. If you go towards Chau Phu district, the floating villages seem more crowded and last longer. The most crowded are the floating houses gathered in the river section of Tan Chau district, the village stretches nearly 10km.
At the beginning of its formation, the number of households was small, most of them raised fish naturally, taking advantage of good water sources from the river. Floating rafts in these regions are catfish varieties such as pangasius and basa fish, mainly for export to Western European and North American markets.
From the 70s onwards, due to good economic benefits, more and more households built houses on the river and raised more fish. In particular, from 1990 – 2005, there were about 2,000 households here. Harvest output at that time was estimated at about 20,000 tons per year.
However, in recent years, due to climate change, the Mekong River has dried up. In addition, the water source is increasingly polluted, leading to loss of income from fish raised in raft houses, and some households are left empty-handed and bankrupt. That’s why the number of fish cages is decreasing. Now, when basa and pangasius fish are no longer popular in the market, local people have applied science and technology to raise more fish varieties such as marble goby, cyprinid fish, giant snakehead…
Coming to the fishing village, people can not only experience the actual fish farming process but also enjoy the peaceful beauty and fresh air that this place brings. In addition, learning about the lives of people in the river region is also one of the factors that attract friends from near and far to Chau Doc floating fishing village.
How to get to the floating raft village in Chau Doc?
Floating rafts to raise fish are on the Mekong River, so tourists have to travel by motor boat to get here. First, you need to come to Chau Doc junction (about 500m from Victoria hotel) or at Chau Giang wharf located on the other side of Chau Doc town to rent a motor boat.
Boat rental prices at each location will vary depending on where your trip goes and how many people are traveling. However, one thing that you can rest assured about is that the price is relatively cheap and reasonable.
Besides renting a motor boat at the marina, if you want to be quick and you don’t need to bargain. You can ask the receptionist at the hotel to rent it for you or buy a package tour of An Giang to make your trip comfortable and saves time.
What to see at floating village in Chau Doc?
Coming here, you will be immersed in the space of floating houses swaying along the upstream of the Mekong Delta and the two branches of the Tien and Hau rivers. The architecture of the “houses” in the floating village is also very unique.
The wooden houses are lightly painted, have simili-patterned ceilings with full amenities, have a 5m deep bottom made of wood, and are surrounded by stainless steel mesh to raise basa fish and some other types of fish. The main transportation for local people is by boat.
A “floating vendor” with her fruits, cooking equipments… carry on the boat.
Even though it is a wooden house and floating on the waves, almost every house has full amenities and private space to grow ornamental plants and raise pets. Although the life of Westerners is not too luxurious, it has its own interesting things, they enjoy the most simple things in life.
Stopping over at Chau Doc floating village, you get an opportunity to experience fascinating activities, e.g. feeding fish and seeing them grab food, a funny moment when thousands of same-sized, healthy basa fish splash around in the water, competing for food.
In addition to practical experiences and learning about fish farming by floating rafts on the river. Here you can also immerse yourself in the cultural life of the river region that has been famous for many generations.
The scene on the river is calmer and more poetic when it is just dark. At this time, trading activities in the villages are no longer bustling, families gather together after a day of hard work. The floating village on the river begins to light up. The light from the rafts reflects down.
What to eat around Chau Doc floating village?
When you come to the floating fish village, you cannot miss the dishes represent the beauty in cuisine, culture, and lifestyle of locals.
Some famous dishes that you must try are: fermented fish and sesbania sesban flower hotpot, fermented fish rice noodle soup, fermented fish and fish sauce, sweet neem young leaves salad, palmyra palm cakes, palmyra sweet soup, special food from beef, fried sticky rice, young green rice pies, beef sausages (tung lo mo), beef porridge, burned snakehead, and elaeocarpus hygrophilus fruit.
Some notes when visiting Chau Doc floating village
- Using life jackets is essential when traveling by boat on the river.
- Avoid wearing clothes that are difficult to move in, especially high heels.
- The most ideal time to start a travel journey in An Giang is the flood season from mid-August to November of the solar calendar.
- Combine visiting Chau Giang Cham village to make the journey more attractive.
Not simply a craft village, Chau Doc floating village has many unique features in the cultural activities of the Southern people, becoming a must-see destination that attracts domestic and foreign tourists every time they have the opportunity to visit An Giang.
Source: collected by An
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