Ca Mau, the harmonious picture of forest and sea, is famous for its verdant mangrove forests and bird sanctuary, as well as the eco tourism areas of U Minh Forest and Hon Da Bac Island. However, the land here is heavily alum affected and rice is difficult to grow, resulting in a hard life for the residents.

Reed flowers provide an income for the resident. Many local households weave them into brooms to sell around the Mekong Delta. Thus, in the dry season, every yard is overwhelmed with reeds.

However, not all the residents have resigned themselves to a life of poverty. In the immense forest a 47-year-old man named Tran Trung Quoc tried to make a better living by building a bird yard in a 96ha tram forest.

The bird yard, thanks to Quoc’s efforts and sweat, now features thousands of birds including stork, heron and cork. He also grows thousand of plum trees which originated in An Phuoc, Dong Nai Province along canals. The harvest of plum last year earned him VND80 million.

In addition, he has turned his small house near the edge of the forest into a small restaurant with typical dishes of tram forest’s specialties, and in front of his house are sixty areca trees from which the bees make honey.

Therefore, heading here, tourists not only can enjoy local specialties but also can buy honey of the tram forest.

Quoc sails a small wooden boat everyday through immense reeds immersed in mist on the Cai Tau River heading to U Minh District to pick up his visitors. Seven of us were eager for tasty dishes of forest; we had trekked through the forest and taken a boat trip following a black Crypsirina temia, khach bird flying on top of tram trees.

With dishes made from trout fish, lotus snake and cum cum bird in the forest cuisine, we really sensed the soul of tram forest and the sacred sentiments between guests and Quoc and between us.

To travel the more than 100km from Ca Mau to the tip of the country, cars have to take a ferry-boat and drive over seven bridges. We decided to hire a canoe, which was priced VND8 million. The trip was worth it, as we could experience Ca Mau in the sunshine and on the sea, and try the simple dishes of tram forest.

Without saying a word, we were immersed in the sensations of travelling in a canoe, the small wooden boat and hearing the soft melodies of a classical songs sung by a water-vendor.

After traveling 500 kilometers from HCMC by car we continued our journey with a three-hour-canoe trip on the Ganh Hao River and then crossed the mangrove forests before finally sailing on the Nam Can River to Ca Mau.

In fact, the distance from the center of Ca Mau City to Dat Mui Tourist Area is only 60 kilometers, said the canoe driver. However, we all felt as if we had crossed hundreds of kilometers on rivers and through forests. Perhaps it was the splendid scenery that made it seem like time had stopped to allow us to contemplate the magnificence of nature.

We arrived in Dat Mui around 2 p.m. The sun was high in the sky and the scorching rays shone on the land built up by alluvium. We were happy to get lost in endless mangrove trees growing by the shoreline where white waves rolled onto the seashore. The sea was very gentle and tender, making us forget how tired we were from the long journey.

At Thuy Ta Restaurant we enjoyed seafood made in the ingenious cuisine of the South with clams, crabs and fish. All were prepared with the distinct flavors of the southern tip of the country. From the restaurant we were able to see Hon Khoai Islet and other islets and islands. People said that one of the best things to do in Dat Mui is watch the sun in the early morning as it rises over the sea from the east, and as it sets at night in the west.

We were so absorbed by the fascinating scenery we forgot that the sun was setting behind the mangrove forest. The tour guide urged us back to Ca Mau City and soon we were back in the canoes, cleaving through the waves on Nam Can River and breaking the tranquility of nature under the red sunlight.

The immense and amazing land had a profound affect on all of us.

A featured junction where three canals meet

A monkey bridge which still remains with its own beauty.

The green rice fields and coconut ranges are the specialties of Tran Van Thoi district.

The endless cannals dotted with some houses

A simply house of the local

Shrimp ponds surrounded with many plants and grasses