(VOVWORLD) - With an area of 70 ha, Con Son in Bui Huu Nghia Ward, Binh Thuy District, is just 1km from the mainland and 6km from Ninh Kieu Wharf in Can Tho City. Praised for its green tourism, the islet is offering tourists unique experiences to welcome the lunar New Year or Tet, including a place to enjoy Tet as in the past.
 Visitors on a boat trip from Co Bac wharf to Con Son. Photo: VOV |
It takes from 5 to 10 minutes to reach Con Son from Co Bac wharf. There, the local people still preserve their traditional ways of celebrating the new lunar year. On the last day of the old year, they often prepare a tray full of food as an offering to their ancestors, and caramelized pork is an indispensable part of the offering.
Apart from experiencing the local culture and lifestyle, visitors can row boats through floating fishing villages, feed snakehead fish, and watch flying fish as they leap from the water.
“I always encourage the local people to create more tourist opportunities typical for Con Son to further attract visitors. Aside from raising fish to sell to restaurants, I’ve taken advantage of nature to turn the farm into a tourist attraction. A clean and unique beauty along with local hospitality has made Con Son one of Vietnam’s most attractive destinations for green community tourism,” said a Con Son villager, Ly Van Bon, who owns a fish farm on the river.
 Mr. Bay Bon's fish farm attracts many visitors. Photo: VOV |
Bon's farm, located at the gateway of Con Son, is a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.
Visitors can also try their hand at making traditional cakes, taking part in every step of the process from preparing the ingredients, mixing dough, and shaping the cakes as they wish. When visiting Con Son during this time of year, tourists can make southern sticky rice cakes for Tet. Le Thi Be Bay, a traditional cake maker, said the custom has been passed through 3 to 4 generations in each family in Con Son.
"I’m always excited to make traditional cakes. I’m eager to instruct visitors free of charge so that they can understand more about our local specialties. I also explain the meaning of the Tet holiday through the traditional cakes. I think that sitting by the stove boiling sticky rice cakes for Tet is a wonderful opportunity for us to put down smartphones, and to talk and understand each other better,” said Bay.
 Visitors experience making sticky rice cakes at Ms. Bay's house. Photo: VOV |
Visitors will then join local households to prepare food with ingredients such as chicken, fish, and crab that they caught earlier while working as real farmers and fishermen. They can also taste fresh fruits picked straight from the garden.
“Visiting Con Son at this time of year provides real life experiences of the local people, to see how they prepare for Tet, wrap sticky rice cakes, make candied ginger, coconut, and banana. These are highlights of our trip to Con Son,” said Tran Thanh Xuyen, a visitor from Ca Mau.
Clean and unique beauty along with local hospitality has made Con Son, an islet in the southern city of Can Tho, one of Vietnam’s most attractive destinations for green local tourism.