LookAtVietnam – Tran Van Khoa, a native of Cua Dai fishing village in the central city of Hoi An, operates a special Eco-Tour to his hometown, inviting travelers to not only visit ancient streets but also join a fishing trip, try coracle racing and help local residents

“Hoi An has more to see than ancient features,” Khoa said. His family is helping him operate the travel agency and has opened an eatery nearby to serve traditional dishes to foreign tourists.

His Eco-Tour the fishing life outlying Hoi An City has quickly become a special product for the local tourism industry. “This is an interesting way to explore the life of Vietnamese farmers and fishermen,” said President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen, who visited the city last year and spent five hours on Khoa’s Eco-Tour. “I have learned to fish, row a coracle and grow veggies, as well as enjoy Vietnamese specialties in the beautiful river,” she added.

We began our Eco-Tour on a big junk at Victoria Hotel. The crew members were Khoa and his younger brother.

After about twenty minutes a couple steered a coracle up to our boat and invited us to get in. Doug Pirie, my Australian friend on the trip, was afraid of the small coracle at first but soon joined us to row it to the deeper waters.

Khoa carefully instructed us how to cast the small square fishing net into the river and draw it back up. Pirie was excited when he caught hundreds of small fish in the net and the other travelers were eager to give the fishing a try.

The boat called on Bay Mau coconut forest in Cam Thanh commune where the deserted scenery made some visitors a little nervous. However, they were attracted by the mysterious war stories of Khoa and some elderly residents there.

Many of the international travelers were interested in collecting garbage at the coconut forest. Khoa said that he was happy to see them take off their shoes to paddle in mud and shallow water, voluntarily collecting plastic bags.

The Eco-tour has attracted over 2,500 tourists in two years and Khoa has never missed a trip. Other tourism service developers have considered eco-Tour as a new element in the travel industry. With his fluent spoken English Khoa often organizes beach camps or fun games for foreigners and tries to explain environmental awareness to them. He is introducing a new slogan “With Eco-Tours you have joined us to protect Hoi An’s environment”.

Hoi An Eco-Tour Company is located at Phuoc Hai Fishing Village, Cua Dai District, Hoi An City. Tel: 0510 3092 8900, website: www.hoianecotour.com.vn.

VietNamNet/SGT