U Minh Forest affords the lucky few who visit it the chance to experience one-of-a-kind sights, sounds and even tastes. Le Lan Huong hops aboard a motorboat to experience the forest’s jaw-dropping scenery.
Out with a bang: The view from U Minh at sunset U Minh gourmet: The travellers take a break to have lunch, consisting of U Minh’s fresh products: fish, eel and vegetables, including reeds and flowers. The forest rangers prepared the meal, eaten in a hut nestled among the trees, above the swampy ground. Reed it and weep: Reeds wave in the wind along one of the many canals leading to the forest’s centre. Proceed with caution: To cross this swamp, visitors must step on a 1m-wide bridge of interlocking tree branches. U Minh highway: Residents of surrounding areas paddle in to collect the forest’s abundant produce to sell
U Minh Forest affords the lucky few who visit it the chance to experience one-of-a-kind sights, sounds and even tastes. Le Lan Huong hops aboard a motorboat to experience the forest’s jaw-dropping scenery.
Before I visited U Minh National Park on
When I first glimpsed the immense expanse of forest before me, however, I realised I could not possibly have imagined it. Before me was a moving portrait, glowing with colour. The blue sky contrasted with the green reeds and vegetation growing along the river and with the white of the clouds and reed flowers waving just above the reeds. The smooth black of the water was interrupted by the violet water hyacinths sprouting from it.
I longed for my easel, oil paints and brushes to capture the scene on canvas. I had just arrived from Rach Gia, accompanied by Truong Quoc Tuan, chairman of the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Province, and his wife, who served as guides for our group of eight travellers.
The waterway I first saw was the
In fact, U Minh can be reached by water just as easily as by land; it stretches between the
As we ventured into U Minh, I suddenly understood its name: U means dim or dark, and Minh means bright or clear, an apt characterisation of the forest’s diverse scenery and array of colours.
Expect the unexpected
As we floated along, the pristine picture before me came to life when a flock of monkeys suddenly appeared. They climbed on the trees and bushes along the canal, following our boat and shouting at us, as though angry for being disturbed. After several minutes, they disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving us both confused and amused.
We received our next surprise when we heard the flapping of hundreds of wings as storks hiding in the bushes abruptly took flight as our noisy motorboats passed.
A few minutes later, a hoard of yellow butterflies appeared and breezed right by us, like thousands of yellow rose petals falling from the sky. In two minutes they were gone and I instantly wished I could see them once more, to keep the memory fresh. This must be what heaven looks like, I thought.
Tuan told us that the creatures were only one of 48 species of butterfly inhabiting U Minh. I found myself feeling envious of Tuan, who could experience these remarkable species whenever he wanted.
Right then, I wanted to stop the trip, jump ashore and spend the whole afternoon enjoying the immense spread of scenery before me, feeling the cool breeze and inhaling the clean air.
My high-flying imagination had to come back down to earth when my boat stopped for us to step ashore. Ten minutes later the other boat appeared and the men told us that the monkeys had been following us all along, and when they stopped their boat to remove the water hyacinths from the propeller, the monkeys suddenly rushed toward them.
"They shouted at us, holding stones in their hands and threatening us, but they did not hurt anyone at all, although they easily could have. They’re so funny and cute!" a man in my group reported with a laugh.
We were welcomed by several forest guards and informed that our lunch awaited us. To get to our lunch spot, we had to brave the swamp, teetering along a 1m-wide bridge of interlocking tree branches. I stepped carefully on the walkway, praying that I wouldn’t end up in the black swamp, where I might become a snake’s lunch.
I survived to eat my own lunch, which was waiting for me in a hut nestled among the trees. I’ve never had such a delicious meal: eels, fish and vegetables I didn’t recognise. Even the beautiful violet hyacinths from the water were in my hot pot. I ate until Ifelt ready to burst.
The birds and the bees
I was not the first to notice U Minh’s astonishing array of flora and fauna. U Minh has just been acknowledged by UNESCO as
To be recognised as an MAB, an area must have diverse and abundant flora and fauna and a protected ecological system. U Minh fits the bill. The ecological productivity of the area has been recognised as the highest of
The forest houses 250 species of plants, but tram (Melaleuca cajuputi) are among U Minh’s most notable plant life. In summer, when tram flowers are in bloom, they adorn U Minh with dazzling white blossoms, which attract bees with their perfume. Each of the bees’ nests scattered around the area provides several litres of honey each summer. Annually, U Minh forest provides about 50 tonnes of honey, much of it specially flavoured by the perfume of the tram flower.
Essential oil of tram flower is also known for its power to ease cold and flu symptoms, making it a valuable export for the province.
U Minh’s produces also include fresh fish, which are abundant in the area’s swamps and canals. The most abundant of the area’s 37 species are ca loc (snake-head fish), ca tre (batrachian walking catfish) and ca ro (climbing perch).
The forest is home to 186 species of birds, the greatest diversity of any single area of
These birds are joined by U Minh’s 36 species of reptile, including cobras, pythons and iguanas, and 202 species of insect.
U Minh’s diversity of flora and fauna are especially impressive considering that fires in 2002 and 2003 destroyed an estimated one-third of the mature forest and thousands of animals, losses from which U Minh will never fully recover.
Both blazes occurred during U Minh’s dry season, which lasts from November to April. The forest experiences a humid tropical monsoon climate and receives the vast majority of its annual rainfall (about 2,360mm) during the rainy season, from May to October. At present, U Minh National Park has a canal system to keep water during the dry season and prevent forest fires, but the danger of destructive fires remains high.
Since a cigarette butt or campfire could have disastrous consequences, the park is closed to public use. But with U Minh’s remarkable flora and fauna, to keep U Minh’s gate entirely shut would be a waste. Tuan says that the province welcomes investors, especially tourism developers, to research and establish tours to U Minh.
"U Minh is a treasure just waiting to be discovered and explored – of course, only by those who respect and protect it," Tuan said.
(Source: VNS)
