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Kon
Tum province - a new tourist site
Talking
about tourism in Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands), it is impossible
not to mention Dak Lak province with Lak Lake and Don Hamlet, Gia Lai
province with Bien Ho (great lake) and Da Lat Province with dreamlike Da
Lat resort. Tay Nguyen’s Kon Tum province does not have such renowned
beauty spots, but it is a promising land for cultural and ecological
tours in the near future.
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Drinking can wine.
Dancing with the Central Highlanders.
A Brau ethnic woman.
Visiting the ethnic hamlets in Tay Nguyen.
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The
strong point of Kon Tum province lies in the tours, which bring
people back to nature. On a weekend day we joined a trip, a new
trek organised by Kon Tum Tourist Company. As scheduled, we went
on foot upstream of the DakBla River, which runs through Kon Tum
Town and then took a boat ride downstream to a hamlet of the Ba
Na ethnic people to attend a gong festive night.
The
Rong (communal house) in Kon Jo Ri Village (Dak Ro Wa Commune of
Kon Tum Town) was extraordinary bustling that morning with the
presence of visitors coming all the way from France. They were
not young, but they wanted to test their patience and strength
with a 14-kilometre-long trip through the forest. Before
starting Michel Roegler, a group member said: “This is a long
and difficult trip, I know, but it will be very interesting.”
His friends were also excited. They sang songs while walking
with vigorous strides. All of them were eager as teenagers even
though most were over 50 years old. They waved their hands to
salute the farmers who were sowing maize on the hill and
followed with their eyes a woman who carried a baby on her back
while catching fish at a stream. It seemed that they were very
interested in the peaceful life of the Tay Nguyen people. They
walked through the forest, passing various slopes and swinging
bridges and their faces became red and drops of sweat.
The
upper DakBla River appeared with two contrasting currents: The
DakBne current on the left is clear and the DakBtung on the
right is muddy. The flood season had not come yet, so the river,
with its currents running toward the west looked calm, but wild
in the sunshine.
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A buffalo-stabbing ceremony of the Gia Rai
ethnic people.
An ancient wooden church in Kon Tum Town.
Weaving brocade.
On the DakBla River.
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On
its banks there were bushes and trees shading the smooth rocks, making
good places for the visitors to rest on, or swim in the clean and cool
water and enjoy the fresh air. Guiding our trip was Nguyen Do Huynh, a
tourist guide who often goes to remote and sparse areas to pave the way
for the new tours. Huynh said: “Kon Tum Tourist Company opened this
trek more than two months ago. Due to its attraction and reasonable
price, nearly US $50 per person, the number of tourists joining this
tour has been on the rise and most of them are foreigners.” The French
tourists very much enjoyed floating on a dugout boat, which is small and
long. With their life jackets on they splashed water at one another like
children and laughed loudly. A Ghuc, the boat captain talked to us about
his Kon Ko Tu Hamlet where we would stay for a night and join the gong
festival of the hospitable Ba Na people. Our boat went through the
whirlpools with its bottom often hitting the pebbles. The captain had to
try hard to steer the boat and he was paid VND 45,000, a sum much
bigger than the pay for hired labour and daily farming. That night,
sitting by the fireplace, Huynh confided: “Tourism has come to just 25
out of the 200 villages and hamlets in Kon Tum Town so it has not yet
brought much benefit to the locals. But surely DakBla will become a
destination for many new tours.”
Huynh’s
hope may become true soon, because the transport systems in the province
and districts, even the roads leading to the communes, have been
upgraded and rebuilt, facilitating the visitors’ travel. Apart from
DakBla River, Kon Tum also has other attractive sites for the visitors,
such as the hot water spring, the former Dak To-Tan Canh battle field,
the Tu Mo Rong revolutionary base, the 2,600 metre-high Ngoc Linh
Mountain, which is considered the roof of Tay Nguyen, Yaly Lake and Chu
Mo Ray National Museum with more than 50,000 species of flora and fauna.
The grand seminary and the wooden church with unique architecture in Kon
Tum Town are also frequented by the visitors. The grave-house with
statues in Sa Thay District attracts the attention of many people who
love the culture, the spiritual life and the rudimentary and liberal art
of the Gia Rai ethnic group. The current problem for Kon Tum Province is
how to make full use of the local tourist sites, while keeping the
long-lasting traditions of the region from being spoiled by
commercialisation.
Kon
Tum tourism has been tapped and managed rationally and methodically.
Surely, with its potential endowed by nature Kon Tum tourism will
flourish.
By
CHUC-CHINH-ANH
(Vietnam Review)
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