It is a fishing village on the Se San 4 hydroelectric lake bed in two communes: Ia O (Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province) and Ia Toi (Ia H'Drai district, Kon Tum province) that I recently had the opportunity to visit. visited after hearing an attractive introduction from a teacher working in Ia Kha town.
It is a fishing village on the Se San 4 hydroelectric lake bed in two communes: Ia O (Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province) and Ia Toi (Ia H'Drai district, Kon Tum province) that I recently had the opportunity to visit. visited after hearing an attractive introduction from a teacher working in Ia Kha town.
If departing from Pleiku City, the distance to the fishing village is not less than 70 km. Go up to Ia O, then cross Se San bridge and continue going about ten more kilometers, then park the car and get on the motorboat and drive for about ten minutes to the middle of the lake and meet the fishing village.
On the vast surface of the lake, traces of the past are still there: high mountains are now islands in the middle of the lake, dry forest tree branches appear in the air like a watercolor painting. Dozens of large nets are drying on the water surface, waiting for nightfall to be dropped to catch lake fish, mostly anchovies, smelt fish, catfish, carp... Large wooden cranes do the job of releasing and pulling. net.
Unlike the fishing villages we often encounter, which are located close to the river (sea) banks, residents build decent houses and can make a living by farming and fishing. However, the fishing village on the Se San 4 hydropower reservoir is completely different: fishermen live on rafts mounted on empty drums floating on the water. All cooking, eating, and cleaning activities take place on the raft. Traveling between these floating houses is also on the water through thick planks tightly attached to floating tree trunks. In the village area, many households also build fish cages with popular species such as basa fish and catfish.
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Fishing village on the Se San 4 hydropower reservoir.
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| Se San 4 hydroelectric reservoir |
Next to us is Mr. Dang Van Thuoc, 38 years old. He is from Tri Ton, An Giang, and has a wife and two daughters living on the raft. Mr. Thuoc said that most of the rafts near his family's rafts belong to relatives: brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle-in-law... and people from the same hometown of An Giang who come here to make a living. Currently, the fishing village has 29 households with over 100 people, all of whom are engaged in fishing on the Se San 4 hydropower reservoir.
Officially, the fishing village has been here since 2010, most of them are from An Giang, the rest are from Thua Thien Hue. At first, making a living in a foreign land was a bit confusing, but over time I got used to it. Only the children's education is quite difficult because they travel by boat and then on foot. Recently, with the attention of the local government to build a house along the lake, after 8 years, the fishing village is about to settle ashore, no longer floating here and there like before.
The village is mainly engaged in fishing on the lake, so serving groups of backpackers or spontaneous tourists like us is just a side job. Currently, only Mr. Thuoc's family does the service. Usually when a customer calls to visit the lake and the fishing village, Mr. Thuoc prepares a canoe or large boat if there are many people in the group, prepares marinated fish, charcoal grills, drinks... The prices are also quite reasonable. On average, each person spends no more than 200,000 VND. However, because it is not yet his main occupation, Mr. Thuoc's family's work serving tourists only stops at the stage of picking up and dropping off and organizing lunches. If invested more professionally, such as taking a boat to visit the entire lake, fishing, going on land to conquer the islands... it will definitely attract more tourists.
Gia Lai has many hydroelectric lakes such as: Ia Ly, Se San 3, Se San 3A, Ayun Ha... Many lakes have been successfully organized by aquaculture establishments. However, the introduction of hydroelectric lakes into tourism service is still in its infancy. Therefore, local authorities and relevant sectors need to pay attention to effectively exploit the potential of the lake bed and ensure the environment. In the middle of the vast, smoky water surface, sitting on a floating raft, enjoying grilled fish and sipping a glass of wine in the chilly heat of the plateau, it's so interesting!
