I. Overview of Con Phung Island
Con Phung Island is an islet located in the middle of My Tho River (a part of the Tien River). Con Phung is one of the well-known islands in the Mekong Basin. It is an exotic destination for its beautiful landscape, unique local handicrafts, and specialties. Tourists can do a huge number of interesting activities on the island such as riding the sampan on the river, fishing for crocodiles, etc. Let’s explore the Bang Lang Stork Garden with the Mekong Smile Tour!
II. Where is Con Phung Island
Con Phung Island is in Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre Province. Furthermore, it is situated 12 km by road from Ben Tre, and about 25 km by river from the center of Ben Tre city. In the 1930s, its area was approximately 28 ha, but thanks to abundant silt deposits every year, the island has expanded to over 50 ha. Ben Tre in general and Con Phung in particular are famous for the land of coconuts with its architectural works.
How to get there?
Coach:
It will take around 1,5 to 2 hours to move from Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre. Visitors can easily find reputable passenger car companies in Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre at reasonable costs. Some suggestions about automakers that you can refer to are as follows:
– Thinh Phat bus: Running Ho Chi Minh – Ben Tre route
+ In Ho Chi Minh City: the car departs at 25A Su Van Hanh, Ward 9, District 5. The cars run from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Visitors can contact booking via 0839303042 or 0913965050.
+ In Ben Tre: The car departs at 82A, KP2, Phu Khuong Ward, national high No.60, Ben Tre Town. Visitors should contact to book tickets in advance to choose departure time suitably.
– Thao Chau garage: Running Ho Chi Minh City – Ben Tre route
+ In Ho Chi Minh: The cars will pick up and drop off passengers at 182 Su Van Hanh station, Ward 9, District 5. Tourists can contact them via 0838351917 or 0903337600 for further details of the route.
+ In Ben Tre: Passengers can get in and get off the cars at 122A, Nguyen Thi Dinh Street, Phu Tan Ward, Ben Tre City.
Private vehicles:
Those who want to explore a new land by themselves can choose personal means to move. They can drive their own scooters or cars to reach Con Phung Island. Traveling by private vehicles will give travelers chances to take the initiative, and explore the place here. Moreover, they will save money when driving by their vehicles compared to taking a bus.
III. Meaning of “Con Phung”
Con Phung Island used to be called Tan Vinh Island. Then, the island was also named Dao Dua, meaning coconut religion. In the early 20th century, a man, Nguyen Thanh Nam, came here and constructed Nam Quoc Phat Pagoda and established Dao Dua. While constructing the pagoda, workers accidentally picked up an ancient phoenix-shaped bowl. Therefore, the land is known as Con Phung Island or Phoenix Island in English, and its name is popular until now.
IV. Best time to visit there
The sun shines all year round, so tourists can visit Con Phung at any time of the year. On the summer days of June, July, and August, trees in the orchards bear fruits. Thus, Tourists can enjoy local fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, durian, and other delicious fruits.
V. What to do there?
1. Exploring Con Phung Island by boat
Visitors can take a sampan rowed by local drivers to discover the island. The sampan will be driven on the canals with nipa palms on the two sides of them. Sitting and relaxing on a sampan on the surface of the river, tourists can take the camera out to capture great moments.
2. Fishing for crocodiles in Con Phung
Coming to Con Phung Island, tourists stand a chance to experience a new and exciting activity. That is crocodile fishing. Dozens of crocodiles lie in the lake waiting for skillful fishermen and visitors can rent fishing rods at the lake. They need to hold a strong rod with a dead fish or meat on the hook while waiting and preparing for big bites from these large reptiles. It is one of the wonderful experiences for tourists visiting the place.
3. Visiting bee farms
Many families in Con Phung work as beekeepers and they have to take care of bees for honey. It is not difficult for visitors to ask to visit a beekeeping family there. The bees here mainly take honey from the flower of the longan. Thus, the quality of honey here is sweet to enchant people. Going to bee farms, visitors can see how beekeepers take care of bees, and how to collect honey.
4. Going to candy factories
Con Phung is a land of lush coconut trees, so the coconut products are characteristics of the island. Visitors can witness the whole process of making coconut candy tablets. To produce delicious coconut candy, workers need to do the stage of making and cooking candies. After that, they will cut and pack them.
5. Going sightseeing in the Dao Dua Relic area
When coming to Con Phung, visitors cannot miss going to see the Dao Dua relic. The construction was built over 50 years with a total area of about 1,500m2. This place attracts many tourists because of its unique beauty of culture and belief of this land. A special feature of the architecture is nine tall pillars engraved with a dragon in every pillar. In Vietnamese culture, dragons symbolize power and majesty, so dragons are painted with yellow highlights on a blue background. It creates delicate, beautiful, and equally solemn blocks of architecture.
VII. What to eat there?
Visitors not only immerse themselves in the beautiful nature of Con Phung island but also taste delicious dishes. A wide selection of dishes is made from fresh ingredients available. Visitors can enjoy fried giant fish, fried savory glutinous rice cakes, fried coconut worms with butter or fish sauce, home-grown chicken porridge, coconut rice, and roasted coconut shrimp. All of these foods contain the flavor of coconut. Besides, they should not miss drinking a glass of cool coconut water.
Ref: https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BB%93n_Ph%E1%BB%A5ng
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