During the 2 years being affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, many tourist attractions in Can Tho have closed, Phong Dien tourism has been welcoming a wave of investment to create a new highlight when tourism restarts. This emergence of high-quality destinations brings a new breath of air to local tourism products. One of the destinations often mentioned by tourists recently is Mekong Silt Ecolodge (My Khanh commune). Located on Rach Chuoi riverbank, Mekong Silt Ecolodge is surrounded by gardens, bringing a very peaceful feeling. The remarkable feature of Mekong Silt Ecolodge is the design in a purely natural style, imbued with river culture. Accordingly, Burmese grape - a specialty tree of Phong Dien, was selected by the owner Mekong Silt Ecolodge to be the main decoration material for the resort. It takes a lot of time to find and process the Burmese grapes before putting them into construction, with at least 4-6 months. In addition, Nypa fruiticans leaves, plaid bandanas, areca sheaths, etc. are also used for interior decoration. Huynh Thi Bich Tuyen, the owner of Mekong Silt Ecolodge Resort, said: “I myself grew up in a southern village, so I am used to scenes of rice fields and the hustle and bustle of boats. Therefore, I always ponder and wish to build a village that can revive old memories. I thereby want visitors to enjoy experiences and know more about the beauty of the Southwest countryside."

Mekong Silt Ecolodge was built in 2 years and officially put into operation from June 2021. The total area of ​​Mekong Silt Ecolodge is 15 hectares, of which 7 hectares are dedicated to the resort, the rest is an experience area with a miniature village model. The resort has 22 rooms, each room is individually designed like a house in the village, located along the canal dug deep into the resort. The name of each room type is named after a typical fish species in the Mekong Delta, and a typical example among these names is “lia thia” – or betta. This is also the way that the owner wants to introduce to visitors the cultural characteristics of the river region. In which, the unique feature is the boat room. Ms. Huynh Thi Bich Tuyen said: “When I was a child, I often accompanied my grandparents to buy and sell products on boats, so I understand what it feels like to make a living on a boat. Therefore, I also want to make these products for the visitors to experience this feeling.” These boat rooms were studied from boats in Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets and then improved to ensure safety. As for the miniature village that is currently under construction, in which there will be rice fields, antique houses, countryside markets, areas to experience folk games, etc. In addition, Mekong Silt Ecolodge is also associated with more than 40 hectares of fruit orchards from surrounding households. Mr. Ly Nhat Truong, manager of Mekong Silt Ecolodge, said: “We also connect with local people to support each other to consume products. Local people can sell their fruit stably, and we also have more services for visitors to experience."

Mekong Silt Ecolodge

In Phong Dien, there are many resorts that are preferred for their closeness to nature and their countryside’s characteristics. In particular, having been in operation for nearly a year, Hieu's Cottage is like a miniature village, based on the indigenous culture of Phong Dien. This is an ecological complex of 4-star standard, in which there are outstanding works: Yoga Sky (a yoga terrace area with a professional trainer, about 15m above the ground), a tree-room area with eco-friendly design, golf course, vitamin garden (where clean vegetables are grown). Mr. Nguyen Hong Hieu, Director of Hong Hieu Tourism Service Trading Company Limited (Hieutour Co., Ltd), founder of Hieu's Cottage, said: "Capturing the trend of eco-tourism, which is responsible for protecting the environment, we have launched Hieu's Cottage on the basis of preserving the most natural things, in which the indigenous cultural elements are always respected by us."

Hieu's Cottage currently has an area of ​​2.5ha with 25 rooms. In particular, each room is designed as an independent house, taking advantage of natural materials to make a difference: thatched-roof houses, tile-roofed wall houses, wooden houses, tree houses, etc. In front of each house are rows of areca trees and ornamental flowers which are very beautiful, bearing the breath of the Southwest countryside. The houses are arranged very delicately, located along the canal that is led from the natural canal in Phong Dien. Mr. Nguyen Hong Hieu said that in order to increase the experience for tourists, as well as exploit the local tourism potential, he has repeatedly surveyed all the villages and alleys in Phong Dien to find craft villages, artisans, from which he can build more cultural experience tours. Accordingly, at Hieu's Cottage, there is a countryside market that is recreated on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday); or experience programs that link cycling with visiting craft villages: palm-leaf conical hat making, boat building, blacksmithing, etc. In addition to these activities, Hieu's Cottage is also creating many programs, such as: making rice paintings, watching shows of traditional musical instruments, practicing Vovinam martial art, etc. Hieu's Cottage is also building a number of new works: Yoga Sky, tree-house with eco-friendly design, swimming pool area expansion, building 45 more rooms, golf courses, vitamin gardens (where they germinate and grow clean vegetables), meeting rooms, etc.

View of the rooms at Hieu's Cottage

Mr. Vo Thanh Giup, Director of the Center for Trade Promotion - Tourism and Management of Monuments in Phong Dien district, said: "Phong Dien is currently focusing on building three types of tourism: eco-tourism, homestay, and culture - history, in which priority is given to developing river tourism. In the period of adapting to the new situation, we focus on the quality factor, as well as facilitate all investors when they launch products that match the potential and characteristics of Phong Dien. The locality currently has 64 tourist attractions, including 30 eco-tourism sites. It is expected that by the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, Phong Dien will have more eco-tourism areas and high-quality resorts in Nhon Nghia commune, which is also a premise to promote the development of eco-tourism, according to the planning system on tourism products of Phong Dien district in particular and Can Tho in general. On the other hand, in order to exploit the indigenous cultural factors to make typical products, Mr. Vo Thanh Giup shared, Phong Dien was considering experimenting with choosing a section of canals in which there is a connection with craft villages and resorts, thereby being able to build true river cultural experiences, from exploring Phong Dien floating market to visiting orchards, staying at homestays, etc.

Phong Dien is a suburb of Can Tho and has great potential for green tourism. In recent years, thanks to the fact that Phong Dien has been being exploited to the right potential, its tourism development speed increased, along with indigenous cultural elements being preferred and respected by investors. This is considered a good sign when creating a unique tourism product system for Can Tho.