Roaming in Tha La canal

People living on Tha La canal scoop fish to sell to traders at the "ghost market" at night. Photo: THANH CHINH

The fields are flooded with white.

These days, the floodwaters have risen, the fields on the southern bank of the Tha La canal are completely submerged. From the beginning of the canal, we drove straight into the open fields, passing several canalside hamlets. Rows of yellow sesban flowers, half submerged in water, swayed in the wind. Today, the Tha La canal is paved with flat asphalt and firmly reinforced.

Wandering along the canal, what caught our eyes was farmers cultivating the third crop of rice on one side with a straight green color, on the other side were white fields of water. Past a few hamlets along the canal, this place was still deserted and desolate. When the flood season comes, the Tha La canal brings water, bringing rich products to the fields; people take advantage of the opportunity to fish, cast nets, and set traps to earn extra income.

Mr. Tran Van Hao (65 years old) and his wife are selecting fish and crabs along the canal bank. Mr. Hao said that his hometown is Thanh My Tay commune, and he has been fishing in Tha La canal for more than a month. Every year, when the Tha La dam is released from flood, he, his wife and children row a boat carrying all kinds of tools into the flooded fields to catch fish and crabs.

The old junk seems to have been with Mr. Hao’s family for many years on their journey to make a living during the flood season. Thanks to that junk, he has both a means of transport and a place to stay. This “2 in 1” junk is like a mobile home, taking him everywhere.

This year’s flood season, Mr. Hao invested in 6 fishing lines, costing 30 million VND. Since entering the flooded fields along the Tha La canal to set the fishing lines, he has not harvested as much fish and crab as last year. He said that every day he catches more than 30kg of fish, shrimp, and crab of all kinds, earning about 500,000 VND.

Every noon, Mr. Hao takes the opportunity to go to the market, bring fish home to choose and weigh for the merchant. Looking at the basin of jumping linh fish that he chooses to keep alive, it is truly fascinating. Mr. Hao's daughter chooses linh fish the size of her thumb, clamps them tightly to a fresh bamboo branch and grills them on a wood stove.

At noon, in the middle of the flooded fields, the fragrant smell of grilled linh fish from the roof of the country house made our stomachs growl. Mr. Hao smiled and said: “Grilled linh fish with tamarind sauce, eaten with wild flowers and water lilies picked from the fields is a daily dish of the people here. Linh fish here is very cheap! Each kilo is only 15,000 - 20,000 VND”. In addition to linh fish, people also catch goby fish, tren fish, loach fish, and crabs. The deeper the water, the more delicious fish there are, and the higher the price, about 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg.

fertile canal

For a long time, during the flood season, Tha La canal has been known as a place with lots of fish, shrimp, and crabs. More uniquely, near Tha La bridge, along Highway 91, there is a "ghost market" that is bustling from early morning. It is called a market, but in fact it is just an empty lot located along the canal road, where people and traders gather very busily. If you want to see the buying and selling of fish and crabs here, you have to go very early. The market only opens for a few hours and then closes as traders rush to bring fish back to distribute at rural markets early in the morning.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, whose house is located deep in the Tha La canal, often sells fish at the "ghost market" and said: "Every night, there are about 50 large and small boats docked here to sell fish and shrimp. They are people from far away who come here to exploit aquatic products during the flood season. For decades, at this market, people and traders have always met to trade fish very busily." In the quiet space, the loud sound of engines tore through the night, making many people forget the fatigue after a night of plowing the deserted fields.

At noon, after saying goodbye to Mr. Tuan, we continued to drive into the area near Tra Su cajuput forest. This season, the water is flooded, the cajuput trees on the edge of the forest are as big as calves, absorbing alluvium so they grow green and lush. The hamlet of more than 10 stilt houses is located along the canal in Thanh My Tay commune, one side is rice fields, the other side is a rather deserted cajuput forest.

Meeting Mr. Bui Van Danh sitting in a shack built under the canal, we walked down to chat, suddenly a cool breeze blew across the canal. Mr. Danh said that this “middle of nowhere” land was very sad, however the climate was fresh. The life of the people here was not so difficult, because everyone had land to cultivate.

When the flood season comes, farmers grow rice on the closed dike fields and set up fishing nets on the flood-discharged fields to earn extra income. The nature here is generous, and people say that this land has plenty of rice and fish. Every morning, people unload their fishing nets to catch fish and bring them to the market to sell, then buy necessities to take care of their families. “When the flood season comes, the supply of freshwater fish is endless. In the dry season, there are a lot of birds and rats! Every time we harvest rice, we can enjoy it to our heart’s content,” Mr. Danh laughed.

Nowadays, people living in the fields along the Tha La canal are busy cultivating rice and exploiting aquatic resources. Although life is not rich, it is very stable and peaceful, creating a peaceful rural picture in the remote area.

THANH CHINH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/rong-ruoi-trong-tuyen-kenh-tha-la-a464090.html