Camping on a bamboo raft floating down the river, wading into the clear water all the way to the bottom. The water is not knee deep, the feet are massaged by large and small pebbles. On the shore, rows of green bamboo are attractive and right behind is a high, deep blue mountain range covering an area of sky.
Immerse yourself in nature
Just over an hour’s drive from Hanoi, we were at Champing Dong Cho, Sao Bay commune, Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh province. The charming mountain and water scene appears before your eyes, the palm-roofed rafts seem to be beckoning the curiosity of tourists.
The deeper you go inside, the more bustle you get, and the parking lot is completely full. Below the river, tourists have covered the rafts. The rafts follow each other, designed with two decks made of bamboo trees as big as an adult’s calves.
The lower deck floats under the water’s surface, keeping balance and preventing the raft from sinking. The upper deck is about 30cm above the water, guests can sit, lie down, relax or gather with friends and family to celebrate.
If you pay attention, you can see interesting things happening in Champing right now. Next to the water wheel, a group of middle-aged women wearing soft floral dresses are lining up to pose in all sorts of poses to take pictures.
The children were immersed in the cool blue water, giggling. Young children have their parents standing next to them to supervise, even though the river water is safe enough. Older children invited each other to swim on a small raft, made up of just three bamboo trees joined together.
The group of young people is more special. One group set up a table on the water, with camping-style chairs around it, next to a smoky barbecue grill. Fresh fruit and canned beer are soaked in cool water right next to the seats. It all takes place on the water.
Boys and girls enjoy sitting around, chatting, enjoying specialties, and soaking their feet in the cool water.
Another group puts the grill on the raft, their feet only touch the water and the raft can float on the river. Each raft is equipped with a rope of several tens of meters, held together by a wooden stake driven into the river bottom. If you like to move the raft, you can collect the rope and use a pole to support it.
Groups of young men and women gathered on rafts, drank beer, and sang karaoke, but were asked to keep the volume not too loud to reduce noise. On another raft, families including grandparents, young parents and babies gathered around a tray of Dong Cho specialties. Enjoy the moment of reunion and harmony with nature.
Occasionally the rafts gently touch each other, tourists from both sides can get acquainted and have cultural exchanges in the Dong Cho cultural space.
Passing the row of stilt houses on land, we also found a raft in the sparsest place. Begin the exploration by unique raft on a shallow river with clear blue water at the bottom, making many people mistakenly think they are on a stream in the middle of the ocean.
Enjoy the culture of Song Boi – Dong Cho
Camping Dong Cho is located in Song Boi – Dong Cho tourism cooperative, an emerging community tourism model in Kim Boi mineral water area, Hoa Binh province.
Boi River, also known as Hoang Long, covers the two provinces of Hoa Binh and Ninh Binh, with a length of up to 127km. There are two sources of mineral water flowing into the upstream and downstream of Boi River, one of which creates the Kim Boi mineral water brand (Hoa Binh).
Tourists from Hanoi and other provinces expressed their interest in the raft camping model on the river. Besides, you can also enjoy the culinary culture of stream fish, wild vegetables, bamboo rice and learn about the long-standing tradition of “Chuong Bai” weaving.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Nguyet, in a group of tourists from Thuong Tin, Hanoi, boasted about this pleasant surprise trip: “We didn’t think this place would have such a beautiful scene of camping by raft on the river. The water is clear to the bottom, cool, you can roll up your pants and wade across the stream. The river and mountain scenery here is also very beautiful, you can definitely bring a file of beautiful photos home to post on Facebook.”
“I went with my husband and children, they are on the raft there. We have been to many places, but there has never been a place as strange and fun as here. We will definitely come back, because this place is not far from Hanoi” – Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, a friend in Ms. Nguyet’s group happily commented.
A group of young people from Hoa Binh city and a group of friends born in 2004 from Hanoi both enjoyed the experience of Camping Dong Cho. “We like camping in the forest or camping by streams, but we don’t like camping in the water, or on bamboo rafts floating along the water like here. While surfing Facebook, I saw a good advertisement so I texted my friends to see it, then invited each other over on the weekend” – Khu Thi Ngoc Bich in Hanoi said with a smile.
Bich hopes to add more electricity and wifi to the raft so you can chat and surf Facebook and tiktok on your phone. But because safety and tranquility when returning to nature are the regulations of the tourist area, Bich’s wishes may not be met.
The bamboo raft camping model was created by the manager of Song Boi – Dong Cho tourism cooperative, Bui Hai Dinh, from the bamboo raft model of his father who used to be a fisherman. The raft can carry about 20 adults and children, and is covered with crushed palm leaves.
Hai Dinh is a young man. He has a special love for traditional values and wants to preserve them for the next generation so they don’t disappear. Bamboo rafts, weaving, songs, dances and traditional dishes of our people are all restored and preserved by Dinh in the tourism cooperative.
Meeting Hai Dinh is not difficult, he just wears a smart T-shirt, jeans, and honeycomb sandals to blend in with the crowd on the riverbank. While working, instructing staff, and chatting with tourists. Sometimes guests don’t know they are chatting with the resort owner. I like that closeness, simplicity and the big dream of Stick’s life: “I want to do something for my homeland. Understand the place where you were born and know how to exploit its inherent value to legitimately enrich yourself and help the people of your hometown so that they can work together, preserve it together, and benefit together” – Stick happily the.
Other interesting surprises
Working with the young “boss”, the employees in Song Boi – Dong Cho tourism cooperative are all local residents of 94 households in Dong Cho village. The oldest employee is 79 years old, the youngest employee is in his twenties.
The official staff has 7 people, and the community staff has a hundred people. Mr. Dinh literally built a community tourism model, allowing villagers to participate in tourism. Each resident will have their own kiosk, introducing tourism products to tourists in their own way.
“At first, everyone was afraid, thinking that this land along the river was only suitable for raising buffaloes and cows, and that no tourists would come here. The initial investment amount is also large, for each village household a few million VND is a lot. When visitors began to arrive and gradually increased, people who had previously objected now also wanted to do tourism. I’m very happy” – Mr. Dinh said.
Entrance fees are not yet available, visitors only pay to rent rafts, the current raft price is 200,000 VND per day. Guests can bring food and rent a grill, or order a tray of specialties such as pork, upland sticky rice, stream fish, mountain snails, and hot wild vegetables.
Stay overnight in a stilt house, follow the campfire schedule, and Muong cultural festival night. Learn about the ancient weaving profession and living habits of the indigenous people here.
Although it has only been open to welcome guests for a year, from March 2023 until now, the tourism cooperative has exceeded the expectations of Dinh and Dong Cho people.
“Customers coming on weekends and holidays are the most crowded, some come on weekdays because they are afraid of winter holidays. The tourism cooperative is still improving to best serve tourists” – manager Bui Hai Dinh shared.
Dinh’s upcoming plan will be to expand community tourism to each household, allowing guests to explore the living culture of indigenous people. Renovate Da cave, which used to be a wartime weapons production point for our army, so that tourists can visit. Search and connect hot mineral bathing spots for tourists when coming to the Kim Boi mineral spring area.
We note that plastic waste is not littered in the tourist area. Corrugated iron roofs are also being replaced with palm leaf roofs, closer to nature. That is a good sign, that is the true criterion of clean and green community tourism.
As tourists at a close distance, we were very satisfied with what we discovered at Champing Dong Cho today. But for guests living further away, it is necessary to do what Hai Dinh is planning to do to explore more to make the long trip worth it.
