After traveling 500 kilometers from HCMC by car we continued our journey with a three-hour-canoe trip on the Ganh Hao River and then crossed the mangrove forests before finally sailing on the Nam Can River to Ca Mau.

In fact, the distance from the center of Ca Mau City to Dat Mui Tourist Area is only 60 kilometers, said the canoe driver. However, we all felt as if we had crossed hundreds of kilometers on rivers and through forests. Perhaps it was the splendid scenery that made it seem like time had stopped to allow us to contemplate the magnificence of nature.

We arrived in Dat Mui around 2 p.m. The sun was high in the sky and the scorching rays shone on the land built up by alluvium. We were happy to get lost in endless mangrove trees growing by the shoreline where white waves rolled onto the seashore. The sea was very gentle and tender, making us forget how tired we were from the long journey.

At Thuy Ta Restaurant we enjoyed seafood made in the ingenious cuisine of the South with clams, crabs and fish. All were prepared with the distinct flavors of the southern tip of the country. From the restaurant we were able to see Hon Khoai Islet and other islets and islands. People said that one of the best things to do in Dat Mui is watch the sun in the early morning as it rises over the sea from the east, and as it sets at night in the west.

We were so absorbed by the fascinating scenery we forgot that the sun was setting behind the mangrove forest. The tour guide urged us back to Ca Mau City and soon we were back in the canoes, cleaving through the waves on Nam Can River and breaking the tranquility of nature under the red sunlight.

The immense and amazing land had a profound affect on all of us.