As great as Saigon is (and I do love the sheer electricity, the convenience, and the never-ending variety of foods and cafes), you've got to take yourself out of the mix every so often and soak up some greenery. The buzz of motorbikes gets in your head after awhile, and the brain needs space - the birds, and water animals, and the wind through the floating cajaput tree forest of Tan Lap is just what the doctor ordered.
Tan Lap Floating Village - not actually a village, but a forest - is an easy and very cheap way to get out of the concrete jungle for a little bit, and at only 100km from Saigon, it's easy to do so. You have to go through the industrial regions of Long An province in order to get there, but within an hour or so you'll start to see the factories fade away, and soon you'll come to one of the more magical places within easy trekking distance of HCMC.
Whether you decide to take yourself via moto or rent a car for a group, it's easy and cheap to travel here! Click through for details and more pictures...
Tickets are 60k VND to enter the forest area itself. Again, although it bills itself as a village, it's... not? It's a large, forested area that sits on top of a swamp, and locals have turned this into an ecotourism destination. (Lots to love about ecotourism! They did a good job!)
This panoramic shot above is from one of only two structures above the treeline - this is the lookout post, and that tall thing in the distance is the main lodging within the forest itself. It's an 8 story hotel, and although we only stayed for the day and not overnight, I have to imagine that the views from the upper stories are exceptionally beautiful. For reference, that's right near the entrance, after you've been taken into the forest proper by canoe. It looks like it could go on forever.
After disembarking from the entrance boat, walk across the bamboo bridge pictured above and you'll find yourself at the entrance to the forest. Behind the camera is the hotel that you can see in the distance, and just to the right of this picture is where the walkways start.
There are over 5km of walkable, elevated concrete paths that wind through the park. We had the (ahem) pleasure of coming on the weekend, so lots of families and kids were present. If I had a re-do, I'd definitely come out during the weekday if I could. Unfortunately, there's a highway that runs right past here, and you can hear the rumble of container trucks even inside the forest, but the trees mute it somewhat and there's a lot of beauty to enjoy.
There's also a 40k VND ticket available for a 30 minute canoe ride through the forest, which was super cool, especially after you get away from the entrance area and start going down some of the narrower channels. With the light filtering through the leaves and the sounds of tourists only burbles in the distance, it's a peaceful feeling.
The boat eventually loops around back to the entrance, and if you haven't gone into the forest, now's your time.
Long An is a BIG province, and extends from near Saigon to almost the middle of the Mekong Delta - that's about where this is located. In fact, Cambodia is only a few dozen kilometres away from here, as the bird flies. The fact that this magical place exists not even two hours from HCMC's downtown is something of a miracle.
Inside the woods, you'll find what seems like an endless maze of cajeput trees and twisting walkways, dotted with vine cover and deeper pools of lily pads. Dead leaves dot the walkways, and it sometimes feels like you're here alone... until the next group of selfie-taking college kids appears from around a bend. But can you blame them? The selfie game is strong here!
You'd think it would be easy to get lost, but all of the walkways eventually wind back around to the front gate, and there are signs, garbage bins, and some bamboo-covered bathrooms along the way, along with the aforementioned lookout tower (climb for a stupendous view!).
All in all, it's a great escape from the city, and, despite the torrential rain we've been experiencing, I think it would be a lovely place to get trapped in a storm (with an umbrella and raincoat, to be sure), as long as you could retreat to the hotel if things got too crazy.
2020 has been lots of things, almost none of them nice, but at least we aren't on lockdown for this second wave of COVID-19. Get out and enjoy one of the nicer, and dirt-cheap, eco-tourist sites near Ho Chi Minh City!
Have you visited the forest? What did you think?
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Hi! Thanks for speaking up! :) - Ben