Where air is as good as gold

15:56' 02/05/2008 (GMT+7)
The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has five islands in the middle of the Hau River, Con Au, Con Son, Con Cai Khe, Con Khuong and Tan Loc, which still maintain the pureness and wildness of nature.
A Japanese investor who visited Con Son uttered: “The air here can be sold for gold.”
The local government plans to develop an ecological tourism project on these islands, said Dinh Viet Khanh, Director of the Can Tho Department of Tourism.
Under this plan, Con Au will be a resort and entertainment centre; Cai Khe will be a modern general tourism centre; Con Khuong will host orchard-villas; Con Son will be a resort for the old, while Tan Loc will host craft village and orchard tourism.
These islands will be connected with other islands on the Hau River which belong to other Mekong Delta provinces like Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Dong Thap and An Giang to make a wide network of ecological tourism sites.
Once these islands are linked, related provinces can attract tourists from China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia who travel along the Mekong River.
The Hau River (or Bassac River) is a tributary of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows south to An Giang province, Vietnam. The Hau River is a popular entry and exit route for locals between Cambodia and Vietnam and is used for transporting goods between the two countries.