“Collecting garbage” tour in Hoi An
Over the past month, a new tour has been launched in Hoi An, attracting a large number of tourists, especially foreigners.
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What is special about the tour is that tourists have to pay some money to experience garbage collection in the Hoai river, instead of enjoying entertainment and relaxation.
Nguyen Van Long, a representative of Hoi An Kayak Tour Agency, said he had taken part in a “community tour” with various activities related to environmental protection, therefore, he saw the “Rowing kayaks and collecting garbage in the Hoai river” tour as a profitable but meaningful tourist activity.
The 8-kilometer long tour is organized every Saturday morning, said Long. It starts at Thuan Tinh port (Cam Thanh, Hoi An), keeps running along the Hoai river, and ends at the centre of Hoi An.
Each tour will have two tourist-guides who support the tourists in rowing the kayak and garbage boat. Each tourist is equipped with a life-jacket, a bag and racket to collect garbage.
The collected garbage will then be handled by the Hoi An Municipal Urban Environment Company.
While sailing the Kayak, tourists will find many items like bottles, plastic bags or spongy, or even large garbage bags, floating in the river. Special boat will take care of such big bags of garbage.
As the boats reach closer to the city centre, tourists may find greater density of floating garbage, especially in Hoi An market.
The trip usually ends after three and a half hour. It may be tiring for some people but it is an unforgettable experience for the tourists.
Clayton Hornbaker, an American tourist, said it was an amazing experience for him.
He was impressed by the beautiful river in Hoi An and wanted to collect more garbage to protect the environment.
The tour has received attention and participation of various tourists, however, the number of domestic tourists taking part in was not as much as the organizers expected, said Long.
He also hoped that the tour would be more popularized an many people would join hands to protect the environment, the community’s health and the beauty of the UNESCO-recognized ancient town of Hoi An.
