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Words by Trang Nguyen
Photos by Nhi Nguyen

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If you are a Vietnamese, or specifically a Saigonese like me, let’s check if these things exist in your mind. Otherwise, if you are a foreigner, I will share with you feelings when getting on a Vietnamese ferry so that you can understand how heartbreaking the phrase “close forever” is.

Dating back to 20 years ago, ferry was one of the main types of transportation in Southern Vietnam, and “kẹt phà” (traffic jam at a ferry) was such a familiar notion with locals, especially on holidays. Hence, do not get surprised at the way people feel relaxed and enjoy waiting time at the station. Usually, they buy snacks, sit on their car or motorbike and happily chat with companions. Finding out that almost everyone surrounding you do that, you may ask yourself if this is an easy-going aspect of the Vietnamese.

Nevertheless, only when a guard opens the gate for vehicles to get on a ferry boat do stories truly begin. For anyone who has not experienced travelling by a ferry boat in Vietnam, there is nothing greater than climbing up the stair to the second floor for a clearer view over the river. Observing water hyacinths drifting, you may forget the bustling urban life. Meanwhile, children start to wonder if the ferry boat is staying at the same place and the water is moving, or such opposite things are happening. As a kid, I used to ask my mother such nonsense questions like that, and before coming up with the answer, I got sleepy due to the pleasant wind hitting my face.

Another indispensable factor of ferries is street vendors who offer you boiled eggs, sugarcane, chewing gum, lemon tea, coffee, etc. Normally, people deny buying them for fear of unsanitary conditions of foods. However, few know that those vendors are only able to make 100 000 vnd (approximately 5 dollars) a day. Their life is continuously inviting customers till extreme exhaustion, which makes them sleep on the ferry boat and temporarily forget tough hardships which they cannot escape from.

Some ferry boats do not signal when they get near the land, but you can always be aware of the arriving moment due to the noisy sound of engines of cars and motorbikes. From where you stand, it is the feeling of getting close to the destination, something hard to reach, but you do not want to reach it indeed, since goodbye seems to be the hardest word to speak out.

Notwithstanding, changes take place every day. Plenty of huge ferries have ended their mission after decades in operation. The stories I have just told you come from my real memories of Mỹ Lợi, a 100-year-old ferry connecting two provinces, one of which is Tiền Giang, my mom’s beautiful hometown. It faced the forever closure in 2015, but every single flashback always lives in my heart. In Ho Chi Minh city, you may know these two tourist attractions: Thủ Thiêm tunnel and Thủ Thiêm bridge. However, hardly do visitors hear about Thủ Thiêm ferry. It is closed in 2011 due to the demand of saving time when travelling between district 1 and district 2. Nowadays, young people selfie interestingly at the modern Thủ Thiêm tunnel, or watch fireworks on the rooftop of it on special holidays. No one seems to recall the old ferry, but it always remains a vital historic beauty of Saigon, a more-than-300-year-old land.

If you are currently in Vietnam, find a ferry immediately in order not to regret missing such an unforgettable experience. Ho Chi Minh city still has Bình Khánh ferry connecting Nhà Bè district and Cần Giờ district, or Cát Lái ferry for you to travel from Saigon to Đồng Nai province. Who knows what will happen in future years? Time is passing, next generations are born, and bridges keep replacing ferries like they used to do. Without the existence of ferries, is there anyone still feeling a little heartbroken like losing a part of precious memories? Or will stories about them turn as sad as feelings of the staff wandering around their empty ferry on the closing day?

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