Bird-nest is a luxurious dish today because ih the past it was a noble food that was only seved to lords. I traveled to an island in Nha Trang Bayto explore a location where bird-nest has been made for 700 years.
AMIDST THE “OCEAN’S JUNGLE”
The way to bird-nest island is actually an interesting experience. The boat departs at 6:30a.m. The morning wind is cool and the waves are mild. After an hour and 20 minutes, our boat arrives at Hon Noi wharf. It is the entrance to the island that has the most bird nests in Nha Trang bay. Thousands of seabirds sing their songs and hover over our heads as a warm welcome to guests. We are impressed by a fabulous sandy beach when setting foot on the uninhabited island that covers an area of 1 square kilometer.After a 10 minute break, we transit to a boat which has a glass bottom. Mr Tri – our tour guide tells us to look at the bottom. Through the glass, we see an abundance of colorful corals and small marine organisms in the seabed. We see some fish of various colors playing with soft corals. The lively scene ofthe seabed through the glass seems like a huge TV. People have said that corals are like jungles of the ocean that protect small organisms from the harsh struggle of life. Like this, we are Hying over a “jungle of the ocean”.
KINGDOM OF BIRD NESTS
After 15 minutes “flying” over the coral reefs, the boat reaches a small island with an area of about iha. The tour guide points to a stone cave: “This is a bird-nest cave”. He said that swallows are very small but strong. They can Hy from early morning until night to catch food. They often choose deserted cliffs to build nests vvice a year and spend about 35 to 40 days discharging nutritious spittle. Hence, Vietnamese people have given high-grade bird – nest to kings for over thousand years.
When creeping into the cave, we see hundreds of bird nests with big cat’ s ear mushrooms in close proximity. The tour guide said: “If bird nests were “white gold”, we were standing in front of a treasure with a bird nest priced at VND 60 million.”
A lunch is served with its “own flavor of Hon Noi” including steamed cuttle-fish with ginger, grilled fish sour soup, simmered shrimp with pork and free bird-nest drink. Especially good was the grilled damseliish served with basil. Everyone says it is delicious. Finally, we try “sweet bird-nest”. To have a chance to taste this dish, we are willing to pay VND 260,000 for a small dish.
LONG LIFE TRADE VILLAGE
We visit the temple where vve worship the father of bird-nest. It is 100 meters from the restaurant. In front of the temple, there is a historical stone stele that says, In 1328, a warship of the Tran dynasty commander – Le Van Dat – attacked Hon Tre island of Nha Trang bay. He founded Bich Dam village and discovered the bird-nest islands.
Since then, birds-nest has been developed. People in Khanh Hoa called Mr Dat the father of bird’s nests and built a temple to vvorship him. It was damaged and was not rebuilt until 1992. Each year, local people come here and pray for a good harvest of bird-nests.
Mr Nam, 32 years old, who has run this business for II years, told us: “o1d people used their hands and bare feet to climb up to collect bird nests on high cliffs. They were not only strong and resistant people but also prolicient climbers. At present, exploiters have to put up a scaffold and wear safety belts like mountain climbers. Many sentry boxes sit dangerously on the high peak, near by the sea.
Their owners have to wear safety belts even when they are sleeping”. On the way home, I see many bird-nest islands around Nha Trang bay and unstable sentry boxes on cliffs. With nearly 700 years of history, gathering in Khanh Hoa may be the most original trade village in Vietnam.Further information:Touring the bird-nest islands is a popular tourist activity of Khanh Hoa.
To experience the ilavor of a royal dish amidst the ocean, you can book a tour at:
