Tri An - Quietly listening to the water ringing...

The river is like human life. Youth is always fierce, eager to rush forward, but through hardships and storms, at some point suddenly becomes calm and gentle.

The river is like human life. Youth is always fierce, eager to rush forward, but through hardships and storms, at some point suddenly becomes calm and gentle.

In the evening, camping on the edge of Tri An Lake, I sat and watched the vast surface of the lake sparkling with golden light.

Echoes through the waterfall

The moon today is so beautiful, shimmering and sparkling on the water.

Night! Quiet. Listening to the whispering wind from the mysterious Ma Da forest is like telling a story from the past. Hear the murmuring sound of the waterfall in the distance, sometimes near and then far away, like the regretful voice of a woman lamenting her many feelings. Inside me, countless dreams floated.

Tri An lake flood discharge dam

I've checked in a lot in this place but still haven't found a satisfactory answer to the questions in my mind.

Originating from the question: Where does Dong Nai River begin? I took a trip upstream from Tri An Lake, traveling for 3 days upstream - where the river is born at an altitude of 1,500 m above sea level in Ha Tien.

Tri An lake bed

This is where two gentle streams, Da Nhim and Da Dung, fell in love with each other and merged into one flow. That is also the starting point of the longest endogenous river in the country.

The upstream of that river is likened to an innocent village girl, full of spring energy. She was daydreaming, so when she left the plateau for the plains, the stream flowed through many rapids, through many deep valleys, and through many bumpy mountains and hills.

She echoes the mountains and forests through fierce waterfalls. But when she came to the vast plain, passing through the "mysterious Ma Da mountains" - a place of "sacred forest and poisonous water", "easy to go, difficult to return", she suddenly became gentle and tolerant.

The river is like human life. Youth is always fierce, eager to rush forward, but through a long and arduous journey, through many storms, at some point we become more mature, more mature, and suddenly become calm and gentle.

Remember a difficult time

One time, I visited the house of a friend who is currently working in Vinh Cuu district, Dong Nai province.

Knowing that I was looking for the origin of Tri An waterfall, he took me to meet Mr. Hoc in Phu Ly commune - who was born and raised closely with this land. Bac Hoc is one of the living witnesses during the boiling "Eastern Pride" of the early years of the country entering the reform period.

In the mind of a person at an old and rare age, Hoc is still very clear when recalling the pale memories of his youth. At that time, it was 1979, about 6 million workers from all over the country came here to carry out the task of clearing 32,000 hectares of trees in the lake area, then more than 19,000 people who lived in the lake area came to the lake. The new land is Phu Ly commune today.

Even though that place is "blue and miasma", there are many heroes who sacrificed their lives in the brutal war. It is home to the Chau Ma, Cho Ro, Stieng... and also the Kinh people who came here to build. new economy.

In late 1978 and early 1979, the government announced that households must comply with the clearance order. Hoc's whole family was scared and could not bear to leave their small, simple house. That small house was a thatched cottage under the shadow of a mountain forest covered with ancient trees. It was small, but it exhausted all the strength of the father and mother.

Amidst the struggle, the residents of this place finally left everything behind for a noble purpose: Building the Tri An hydroelectric project. Hoc's family also voluntarily left after receiving enough money for the family to measure rice for two months. Memories of a difficult time echoed in his mind.

The two of us talked for a long time. As if suddenly remembering something that had been forgotten, Mr. Hoc stood up with trembling hands, opened the cabinet, and took out an old notebook stained with time. The spine of the notebook is worn. He carefully opened a page and pointed to an old photo - where a wide waterfall was flowing.

Melaleuca garden next to Tri An lake bed

Majestic waterfall scene. Water bubbles from above rushed down to the heaving rocks, splashing white. Surrounding the waterfall are dense, wild forests. The sky is blue with clouds.

The sky, waterfall and landscape evoke mystery. Uncle Hoc pointed at the photo: That's Tri An Waterfall.

Sipping a cup of fragrant tea, he told me that it was the only photo that his friend, who loved photography at the time, took and went to Bien Hoa to wash, then brought it to him as a souvenir. Because that majestic waterfall is where all his youth, he and his family and friends went to bathe and look for wild vegetables. Many people have come here to enjoy exploring.

He showed me a stone lying across the waterfall, then said: "Look. Does it look like a petrified woman?".

Then his voice trembled: Once upon a time there was a young man in the downstream area of ​​the river. Because of his passion for discovery, he was not afraid of danger, not afraid of hardships, going up the Dong Nai river on a dugout boat. One day, he got lost in the territory of the upstream people. He was suspected of being a spy and threat, so he was captured by the tribe. But after a few days of interrogation, it was discovered that he was harmless. Seeing that the young man was handsome, wise, and courageous, the village chief's daughter fell in love with him and the two got married.

Ma Da Bridge on Dong Nai River

But after living here for a long time, the young man always felt the pain of missing his homeland. So, he tried every way to get out of the village. One day, he discovered a unique bridge. Taking advantage of the absence of people, he went across to find a way downstream. But that bridge is a sacred place that the village does not allow anyone to approach. So when he crossed the bridge, many bows and arrows were shot at him.

The boy had to drown himself in the fierce water. The girl loved her husband so much that she cried day and night. She was incarnated at this ninth level of the waterfall. The girl's tears always flow upstream. Even though many years have passed, the rock at the foot of the waterfall still stands there as evidence of a strong love.

Interesting folk tales make this place sacred in the eyes of juniors like me.

Echoes of the present and the past

Another time, I went back to Tri An Lake to find some ancient traces, to verify if this place still had the stone for husbands and wives. Suddenly I felt infatuated with the scene of labor in the cajuput fields, next to the lake. I wandered around asking about the women who were cutting cajuput leaves under the sun. They showed me how to get to Tri An waterfall - a place that had been forgotten for many years.

Then I returned to the embankment. Tri An hydropower plant is discharging floodwaters at 8 dam gates. The water stream splashed white foam, rushing quickly, regardless of the solid, undulating rocks blocking the way under its feet. Noisy like a waterfall. The echoes of the present and the past intertwine heroic and tragic songs.

From that location, I followed the shallow stream. Cannot travel by motorbike. You can only walk so that your footsteps are imprinted on the red basalt soil. Going about 2 km downstream, I saw that the waterfall was now bare bottom. The rocky beach is dark and dry, like an abandoned stone quarry.

I suddenly exclaimed in regret. Once majestic and resounding waterfall, now only the desolation, solitude and solitude remain. I tried to find traces of the rock "Hon Vong Phu" in Mr. Hoc's fictional story. Suddenly I couldn't help but feel regretful.

Afternoon falls, darkness gradually invades the vast space. The lights of sparkling lights lit up the road. The once resounding Tri An Waterfall is now a thing of the past. But in return, spread out before my eyes was a vast surface of water, sparkling with countless silver scales. From here, the electric current will light up, continuing through the densely populated villages and bustling streets of the Southeast region.

Suddenly, the attractive melody of the song "Tri An echoes spring" by musician Ton That Lap rang out in me: "... Return to the war zone / visit Thuong Lang, go to Lac An / A mountainous sky, Tan Uyen waits Who is the dew flying Ma Da/ The electric current lights up and burns in my heart, erasing all the hardships/ Quietly listening to the water ringing in the spring, the dream shines bright/ The electric current lights up, bright for your love, bright for tomorrow.

"At the ninth step - the last waterfall named Tri An waterfall, the river suddenly becomes gentle and flows lovingly into the plains, creating lush green islands. Alluvium has built up the fruit gardens. laden with sweet fruit and fragrant flowers.

Dong Nai 1297 view

Update day : 05/11/2023