In the light sunlight, the cool wind from the pond surface rises, flying over the tall oil fields, so that those who guard the soul of this land can barely tell the story of a thousand years.
Even though there are no edges at the same edge of the road - about 500m long, about 300m wide - people still often call Ao Ba Om (Nguyet Hoa ward - Vinh Long province), the most favorable Vuong pond. However, whether rectangular or square, this pond shape is very rare in Vietnam.
Mrs. Om's pond is easily reminded of Thien Quang province (the light source of heaven) in the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam (Hanoi). This well is not used to store water or create landscape, but is a place to receive the light of the sun (Hitnam), also the sunlight of knowledge.
Thus, it seems that the wells, ponds, and rectangular lakes are spiritual. That is the sympathy between Ao Ba Om of the Khmer people following Theravada Buddhism living in Tra Vinh (old), now Vinh Long, and the Thien Quang well of the Vietnamese convert to convertism in Hanoi.
It is even more obvious when Ao Ba Om is associated with major Khmer festivals such as Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year's Day), Sen Dolta ( ancestor worship ceremony) and Ok Om Bok (Moon worship ceremony). When I arrived, Ao Ba Om was burning with joy on Ok Om Bok holiday, which is also the Lunar New Year of the 10th lunar month.
On this day, Khmer people from near and far gathered at Ao Ba Om to worship the moon, have fun, dance with Rom Voong, release wind lanterns, play folk games such as tug of war, hit pots, push sticks, go onwalks and practice their ethnic rituals and festivals. Obviously, Ao Ba Om has a very large position in the spiritual life of the Khmer people.
Mrs. Om is a real Khmer woman, completely different from the legendary people in the "fathers" system in the South such as Mrs. Den, Mrs. Diem, Mrs. Chieu, Mrs. Chua Xu... The name Mrs. Om is closely associated with the legend of the Khmer people, the origin of the name for the famous place today.
The story goes that in the ancient Greek Sea, an official organized both male and female pond peach competition to prevent drought, and the one side that dug faster, deeper, and wider won. On the male side, subjective and relying on strength to work and play at the same time, like a rabbit in the story of turtles and rabbits.
The female team was commanded by Mrs. Om to work hard day and night and complete it before the sunrise, while the pond of the male wing was still unfinished. On the side of Ms. Om who won, there was Ms. Ao Om, along with the privileges for Khmer women such as the right to choose a husband instead of being chosen.
Overall, Ao Ba Om is a complex of ponds - cool green trees that create a cool climate all year round. The pond has an area of over 300 hectares including lakes and ancient forests, the water surface is approximately 15 hectares, about 2 meters deep, freshwater is always full all year round and becomes a place for many types of aquatic animals and plants.
At this time, the lotus content in Ao Ba Om is still green, completely different from the scene of drought and devastation in lotus ponds outside the North. Even some lotus flowers are still sparkling among the flock of carp with red, yellow, white, black swimming as thick as ruoi in the cool water.
That sparkling lotus flower makes us imagine the whole face of Ao Ba Om pink with lotus flowers or red with guns in the main season. That scene was so graceful, like a brilliant painting framed with ancient forests growing around the pond and lit up by a crystal blue sky frame.
Tra Vinh is a place with a quite hot climate, however, Ao Ba Om is filled with cool, fresh air, rich in nutrients. That is why Tra Vinh people are both proud and humorously calling Ao Ba Om their own "Da Lat". That cool and pleasant weather comes from the shore plant system growing here.
Surrounding the pond is a fairly intact, primeval forest, 30 - 100m wide, over 2km long, with thousands of endemic plant individuals of sandy island soil, including nearly 500 ancient oil trees from hundreds of years to several hundred years old. In addition, there are many ancient star trees that live next to the oil tree,
Vinh tea can be considered the capital of oil trees - a famous urban tree in Ho Chi Minh City because of its straight, high trunk, not afraid of termites, so it is used as an electric pole. The reason is that the Khmer people in Tra Vinh like to grow oil plants because it is related to cremation customs.
Therefore, oil trees grow everywhere in Tra Vinh, contributing greatly to turning this place into the greenest urban area in Vietnam, with nearly 14,000 trees, including more than 1,000 trees over 100 years old. However, no place has as many "oil and star" gatherings as around Ao Ba Om.
They may have sprung up before the pond digging competition appeared, going through many processes of water flowing through the wind, witnessing many volcanic phenols, subsidence and the roots of the plant growing off the ground, forming strange shapes, or strange oil bodies.
The age-old features of the oil trees here are shown through the giant roots floating on the ground like Anaconda flock. Many trees have giant roots, which can form a decorative cave arch for children to go out and explore. There is also a large oil root with a bracelet, connecting 2 single oil trees into a double oil tree, 2 trunks but the same root. It is truly a myriad of forms, depending on the imagination, changing.
Ms. Om's around is truly an interesting experience when immersing yourself in the beauty of the blend of sky, earth, water, wind, and forest. The troubled trip has a completely rectangular route between the vast pond and a forest of oil trees, the guardian angel protecting this peaceful land.
