Tour boats attacked along Saigon canal

By Trung Son   January 5, 2017 | 11:23 pm PT
Tour boats attacked along Saigon canal
A tourist boat sails along the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Son Hoa
People have been hurling rocks and insults at the boats with no apparent motive.

A boat tour along Ho Chi Minh City’s iconic Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal has been hitting the rocks, literally.

A recent report from the city’s tourism department said that boats are being pelted with rocks and bottles thrown by people on the roadside.

One night in December, a boat carrying customers and a band was chased by people fishing and drinking along the canal who swore and threw rocks at them.

Several of the projectiles damaged the roof and the captain was injured.

Other boats have also been tangled up in fishing lines despite a ban on fishing along the canal.

While the reasons for these incidents remain unknown, the local government has ordered police to step in and prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The Saigon Boat Company launched the wooden boat tour in September 2015 to offer a new option for people looking to get away from the crowded city. It sails from Thi Nghe Bridge near Saigon Zoo in District 1 to Le Van Sy Bridge near Nguyen Van Troi Market in District 3, covering more than four kilometers of the once heavily polluted canal.

The canal was brought back to life several years ago following a 20-year project funded by the World Bank.

Tourism operators had hoped that the new service would turn the city into a more romantic destination and discourage people from dumping trash into the waterways. 

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