The last boatmen on the Lam River
Over the years, more bridges have been built across the Lam River, making it easier for people living on both banks to travel. Therefore, the familiar image of the ferry carrying passengers across the river is gradually becoming a memory.
Boatman "for the love of it"
For decades, every day at 6 a.m., Mr. Ngu Van Nghia (46 years old, Thanh Chi commune, Thanh Chuong district) would rush to the banks of the Lam River to do his familiar job of ferrying passengers across the river. Mr. Nghia is the last ferryman at Nguoc ferry terminal, connecting the two communes of Thanh Chi and Ngoc Son.
The Nguoc ferry terminal is located right at the foot of Nguoc mountain, just a few dozen meters down from National Highway 46. Previously, the Nguoc ferry was quite busy. But since the Ro bridge was built about 4km downstream, fewer and fewer people have been using the ferry.
Nghia recounted that his family had been ferrymen for three generations. Born on the river, and given a boat by his father at the age of 15 to carry passengers, Nghia has stuck with the profession ever since. He knows every wave of the Lam River in this area like the back of his hand.
People in Thanh Chi who want to go to Thanh Chuong town have to go around via Dung Bridge or Ro Bridge, a distance of about 11km. Alternatively, they can take the shortcut via Nguoc ferry terminal, which is only about 3km. Currently, Mr. Nghia has about 20 customers a day, including some he calls "important" guests, namely five students from the hamlet who are studying in Thanh Chuong district town.
“The children all ride electric bikes, so going around the bridge wouldn’t be enough power. For me, serving the children is the most important thing, so I have to wake up early every day to take them across the river. I don’t make any profit from these customers; I only charge each child 500,000 dong a year to buy fuel.”
Mr. Ngo Van Nghia (46 years old, Thanh Chi commune, Thanh Chuong district)
“My philosophy is that serving people comes first, and I never keep customers waiting. So I'll take even just one customer. On average, I carry about 20 customers a day, earning around 200,000 VND. But after deducting fuel costs and 30,000 VND in fees paid to the commune's People's Committee, I only take home 130,000 VND. That's not including repair costs and periodic boat inspections. Many people might not believe it, but I do this job out of passion. I love it.”boatman profession"This," Mr. Nghia shared.
Because there were so few customers, to earn extra income, Mr. Nghia applied to bid for the alluvial land along the river to cultivate crops. While waiting for customers, he would take advantage of the time to work on the alluvial land. "Nowadays, some customers take the ferry just to relive old memories. These are people who have left their hometowns and always return by ferry," Mr. Nghia said, sharing that although he loves this job, in a few years, when the ferry terminal's license expires, he will also quit. At that time, Nguoc ferry terminal will probably only be a memory.
"The joy of unemployment" for boatmen
Located more than 10km downstream from Nguoc ferry terminal is Phuong ferry terminal, connecting the two communes of Thanh Giang and Thanh Yen (Thanh Chuong district). This is the only ferry terminal on the Lam River that is still operating busily, with hundreds of passengers every day. Because of this, the ferry terminal employs 16 ferry operators who work in shifts.
Previously, Thanh Yen commune had one ferry, and Thanh Giang commune on the other side of the river also had one. However, in recent years, the demand for ferry services has decreased, so the Thanh Yen commune ferry has been left idle. The ferry operators from Thanh Yen commune have switched to working on the Thanh Giang commune ferry.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung - Head of Phuong Ferry Team of Thanh Giang Commune
“Every day, we assign two people from Thanh Giang to work, while the Thanh Yen side assigns one. The Thanh Giang boat crew collects fares when passengers travel from Thanh Giang across, while the Thanh Yen crew collects fares for the return trip. Therefore, there are always three boatmen on the ferry, sometimes three serving one passenger. Our principle is to serve the people first, to ensure no one has to wait, so we carry as many passengers as we can,” Mr. Hung said.
Having worked as a ferryman in Phuong for over 10 years, Ms. Tran Thi Hien (47 years old) said that because the team has many members, it's only her turn to work every 5 days. On the remaining days, she sells groceries on the shore. This job is just a side hustle; the main purpose is to serve the local people, and the monthly wages aren't much. What we most hope for is the construction of a bridge soon so that people can travel more conveniently. Even though we're unemployed, all of us ferrymen are excited and eagerly awaiting the project.
One of the ferrymen at Cung ferry terminal, connecting Cat Van commune (Thanh Chuong district) with Trung Son commune (Do Luong district), Mr. Nguyen Van Hop (64 years old), couldn't hide his joy, even though in just a few days he would be unemployed after more than 40 years of working as a ferryman. "Although I work in this profession, my wish, like that of thousands of people here, was to have a bridge to make travel more convenient. Now, that dream has come true, and ferrymen like us will switch to fishing," Mr. Hop said with a smile, pointing to the imposing Cung ferry bridge that is nearing completion.
Mr. Tran Van Thao, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cat Van commune, said that previously there were up to four ferry crossings in the area. Over time, these ferry crossings gradually ceased operation. Last year, the Gia ferry crossing also stopped operating due to a lack of passengers, leaving only the Cung ferry crossing. Currently, workers are diligently completing the final stages of the Do Cung bridge. It is expected that by the Lunar New Year, people will be able to cross using the bridge, at which point there will be no more ferry crossings in the area. This is also good news for the locality.
"Besides the Cung ferry bridge which is nearing completion, the local authorities have also recently surveyed the area to build a bridge at the Phuong ferry terminal in the coming years. We are planning to propose including the Phuong ferry bridge in the key public investment project for the medium-term period of 2025-2030."
Mr. Trinh Van Nha - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong District
According to Mr. Phan Huy Chuong, Deputy Chief Inspector of Transport, only four ferry crossings on the Lam River are currently licensed to operate. These are mainly located in Thanh Chuong district, including the Phuong, Cung, and Nguoc ferries. Additionally, there is the Tao-Linh ferry crossing (Anh Son district). Of these, only the Phuong ferry crossing remains busy. The other ferry crossings have very few passengers and will likely cease operations in the coming years.
