From Van Ho district in Son La province, a visitor needs to go through vast old forests, terrain fields, and pass by ethnic Thai people’s houses on stilts hidden in the fog to reach the end of the old forests. There you will see Chieng Yen Stream and Tat Nang Waterfall nearby.

A local man, after hearing from visitors that they were looking for a ‘fish stream’, realized they were seeking the Buot Hamlet’s Fish Stream.

“It is located in the middle of the old jungle. There are numerous fish there,” he said.

After walking, the visitors reached Buot Hamlet, where there are several houses located in the middle of a valley and old forests, and the Buot Stream, the ‘rendezvous’ for fish.

Buot stream originates from the colossal mountain of Xa Lac, where hot mineral water sources begin.

“There are countless fish, but they are in their caves. They only appear if they see food,” an old woman told visitors.

A woman living near Buot Stream threw pieces of bread into the stream. Surprisingly, the clear stream suddenly turned black with many fish appearing.

Most of them were as big as an adult finger or wrist. There were also fish with red band near the spine – ca bong, as called by Ha Giang people, and ca doc, by Thanh Hoa people (Spinibarbus denticulatus).

They are the ‘god fish’ in Cam Luong Stream (Cam Thuy district) and Van Nho (Ba Thuoc), both of which are famous in Vietnam, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to come to admire every year.

Ngan Van Tuom, a Thai ethnic minority man, pointed his hand downstream, and said: “There are many big Thanh Hoa ‘god fish’ here, but they rarely turn up. They spend most of the time in the cave.”

In rainy season, when floods come, fields are under water and the peaceful stream disappears. Even timber bars can drift away by the strong water flow. However, Buot’s fish stay alive and safe, thanks to the strange cave in the middle of the stream.

Local people never catch fish for food. “Some men caught serious diseases after eating fish, so no one dare catch fish anymore,” he explained.

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Mai Chi