Phum Soai Village is known to be the place where the first Muslim Cham people settled. Its name is derived from a combination of Khmer and Vietnamese languages. In the Khmer, “Phum” means “village”, while “Soai” is euphemized from “Xoai” (Mango) in Vietnamese. How the people named their village as such is because of the abundance of mango trees in the region during the late 17th centuries.

The village has 28 Cham stilt houses, each over a hundred years old, and all dedicated to serve as home-stays for tourists to An Giang Province. Staying at these houses, visitors experience an authentic Cham culture and tradition. This includes dining on cham cuisine while being entertained with traditional musical instruments show and music and dance performances by four artists in the village.

The oldest house is owned by the richest villager and have had his roof designed in the shape of banh it (three-cornered glutinous rice cake) and covered by tile like fish scales. A large wooden pillar is set up right in the center of the house and the wall has three layers of mortar outside, bamboo in the middle and a wooden inside layer. Its whole floor is covered in wood allowing a cool temperature during summer while keeping occupants warm during winter. The entire house was handmade and decorations and carvings on the wooden walls and pillars were meticulously crafted by talented Cham artisans.

The village is located in Chau Phong Commune, Tan Chau District. It can be reached from HCMC by heading to Chau Doc Town in the Mekong Delta province, then take a cruise to Chau Giang Ferry. Then after turning left and going straight for about 300 meters, you will reach Phum Soai.