Mekong Delta Tour from Ho Chi Minh, Hand-cranked Boats, Cruise Ships, Floating Houses
The Mekong Delta is about 1.5 to 2 hours’ drive from Ho Chi Minh City. It is a very suitable attraction for a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City. There are also many one-day tours from Ho Chi Minh City on the market. Most of them first go to "My Tho City (Thành phố Mỹ Tho), also known as My Tho City", and then take a boat trip.The Mekong River originates in Tibet, China, flows through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries. It is the longest river in Southeast Asia. Mekong means mother, which means the mother river, and it is also the most fertile delta in Vietnam.
Mekong Delta One-Day Tour
If you just want to visit the Mekong Delta, after the local tour group takes you to My Tho City, you will take a boat to start the Mekong Delta cruise. The itinerary usually includes a visit to Vinh Trang Pagoda, a hand-rowed boat through the rainforest, coconut candy making, a honey factory, Vietnamese traditional music performances (Đàn Ca Tài Tử), and a special lunch in the delta area - fried fish.
Cu Chi Tunnels + Mekong Delta One-Day Tour
Piaoer didn't want to spend two days visiting two attractions, so she signed up for a one-day tour that included the Cu Chi Tunnels. I think the Cu Chi Tunnels are super fun. For a detailed tour, you can refer to my Cu Chi Tunnels Travel Notes.
The one-day tour with the Cu Chi Tunnels does not arrive at the Mekong Delta until noon, because the drive between the two is 2.5 hours.
The attractions in the Mekong Delta will not be as many as a simple one-day tour. It only includes a hand-rowed boat through the rainforest, coconut candy making, and Vietnamese traditional music performances (Đàn Ca Tài Tử). At noon, you will have a special lunch in the delta area - fried fish, but because I was not interested in the honey factory and Vinh Trang Temple, this arrangement is more suitable for me.
It should be noted that the Cu Chi Tunnels + Mekong Delta One-Day Tour takes 13 hours, which is 3 hours more than the Mekong Delta One-Day Tour. If you can't stand the long journey, this will be a bit tiring, but I think it is very rich!
【Mekong Delta】My Tho City Cruise
After finishing the Cu Chi Tunnels, we drove to My Tho City and boarded the boat at the pier outside The Island Lodge – Mekong Delta.
You can see all kinds of cruise ships docked at the pier. Our group of about 10 people certainly didn't take a large cruise ship, but chartered this medium-sized boat. The boat was just a simple wooden chair, at least it had a sunshade!
Then there was a 10-minute boat trip on the loess-colored Mekong River. There was actually no scenery, but the Mekong River seems to be like this. The Mekong River in three countries is equally dirty! The Mekong River is also known as the Nine Dragon River because it is divided into nine estuaries by alluvial sandbars, and the alluvial plain "Mekong Delta" has become Vietnam's most important agricultural production area.
【Mekong Delta】Take a boat to enter the small river
Since our trip will visit Dragon Island, Phoenix Island, Turtle Island, Unicorn Island and other islands, the river where the islands are located is relatively small, so after arriving at the second pier, we have to transfer to a smaller flat-bottomed boat. What's more interesting is that this type of boat has eyes painted on the top, because this can scare away crocodiles in the water. You can also observe that the boats without eyes on the river are fishing boats, because this way they can catch more fish!
【Mekong Delta】Fried fish dishes for lunch
The flat-bottomed boat took us to Ben Tre, and the itinerary arranged for us to eat at a seafood restaurant by the river. All groups coming to the Mekong Delta must eat the Mekong Delta's specialty "fried fish". The tour guide explained some auspicious reasons, so the fish must be served standing. After everyone finished eating the super tender meat, the waiter would take it away and add the fish to fish lettuce and rice noodles to make Vietnamese spring rolls. Although the fish was delicious, the Vietnamese spring roll was a disaster because the fish bones were not removed and it tasted terrible!
Then there was the "Vietnamese Rice Cake" that really attracted our Brazilian companions. It tasted like a large sweet potato ball and was super delicious! The other seafood dishes were also very good. It was hard to imagine that the cooking skills were so good in a riverside environment without the comfort of a city.
After eating, there was a lot of free time. My Brazilian travel companion was really curious about everything, so we went to the crocodile pool to feed the crocodiles. The way to feed them here is to buy a fishing rod from an uncle, which has raw meat tied to it. You just need to fish the raw meat down, and the crocodiles will scramble for food and even fight.
Hand-cranked boat through the tropical rainforest
After digesting the food, we came to the highlight of the day, taking a hand-cranked boat! Four people in a small boat, the boatman will take everyone forward on the waterway full of water coconuts. It is very peaceful along the way. Although the river is still yellow earth color, I haven't experienced this kind of natural life back to the traditional era for a long time. I feel that I enjoy this section of the river. The Mekong Delta is really big. It is really like a water maze when you paddle in the river, with small islands and small villages on both sides.
The water in the river is very shallow, and our boatman ran aground once. After the trip, don't forget to tip the boatman, they really work hard!
【Mekong Delta】Ben Tre Bike Tour
After the hand-rowed boat trip, we will return to Ben Tre for lunch. Everyone will ride bicycles with the tour guide to tour the small town of Ben Tre, but I suggest that you don’t join because the bicycles are really broken and dirty, and the traffic in Vietnam is really dangerous. Riding a broken bicycle across the road is really not a good experience. The villages along the way are not very special and are not worth risking your life.
Coconut Candy Workshop
Then we came to a handmade coconut candy workshop in Ben Tre. The tour guide will explain the process of making coconut milk and coconut candy after cracking the coconut shell. You can also see Vietnamese women wrapping the shaped and cut coconut candy with a layer of glutinous rice paper and then wrapping it with wrapping paper.
There are four flavors: original, peanut, chocolate, and pandan leaves. There are free tastings on site. It's really delicious! It tastes similar to nougat, not very sticky, and has a very fragrant coconut flavor. My Brazilian travel companion bought several packs and gave us some as a gift. But be careful, it's only valid for six months, and it won't taste as good as it does on site, so don't buy too much!
Enjoy Vietnamese local traditional folk songs
The last trip will take you to a living room, where traditional Vietnamese songs will be sung, and honey tea will be served. Remember to tip the performers...
Is the Mekong Delta fun?
I originally thought that the Cu Chi Tunnels & Mekong Delta would be boring, but I actually enjoyed these two attractions. The Cu Chi Tunnels in the morning were super interesting, and the Mekong Delta was very simple and traditional. The river rainforest was also very unique. If you follow a good tour guide and plan a good itinerary, it is actually quite enjoyable. A full day of exciting itineraries, a big meal after returning to Ho Chi Minh City, and a massage to relax, life is really beautiful~
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