Sep 10, 2012 - Mekong Delta

We took an early morning bus ride to a spot in the Mekong River Delta about 120 km south of HCMC. Our tour guide was again Hai, who told us stories about his patrols in the Delta during the war and continued to crack jokes about how many "girlfriends" he had at the time. After a ~2-hour bus ride, we boarded a river boat which took us to a shop on the shore about a kilometer away which not only sold handicrafts and various sweets, but also showed tourists like us how they make rice paper, coconut candy, rice wine, and puffed rice snacks,...

Aug 20, 2012 - Chau Doc to Can Tho

We are now in the heart of the Mekong Delta region so this morning it was another boat trip. This time we explored the floating and fishing village of Chau Doc and then visited a unique Cham ethnic minority village before driving to Can Tho. The Cham are Muslims and most of the area is funded by monies donated by Malaysia. They live beside the river so their houses are on stilts to try to avoid the seasonal flooding that occurs. Around 170,000 Cham are estimated to live in Vietnam. In the afternoon we drove three hours to Can Tho, it is...

Apr 5, 2012 - Vietnam - Days 3 & 4 -Can Tho Floating Water Market

Can Tho, Vietnam - population of approximately 350,000 it is the epicenter of the Mekong Delta, and the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of the Mekong. It is also the perfect base for the nearby floating markets. Cai Rang is the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. We got up at 4:30am, got organized and went out on the prowl just after 5am to find us a boat. We hired a local boat for $15 US ($7.50 each) and we were excited to get the entire boat to ourselves, with a driver of course. First we were taken across...

Feb 28, 2012 - Mekong Tour Day 2

- Didn't sleep very well last night- maybe it was the rock hard mattress or the roosters starting at 4:30 am - Woke up at about 6:00 am and had breakfast at 6:30 downstairs in the hotel lobby - Stomach still was really hurting from something I hate yesterday - Walked to the boat and went along the Mekong to the floating market. It was a little bit disappointing because it seemed like it was mainly over by the time we got there (around 8:00 am)- I wish we could have gone earlier so we could see the hustle and bustle of the market. We got an...

Feb 27, 2012 - Mekong Tour Day 1

- Drove 1.5 hours from Ho Chi Minh to My Tho - Got on boat and went down the Delta around the little islands that are between My Tho and Ben Tre regions - Our first stop was at a coconut candy making place where we got to see how coconut candy is made from start to finish and also got to try fresh warm pieces of the candy. I kept going back for more because it was so good! The cooled pieces of candy were good but definitely not as good as the fresh ones. There were all different types including coconut candy with chocolate, ginger, peanut,...

Jan 15, 2012 - Victoria Can Tho Hotel

Hot weather We leave early on a boat excursion to the bustling floating vegetable market at Cai Rang on the lower Mekong Delta. Here is the lifeblood of southern Vietnam. It is one of the country's two "rice bowls" as well as the major producer of vegetables and tropical fruit. Along the banks, with houses on stilts to prevent flooding during the monsoons weather, locals conduct everyday life. The waterway is crowded with farmers wholesaling their produce. Each boat has a tall bamboo pole holding a sample that acts as an advertisement. We...

Jan 14, 2012 - Victoria Can Tho Hotel

The sun is shining One hour to Saigon. At the airport I am pulled aside. It seems that travelers over 80 are checked. The agent looked at me and stamped my ticket! Saigon is bustling but we leave on a three hour drive south to the Mekong Delta. We stopped at Cai Be for lunch. The restaurant had several outdoor covered areas for eating in a beautiful garden setting with waterways and moats. In one water area there was a Vietnamese scare crow. Our hotel is on the river in Can Tho where the various waterways that comprise the Mekong Delta...

Nov 7, 2011 - Can Tho

After an interesting journey on a 'bus' which was actually us pile into a large van with a ton of local workers we arrived in Can Tho. This city is situated on the Mekong and was our first introduction to Vietnam. We stayed at a little place that was in stark contrast to the place we had stayed at in Kep. Not that it was bad it was just older and not as fancy. We were stopping in Can Tho for the purpose of going on the Mekong. We arranged to have 2 boats take us out the next day through the hotel. We woke up before the sunrise and we were...

Oct 3, 2011 - Can Tho

Dear readers Despite my previous comment about painting word pictures, We're having such a great time that it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the journal entries. From here commentary will have to be a little shorter. Breakfast is early and we're on the bus at 6. Geraldine is not with us because she's not feeling too well. We're off to the Phong Dien floating market which is at its busiest early in the morning. We see how tough a life it must be compared with our sheltered existence when Nam invites us into a family's...

Oct 2, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho

As I leave the breakfast room this morning I am suprised to see Yen and Duc in the lobby. They are here to give us the hotel voucher for Ninh Binh and to introduce Nam, our English-speaking guide for our excursion into the Mekong Delta area. I am glad that I had a chance to say goodbye to Yen in person. Yen has been so helpful and accomodating. We will see Duc again in Ha Noi because we will be staying at his hotel for a night. Checking out of the hotel, we board the 12 seater bus. We are all in high spirits and Nam has tremendous...

Jan 14, 2011 - Touring the 'Mighty' Mekong Delta

After our relaxing time on Phu Quoc Island and the ferry ride back to Ha Tien (where we did NOT see our fake captain/scam artist/money changer), we see the man with our names on a sign, pile into a van and head to the local tour office. This is a well oiled machine with tourists arriving and departing from various parts of the Mekong Delta, the Island and Cambodia. We have a while to wait until our tour bus departs so we manage to snag a free Internet and work on catching up with emails and our blog until departure time. We also enjoy lunch...

Oct 17, 2010 - Rock Stars in the Mekong Delta

We left Saigon and drove South, stopping along the way to watch people planting rice in the fields. While the North part of the country only has a single rice crop every year, multiple crops are harvested in the hot and steamy South. After driving for a couple of hours we stopped in a small town where we were met by our cycling "crew" which consisted of the mechanic/lead rider, the driver of the truck/support vehicle and another guy who drove our van. We were each given a good Trek hard tail mountain bike, a helmet and water bottles to use...