We left Cu Chi around 11.30am and headed to My Tho. It was about 2 1/2 hour drive through suburban Saigon. It was a colourful outskirt life and paddy fields scenery along the journey leads to My Tho.
I saw something interesting, it was quite an eyes opening to me! In Malaysia, we can see tombstones in the rubber trees or oil palms plantations, here in Vietnam, we can see the tombstones in the paddy fields!
My Tho is an important market town and the gateway to the bustling floating markets of the Mekong Delta. The Mekong River, known as The Mighty Dragon or The River of the Nine Dragons in Vietnam. It is one of the most important rivers in the world.
The Mekong River is the life-line of six countries in Asia (Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and China). It passes through temple cities, lush tropical forests, swamps, rice plantations and boasts of some of the richest and most fertile landscapes in the world.
Our bus stopped at a small dock at Mekong River. Our tour guide gave us a short geographical lesson before we boarded a small boat that took us to Con Phung (Phoenix Island), named after a Chinese mythological figure for our late lunch. All of us are really starving and hungry.
It was really cool. As the motorboat passed by into the Mekong River, we could see houses or ship yards on the banks so you know people are all over the place.
There are kellong along the river as well. They are built by fishermen primarily for fishing or rear the fish purposes, although larger structures can also function as dwellings for them and their families.
It was 2.15pm when we enjoyed our lunch at one of the local restaurants. Our family shared a table with the tourists came from Jakarta, Indonesia.
It feel so warm to me that, other than English language, we can communicate with Malay language. Malay language and Indonesia language is almost the same.
We tried the Mekong Delta Specialty - Deep Fried Elephant ear fish.
A waitress with really deft hands will tear pieces of the fish out with chopsticks and spoon, wrapped the flaky flesh inside a delicate rice paper with lots of basil, mint and vermicelli. To me, it was another new invention to try fish in this way.
Other than that, we had been served with Cơm Trắng (steamed rice), Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (stir fried water spinach with garlic), Cá & Thit Heo Kho Tộ (braised pork & fish cook with fish sauce), Canh Tép Nấu Rau Củ (sweet sour vegetables soup), Chả Giò (deep fried spring roll).
The drinks are not included in our lunch, we have to pay for our drinks during lunch. We just ordered 2 cans of 100 Plus drinks, and we did bring along of mineral waters with us this trip.
The food was average only, but it is due to all of us were so hungry. We finished it all. After the lunch, we went back to the motorboat. Then we were taken to a local coconut candies workshop, and shown how they make coconut candies.
It is all started from to select a right coconut with super fresh flesh, then grate them, press them to extract the coconut cream and milk!
The next step is how to mix with the good quality malt syrup...and this is the maker's secret how much to add the syrup or probably some other ingredients...we never know!
Cook the mix of coconut milk for about 30 minutes. This is the most important step, the cook must stir continuously to make sure the mix doesn’t turn hard. Nowadays, like this workshop or factory, they use a special machine to stir the mix. The mix is cooked until it turns thick.
Pour the mix in a mould covered by a thin layer of coconut oil. Add peanut or durian. Then, the workers cut the thickened mixture into pieces of coconut candies.
The workers would wrap pieces of coconut candies in thin rice paper, again with another paper and put ready candies into boxes.
We saw many other souvenirs which were made by the coconut shells at the factory too, such as rice bowls, piggy banks, coasters for cups and mugs, etc.
We saw the snake wine and banana wine. Yes that is a thing! Don’t believe us? Take a look!
Besides that, there were selling all types of wallets and purses made by wither python leather, crocodile leather and even sting ray leather wallets!
After the factory visit, we were walking for some distance and taking a horse cart to reach a bee-keeping farm and enjoying honey tea.
Bee pollen might be the newest health fad to hit the western world, but here in the backwaters of Vietnam, it is generously spooned into every cup of tea.
Our tour guide explained to us on on the bees and honey, and we were all invited to purchase or buy the honey back to our home country either for own consumption or as gifts.
Moments later, we had the chance to taste seasonal fruits, enjoy traditional folk songs.
The Vietnamese ladies were performing their traditional music (Đờn Ca Tài Tử – a folk art form from Southern Vietnam accredited by UNESCO in 2013 as Intangible cultural Heritage of Humanity).
Then around 4.00pm, we were taking to go for an adventurous sampan ride on one of the tributaries of the Mekong.
We stepped into our sampan tentatively but started enjoying the ride almost as soon as our boat started making its way past lush palm trees and stunning green foliage.
We went down a tiny canal which was pretty cool too. The sampan lady rowed us back to the big motorboat which took us here earlier.
And, it concluded our half day Mekong Delta My Tho trip for the day when we retuning back to bus and going back to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon at round 4.30pm.
Our tour finished at The Sinh Tourist office 246, De Tham Street about 7.30pm. We felt so tired but very fruitful and satisfying day trip for visiting The Cu Chi Tunnels in the half morning and part of Mekong Delta My Tho in the other half of the day.
Towards end of the day, we went back to the alley and searched for our dinner before we went back to our hotel. We just had the normal pork chop rice, fried rice and fried noodles with sautéed beef.
Day trips such as this are bound to feel ‘touristy’, but one look at the brightly-coloured boats bobbing along the calm waters of the Mekong made us fall in love with the river.
We will definitely be back for more…
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