Mekong Delta: Ben Tre and Can Tho, Vietnam - 400 km

The Mekong River is one of the major arteries of Asia, spanning 7 countries (Tibet, China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand), and has a length of over 2,700 miles.  Where it meets the ocean is at this delta, about 150 km west of Saigon.

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We wanted to visit this area, as its delta area creates tons of little islands, and the locals create tons of tasty local dishes.

Our first stop was organized through Mr. Phuoc at Mekong Legend Tours. For $20 USD per person per night, it was a good way to get our feet wet in trying to immerse ourselves into Vietnamese culture.

Upon arrival to his office, we realized that riding through Vietnam is a lot of hard work – it being dusty, hot, and having every vehicle out there looking to run you off the road.  That, and the way we packed our motorbike needed to change.

He took us to a homestay in Ben Tre.  A homestay  is a form of tourism and/or study abroad that allows a visitor to rent a room from a local family in a homelike setting.  So, we wanted to local experience, and we sought it out.  It wasn’t quite what we were expecting, as Mr. Phuoc dropped us off, introduced us to his “uncle” Mr. Huynh, and took off.  It made the experience a bit awkward, as we had a hell of a time communicating with our new family.  We did a decent job, with a lot of pointing, gesturing, and drawing  on sheets of paper to describe what we needed.

The food was fantastic, evident below.  This was fried elephant fish, local to the Mekong River, accompanied with a host of side dishes, used to make a spring roll.  The best part was the wooden fish holder – the ensured that both sides of the fish remained crispy during the dining experience!

The next day, Mr. Phuoc arranged a tour of the local area of Ben Tre, with our tour guide Cuc.  The roads were only wide enough for bicycles and motorbikes, as it snaked along all the waterways in the village.

We stopped by the “Ancient House,” which was a gentlemen that over time, collected lots of historical art pieces at his home.  His property included fish and shrimp ponds, a mini orchard, and coconut trees.  He showed us how they all fit into the Vietnamese lifestyle.

After the tour of his property, he even taught me how to climb a coconut tree.

And for a man in his 70’s, he’s in awesome shape! He first climbed the tree as a demo, and watched me struggle getting off the ground, as Margaret and our tour guide laughed in unison.

Towards the early afternoon, it gets horrendously hot out here…well, everywhere in SE Asia.  We went back to the homestay to escape the midday heat.  We hung out with the relatives while we were there, and I was able to snap of photo of three generations of women from our homestay.  Thanh Hyunh is the left, with her mom and baby girl.

As it got cooler, we walked across the street tour a chopstick “factory” that Thanh’s husband runs.  It’s more like a sole entrepreneurship, where he makes the chopsticks from start to finish.  While we were there, we had a custom set of chopsticks made for us.  The crazy parts of the entire operation were: 1) no safety equipment – no safety glasses, and he worked barefoot. 2) all the machinery was mounted to the floor, so he squatted the entire time. 3) the amount of equipment he repurposed to make it all work was incredible. I give them 8 out of 10 in terms of creativity – 2 pointed deducted for it being really unsafe (things flinging at you at 800 RPM).

Note - when we rolled into Ben Tre the first night, the transmission on the motorbike decided to take a dump. It wouldn’t stay in 2^nd or 3^rd gear. Mr. Phuoc had an “associate” that was a mechanic, and they were able to replace first through fourth gear for $50 USD. Apparently, you couldn't speed shift this poor thing like a GSX-R 750, as the mechanic gave heat about not using the clutch (which I did, but apparently was not gentle enough).  Later on, I realized that they didn’t do the best job, but that was okay, as I was ready to unload the motorbike.


Off to Can Tho, 140 km away, famous for the floating markets: Cai Rang and Phong Dien. The beauty of these markets is that they aren’t designed for tourists, like the ones in Bangkok.

The Cai Rang market is the big one, with large wholesale boats that sell to resellers that take it back to their local villages to sell.  Think of it like the Costco-sized floating market.  Most boats sell only one or just a handful of fruits or vegetables.  They a sample of what they sell on a flagpole on the boat.

For these people, their boat is also their home – they live on it.  When they finish selling their goods, they go back up river to buy from the farmers, and bring it back down again.

For the smaller market, Phong Dien is more of an intimate affair - fewer motorised craft and more stand-up rowing boats.  Quite possibly the best market in the Mekong Delta – a must see.

Later, we got on the motorbike to explore all the side streets that hugged the canals, aimlessly wandering around these sidewalk sized roads, following our senses to determine if we turned left or right at the next intersection.  At this one, we happened upon a rather large fishing net.

Where likely this fish went to the local land-based market in Cai Rang.

Local markets, I must say, add flavor (literally) to local life.  Getting off the tourist track, talking (or at least trying) to the venders, and buying/eating the same thing as the locals is great.  Here’s Margaret trying to wheel and deal for some durian, with the help of another customer.

And, on the highway, the Vietnamese never seize to amaze with the amount of stuff they can pack on a 100cc scooter.  This individual is transporting LIVE chickens.