Itinerary for a 3-day stay in Vietnam (Day 2) Ginger Arboleda March 22, 2011 Beyond Manila, Culture and Causes, Featured, Food & Dining 4 Comments Our second day at Vietnam was spent by taking the Mekong River Tour. Some friends and a few locals actually discouraged us from taking this tour — like taking a tour of Pasig River according to them. I disagree though since we had fun and got a glimpse of provincial life in Vietnam (at least the idealized version of provincial life). Boats on the Mekong Day 2 Mekong River Tour Book a tour with Delta Adventures. Here is their site: Delta Adventure Tours. Take the Mekong Delta (1 day) impression tour. A tour costs $25 per person. The guide speaks pretty good English and is very professional. The bus will pick you up at 7:15 am. This will then take you to the port, where you will ride a boat for about 15 people that will take you through the Saigon River. In the Saigon river, you will see various ships, ships that transport sand to HCMC. There will also be boats that transport fruits and goods to HCMC. You will then traverse the Mekong river towards your first destination. The First of Many Boats Saigon River Boat Saigon River Your first destination will be a smalll town called My Tho. You will reach this destination after 2 hours of a smooth relaxing cool boat ride. From My Tho, you will ride on a local motor boat along the four popular islands in Vietnam: Dragon Island, Unicorn Island, Phoenix Island and the Turtle Island. The first stop will be at a Bee Farm in the famous Unicorn Island. We got to taste jasmine tea with honey, calamansi, and bee pollen at this bee farm. The bees are pretty placid so you can grab hold of one “slide” from a beehive and have your picture taken holding them up. The Bees Tea with Honey, Calamansi, and Bee Pollen They also sell wine soaked in SNAKE (biting the tail of a SCORPION) — if you see one you’d be wishing for tequila worms. According to local belief, drinking this grants one power & strength. Only the man drinks this though. When the man is already powerful & strong, the excess energy goes to the woman. I’m good with Red Bull, thanks. Snake Wine While at the Unicorn Island, your guide will take you trekking (but this will just be short and quick). In this trek, you will see the local fruits and some local wares growing in this tropical country. Our guide also told us about one of their favorite fruit trees — the Jackfruit. Apparently after a couple of years, the Jackfruit’s tree stops bearing fruit. The locals uproot the tree and from the roots, they create an image of the Buddha. Our Guide, Tao Durian (and Longan) At the end of short trek, we reached a small pier of sorts at a small river. You ride a river boat that the locals will paddle for you. We noticed that most of the paddlers are girls. Talk about girl power! Be sure to have some change ready for tip because they do ask for some at the end. We gave 20,000 VND or 40 PHP. Traditional Vietnamese Salakots Included The Rowers From the boat ride, you will be brought to Ben Tre province to visit a handmade coconut candy workshop. It was interesting to see how the soft coconut candies were made. These sweet caramel-like candies make great gifts for families and friends, but of course, they’re overpriced here. You can buy some at Ben Thanh Market when you get back home. Drying out the candy on a table Individually Wrapped Then, you’ll transfer to a small motorized boat so that you can travel along narrow canals. This small boat will take you to a local restaurant for your Vietnamese lunch. After lunch, there is a 30 minute break so you can ride a bicycle around the village (provided free) or you can just hang out. Going to Lunch Riding the bikes After lunch, We were taken to an orchard to enjoy tropical fruits. While eating fruits like papaya, dragonfruit, jack fruit, bananas and pineabple, traditional Vietnam music was played and sang by musicians. The place was cozy and very relaxing. Princesitas, Pineapples, Dragonfruit, Jackfruit, and Papaya Vietnamese Music The boat will then take you back My Tho. From My Tho, a bus will drive you back to Sai Gon at around 7:00 PM. Mekong Vessel 19:15 Arrival at Sai Gon 20:00 – 22:00 Dinner and Dessert Have a relaxing dinner at the Floating Restaurant or for those longing for the familiar taste of Pizza and Pasta, you can have dinner at Sarpino’s (Ton That Thiep Street). A few steps away is a great ice cream place called Fanny’s. As our friend would say, they have “excellent, excellent, excellent!” ice cream. Prices are around 75,000 Vietnamese Dong. Fanny's That’s it for Day 2 in Vietnam! Watch out for the last day (Day 3) of our Vietnam trip. Be Sociable, Share! Tweet 4 Responses ejarbo March 22, 2011 @tweeterin thanks so much! I'm still making day three… been busy today :) but, you can definitely follow it. A lot of people booked the Cebu pacific promo flights, so a lot of us have that same schedule :) Just ask away and I'll reply! Thanks again! Reply Myne March 22, 2011 such a great help! I've booked a 4-day trip but I'm thinking of going to cambodia as well just to see the sensational angkor wat. I hope I could squeeze it in given the long travel time going there from HCMC. is there any other agency which offers a half-day mekong river tour? as I'd also wanna stroll around Saigon! :) Thank you! Reply ejarbo March 22, 2011 Hi Myne! Normally the Mekong tour really takes a day. But if you are looking at a half day activity, go and do the Cu Chi tunnels. A lot of people say it's worth it. We didn't get to do it though :) Sayang! For Cambodia, if you really want to squeeze it, try to lengthen your stay. You'll be too tired if you squeeze it into your 4 day schedule … ;) Trip takes 12 – 14 hours by bus. Hope this helps :) Reply @tweetertin March 22, 2011 Thanks for the detailed account of your 3 days in Vietnam. I've booked a trip there for June and my sched is exactly like yours, so I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog. Can't wait for the 3rd installment :) Reply Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment
ejarbo March 22, 2011 @tweeterin thanks so much! I'm still making day three… been busy today :) but, you can definitely follow it. A lot of people booked the Cebu pacific promo flights, so a lot of us have that same schedule :) Just ask away and I'll reply! Thanks again! Reply
Myne March 22, 2011 such a great help! I've booked a 4-day trip but I'm thinking of going to cambodia as well just to see the sensational angkor wat. I hope I could squeeze it in given the long travel time going there from HCMC. is there any other agency which offers a half-day mekong river tour? as I'd also wanna stroll around Saigon! :) Thank you! Reply
ejarbo March 22, 2011 Hi Myne! Normally the Mekong tour really takes a day. But if you are looking at a half day activity, go and do the Cu Chi tunnels. A lot of people say it's worth it. We didn't get to do it though :) Sayang! For Cambodia, if you really want to squeeze it, try to lengthen your stay. You'll be too tired if you squeeze it into your 4 day schedule … ;) Trip takes 12 – 14 hours by bus. Hope this helps :) Reply
@tweetertin March 22, 2011 Thanks for the detailed account of your 3 days in Vietnam. I've booked a trip there for June and my sched is exactly like yours, so I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog. Can't wait for the 3rd installment :) Reply