2 Day Trip to Mekong Delta

Because we love riding on air-conditioned busses so much we decided to go on another touristy tour to the Mekong Delta.

Our first stop was the beautiful Vinh Trang Pagoda where we met three very sweet school girls who insisted to show us around one of the temples to practice their English language skills. They even gave us cute little butterflies to say thank you.

Next on our agenda was a boat ride along the Mekong River which to be honest did not live up to our expectations. We pictured the landscape to be a beautiful jungle but it was mainly houses because we were actually still in the city.
Like any good tourist, we stopped at a few islands to taste some honey tea, banana crisps, exotic fruits and handmade coconut candy. Finished with our shopping excursion, we stopped for lunch, which was actually quite tasty. During lunch we also got to know the other English couple (about the same age as us) a little and coincidentally it turned out they are also on their gap year but nearing the end of it.
After lunch we enjoyed a little rowing tour through the village.
Another 2 hours on the bus later we arrived at Can Tho and checked into our surprisingly fancy hotel for the night.

Our second day in the Mekong Delta started bright and early at 6am. Apparently the early morning is the best time to visit the famous floating market.
It was very interesting to see the floating stalls and restaurants but again it's not as picturesque as on pictures. We stopped for some delicious fresh pineapple and will had a go at making coconut pancakes. He did exceptionally well and briefly considered permanent employment but then chose to return to the hotel with me for some breakfast and well needed coffee.

After relaxing for a little while it was time for us to leave Can Tho to start the drive back to Saigon. On the way we stopped to take a bike ride around a village where we saw loads of durian and jackfruit trees. Finished with our workout it was lunch time and this time we got to make our own savory Vietnamese pancakes. Thanks to a lot of help from the locals we managed to produce something quite enjoyable.

Sadly lunch concluded our little excursion to the Mekong Delta and we headed back to the city.Read more