Mekong Delta – a five vehicle day

We spent two indescribable days in the Mekong Delta with our knowledgeable and friendly tour guide Huy. The first day had us traversing land and water in five different vehicles. First up, a minivan to take us out of Ho Chi Minh City for the two-hour ride to the Mekong Delta. And it’s not often that I’d want to post about a rest stop on a car journey, but this one was hands down the most beautiful one I’ve seen.

We then boarded a farmer’s motorboat to head down the river. Huy chopped open some fresh coconuts so we could enjoy some coconut water (through bamboo straws – they are trying to get a handle on the serious plastic issue impacting their environment). He then chopped them open even more so we could scoop out some coconut jelly – before the coconuts ripen, the flesh is more jelly-like than solid. Can’t say it was my favorite texture/taste!

Scenes from the river…

Huy then took us to a coconut farm directly on the river, run by a local family. Boats pull up and unload the coconuts, and workers on the farm shell them on giant spears, one after another – each person shells approximately 1300 coconuts a day! None of the coconut goes to waste – there are multiple products made from every part.

The family also had pomelo trees on their property (a large citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit) – in order to avoid using pesticides, they hand cover each fruit with a net bag to keep insects away.

Next, a woman and her son took us in a hand-rowed sampan (third vehicle of the day, for those of you keeping track!) through the quiet canals of the river. The boy was an expert rower. And the mix of traditional and modern lifestyles was evident in many ways – including when the mom took a cell phone call while rowing us down the river. 🙂

We stopped at the home of another local family for a delicious snack of fresh fruit. On the walk back to the road, we passed more farm homes, where they were raising animals and growing various tropical fruits, including papaya. We also learned that people in this area tend to bury their elders near their houses so that they can continue to respect and care for them. And Huy showed us the durian – known as the smelliest fruit – even uncut it was pretty unbearable to smell through the rind – he said it once made a previous tour guest physically sick!

Then it was time to hop on the ‘Coconut Monster Truck’ as Huy called it – a coconut transport truck converted to carry passengers. It was a beautiful ride down village roads seldom visited by tourists – and passing other coconut trucks being used for their actual intended purpose!

 

After a stop for lunch at our homestay (more on that in a separate post), it was time for the final vehicle of the day – and most definitely the scariest of the trip so far – including the motorbikes! A not so leisurely bicycle ride – no helmets, pouring rain, huge rain ponchos, iffy brakes, steep and sketchy rural bridges, a river ferry, busy streets and/or narrow concrete paths with motorbikes whizzing by every which way? Chalk another quality parenting decision up on the books! Two of the three of us wiped out and we were petrified the whole time –  but we have amazing memories of the ride. Including local children calling ‘Hellllooooo!!!’ to us all along the way, and stopping for fresh squeezed sugarcane & kumquat juice and Vietnamese iced coffee at a local village stand.

We definitely earned our final snack of the day!

______________________________

Innoviet Mekong Delta Trails & Tales Tour: https://innoviet.com/tours/mekong-delta-tour-2-days-with-homestay-and-cycling/