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Mekong delta canal Vietnam tour

Vietnam: Bến Tre canal boat ride, Tien River (part of Mekong Delta tour)

Date: 25 October 2019

After the first stop to Vinh Trang pagoda, we were back on the highway en route to the next stop on my Mekong Delta tour.

Rice fields south Vietnam
We drove past many rice fields. Vietnam is third largest rice exporter in the world behind Thailand. India is still no. 1.

Our van parked by a dock at Tiền River in Bến Tre province.

Tien river dock Vietnam
Tiền River is one of the tributaries that merges with Mekong River
Mekong Delta tour guide Vietnam
Our guide would continue her talk on the boat
Tien river cruise boat Vietnam
There are cruise boat river tours here too

There are many small islands along Tien river and the Mekong. The boat we were on dropped us off at one such island in the Ben Tre province where my tour group would then be guided to a restaurant-like area.

Hoa Nhan island Vietnam
This was my boat’s stop
Honey tea snacks Mekong delta tour
My group were seated on a table and served honey tea along with a variety of sweet snacks
Lotus seeds banana sweet Vietnam
We were served a sampling of sweet banana chips, sweetened lotus seeds and… something else (I forgot)

Honestly, this was just a stop on the “tour” where the guys who run this place could use to promote and sell us a bunch of locally made products.

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Laughing Buddha Vinh Trang pagoda Vietnam

Vietnam: Vinh Trang Pagoda in Bến Lức

Date: 25 October 2019

Today was my third day in Vietnam but day 2 of my sightseeing. Yesterday, I saw Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple, Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit, the War Remnants Museum and finally checked out Bui Vien Street — Ho Chi Minh City’s nightlife area (for tourists).

I had booked a tour of the Mekong Delta today but let me be clear — it wasn’t really a tour of the Mekong Delta — just stops at My tho and Ben Tre. You see, the Mekong Delta is a huge region in south western Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The places I would visit today as part of this day tour only covers a fraction of what Mekong Delta is. There are multi-day tours of Mekong Delta which include stops at the rice paddy fields and such but I’m from Kerala — where there are enough rice paddy fields only a short drive away from me.

Instead, I did this short tour (cost 320000 VND or ₹1020/$13/€11.8) — mainly for one activity — which will be in the next post. The first stop on the tour was a temple called Vinh Trang Pagoda (a Buddhist temple) in Mỹ Tho, an hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City.

An Travel tour guide Ho Chi Minh City
My tour was organized by An Travel and this girl was our guide
September 23 park Saigon Vietnam
After getting picked up from my hotel in the morning, the minibus went to Bui Vien street to pick up other tourists
High rise apartment Ho Chi Minh City
We were leaving Ho Chi Minh City and heading south
Industrial zone Vietnam
I got to see new industrial zones just outside the city
Mekong rest stop Vietnam
We stopped en route at a rest stop to take a break

From the rest stop, it was a short drive to the temple. Our minibus parked outside the entrance.

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Bui Vien street nightlife Saigon

Vietnam: Bui Vien Street — Ho Chi Minh City’s nightlife area (for tourists)

Date: 24 October 2019

I began the day at Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple in the morning, Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit by noon and finally the War Remnants Museum later in the evening. I went back to my hotel to keep my camera batteries for charging and to freshen up as I was a bit tired being out in the sun all day.

I stepped out later at night to visit Bui Vien Street, the popular nightlife zone in Ho Chi Minh City — for foreigners. I state that clearly because it’s not where Vietnamese locals frequent.

Nguyen Thi Nghia street traffic
This is Nguyen Thi Nghia street, quite a busy and crowded stretch
Cong Vien 23 Thang 9 Ho Chi Minh city
Nearby is September 23 Park, a fairly large public park
September 23 park at night Vietnam
Locals were out and about doing various activities like play badminton, exercise, walk, etc.
Central market Taka plaza Saigon Vietnam
Central Market Taka Plaza is an underground shopping center near the park
Bui Vien street nightlife district
I walked towards Bui Vien street

Bui Vien street and the neighbouring bylanes are chock-full of restaurants, hotels, hostels, tour operators, and bus services. It’s a convenient place for foreign tourists and I initially booked to stay at a hotel here. But when I read multiple reviews of hotels and many complaining about the noise, I cancelled my booking and chose to stay a bit further away.

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