Went on our second tour which was to see the Mekong Delta. This was a more physically relaxing tour.
On arrival at the jetty at My Tho ("mee tho") (about 1 1/2 hours from the city) we were taken by boat to Unicorn Island. Here we had honey tasting and sampling of candied food (lotus seed, banana, ginger and peanut). we also tasted royal jelly and banana wine. Walking on, we stopped by an area to eat some tropical fruit (dragon fruit, jackfruit, pineapple, banana, watermelon and mango), and were entertained with some folk songs. Then we went on another boat ride - this time in a small sampan - along a small part of the river fringed with nipah palms.
[Candied food]
[Having a go at some local fruits]
[Our entertainers]
[Row, row, row your boat... complete with Vietnamese hats]
Then we were back on our bigger boat to another part of the delta called Ben Tre ("ben che") to see how coconut candy is made. It's a bit like dodol, but not as sticky once it's cooled. After that we were taken on a horse-cart ride to the restaurant for lunch. Julian patted the horse.
[Coconut candy mixer]
[All aboard the horse-cart]
[Vietnamese spring-roll with rice paper skin]
[Deep fried "standing" fish]
After lunch we headed back to the city. On the way we were caught in the rain, and in a traffic jam. By the time we got to the hotel, it was about 4.30pm.
[Hammock cafes: We spotted many road-side coffee shops with hammocks or deckchairs for patrons to have a snooze]
After a rest, we went out for dinner. We headed for a restaurant called Nam Giao recommended by our tour guide, Mr. Phung, but we couldn't find the place. The locals didn't seem to know it either (we later found out he gave us the wrong address!). So we ended up at a road side stall just outside one of the side entrances of the Ben Thanh market called Sao Dong. Here we tasted our first sapodilla (similar to our local ciku but the shape is like a large kiwifruit) ice-blended shake. Really refreshing! After dinner we headed back for the hotel and tried some banana ice-cream purchased from a nearby convenience store. Yummy!
[Vietnamese banana ice-cream: Frozen real bananas on the inside and coconut milk-based ice-cream on the outside.]
1 comment:
Interesting! Wonder how did you all eat the 'standing fish'!
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