Tips for your trips: Backpacking in Vietnam. The Mekong Delta (Part II)

In the second article of my backpacking trip in Vietnam you can learn how to organize tour to The Mekong Delta on your own and be independent traveler.

Getting there

Early in the morning we left our hotel and we took our backpacks. Ho Chi Minh in the morning doesn’t look less busy that at night. Thousands of motorbikes, heavy traffic and a lot of pollution. On top of that in July is extremely hot and humid. Before coming to Vietnam I thought that it’s impossible to fit 4 people on a motorbike but after a few days I was already used to see a whole families packed at one vehicle.

A regular morning in Ho Chi Minh City

We decided that the best thing we could do is to go for a cruise trip in Mekong Delta. Of course we did this independently. The Mekong Delta boat cost me 225 000 VND (9€) and it could be definitely cheaper but we arrived quite late so we haven’t had much choice left.

We found out that UBER works quite well in Ho Chi Minh! Pretty often we were using it instead of the regular taxis. The cab from our hotel to the train station was only 28 000 VND (1.15€).

Once when we got there we realized it will be impossible to buy a ticket. The system was really slow and the line was enormous.

There is no luggage room so we had to find place for our backpacks. After a short research we discovered that there is a bus from Ho Chi Minh to My Tho. The problem is getting out of the city since the bus station is at the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh.

We found another hotel through Booking which was close to the bus station so we could drop our backpacks there.

Stranded in Ho Chi Minh

Well, the things didn’t go as smooth as we expected. First the “Panda Hotel” that we booked had a wrong address in Booking so we had no place for the luggage. Then we had to walk with the backpacks at least 3 km on the dusty road to the Bến xe Miền Tây Kinh Dương Vương or shortly – the bus station. The ticket to My Tho cost 29 000 VND.

The 2 hour journey with the bus was bumpy and crazy. I don’t know why I always choose countries where the driving makes your heart to skip a beat but driving in Vietnam wasn’t an exception. The horn was beeping constantly and I’m sure that this bus wouldn’t stop for any reason at any time.

the bus to My Tho

When we arrived we found out that My Tho bus station is around 4km outside the town. We took two motorbike taxis (we had our backpacks with us so we couldn’t fit in one) – 20 000VND each.

The last tourists on Mekong Delta

The outcome from our independent tour was that we arrived at the pier quite late and there wasn’t any tourists left so we hired the boat just for the two of us. This cost us 450 000 VND (225 000 VND each) but I can say it was definitely worth it!

Our independent tour turned into a private one

Enjoying The Mekong Delta!

The first stop of the tour was the Unicorn Island. We have visited a honey farm and tried a sample of honey tea with ginger. Of course we were offered to buy different products made from honey.

After that we were invited to try some of the fruits from the island while listening to some traditional music.

Since we were just eating most of the time, I really liked this tour :D

After that we finally get on one of those small charming boats down the canal where you can wear the famous conical hat (nón lá). That was my favorite part of the tour. The canal is narrow so the boat paddlers should be extremely careful when they encounter another boat coming from the opposite side. The landscape is very scenic and a late afternoon is the perfect time for the cruise because at that time there was no tourists left!

The Mekong River Delta

The job of the boat paddlers is not easy at all. They don’t get much money so it’s nice if you leave them a small tip.

After that we went on another boat which took us to The Island of the Coconut Monk (Đạo Dừa).

Our new boat, again just for us

Basically the story behind the name of the monk is that a man established a new religion that was a mix of Buddhism and Christianity. The name Dao Dua (The Coconut Monk) he received because he was living as a coconut vegetarian, on nothing but coconuts.

The Island of the Coconut Monk (Đạo Dừa)

We just saw a bit of the island around the temple but the landscape was really scenic. Everything was so green and the whole area was really peaceful.

The Island of the Coconut Monk (Đạo Dừa)

Here you can also see a crocodile farm, especially made for the tourists. I wasn’t keen at all to feed them but you can learn some interesting facts about this scary animals.

The Island of the Coconut Monk (Đạo Dừa)

Riding like a local

Again we took motorbikes to the bus station in My Tho and we took the bus back to Ho Chi Minh. I realized that the driver on the first bus was actually quite peaceful. This time we actually hit another bus! Well, it wasn’t a bad accident but still, the bus didn’t even stop! Me and Emanuele were sitting on the last seats like “WTF has just happened?”

But that wasn’t everything. When we arrived back to Miền Tây station in Ho Chi Minh we realized we need a taxi back to the city. A quite brave old Vietnamese offered his motorbike for the two of us:D Have you ever tried crossing an intersection at night on a motorbike with 3 people + 2 backpacks in Ho Chi Minh? If you want some adrenaline rush, go ahead and try this :D

I was so scared so I forgot to ask the guy for the price in advance which of course lead to the classic case of a tourist’s rip off – 150 000 VND for a 13km ride. But some things are priceless – like the feeling you still have all your limbs after you get off from that motorbike :D

We quickly found our new hotel for the night: Phuc Khanh - clean rooms and good location. Price for the whole room 330 000 VND (7€ each).

I think after all these buses, boats and motorbikes we deserved a decent dinner and a few beers. We found the busiest restaurant in the area, called Biển Dương, located just a few hundred meters away from our hotel.

We started making meals to disappear one after another along with cans of Saporo

The Vietnamese version of French fries. The locals told us that their French Fries are really different. They were right. This thing was damn spicy :D

By the end of the evening we were already friends with the locals sitting on the table next to us.

Stay tuned for our next adventure which will take us to Hội An. Meanwhile: cheers from Ho Chi Minh!