Vietnam: Mekong River Day Tour (Part II) & Ben Thanh Market

Day 3 of Ho Chi Minh Trip ^_^
Continue from Mekong River Trip Part 1 (click here to read more)......

After we had our lunch, then we proceed to listen traditional music and tropical fruits tasting. It was quite a chillax session where we get to listen to people playing traditional instruments and enjoy some fruits. They served us with papaya, jackfruits, papaya, banana and "ciku". 

I was sitting with a few Korean tourists and I noticed that they seem a little fascinated looking at "ciku" and jackfruit. One of them took and tried jackfruit for a bite. Then her face turned a bit sour and gave up on it. That scene reminds me that I shouldn't take things for granted, even just a fruit. Things that seem so usual for us back home may be something new for others. That's why...... we have to explore more places to try more new stuff! =D

Their traditional instruments. 

They look a bit like our traditional chinese instruments and they sound a bit special to me.

After that, we went to the coconut candy factory. We get to see how they make coconut candy and also get to try some. But because the weather is too hot, we don't have much energy to check out their coconut candies thoroughly. Instead, all of us bought one coconut to quench our thirst. Coconut is such an amazing thing in the world. It is so important when there's hot sun!

The making of coconut candies.

Meet our new friends from Taiwan! 

Really appreciate them for helping us in photo-taking and shared experience with us. They are so nice and kept asking us to visit them in Taiwan. Love is all around the world. 

The Mekong River Day Tour ended around 5pm. Finally we can check in and get some rest in Ho Chi Minh city! We booked a unit via AirBnB and it's our first time booking via this website. So, we were a little worried at first. However, with the help of the owner to text us the address in Vietnamese language, we get to reach the place successfully. =) It is actually really hard to communicate with Vietnamese taxi driver if you don't have an address in Vietnamese language. 

Surprisingly, the unit is very beautiful! It is located at third floor and there is no lift available. Indeed, most of the buildings in Ho Chi Minh does not have lift. Luckily our luggage aren't too heavy and hence carrying them up the stairs is still an achievable mission. 

One of the rooms! So cozy!

And there's a corridor full of plants. A very relaxing place. Love it!

Selfie before heading out to Ben Thanh Market for dinner. 

Ben Thanh market is a large marketplace in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and also an important symbol of Ho Chi Minh City. It is popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, souvenirs and local cuisine. This market is developed from informal markets created by early 17th century street vendors gathering together near the Saigon River. The market was formall established by the French colonial powers after taking over the Gia Dinh citadel in 1859. This market was destroyed by fire in 1870 and rebuilt to become Saigon's largest market. In 1912, the market was moved to a new building called the New Ben Thanh Market to distinguish over its predecessor. The building was then renovated in 1985. (information from Wikipedia)

We took a cab from our place to Ben Thanh Market, which is about a 8 minutes drive. Actually, we could walk to the market instead of taking a cab. But we are a little confused with our location and a bit tired after the tour, we decided to take a cab. Taxi fare here isn't expensive and it is shared among six of us. Less than RM1/person for a trip. Not too luxurious. 

We walked into the busy street where all the vendors are, and we eyed on this! 

Colourful sticky rice! Look so yummy! Of course, we bought one to try. We ordered all in one.

After buying the sticky rice, we continue walking to explore more food and also souvenirs. 

This is how Ben Thanh Market looks like at night. Pretty much like our pasar malam back in Malaysia. There are vendors selling clothes, souvenirs and food.

Vietnam: Mekong River Day Tour

Day 3 of Ho Chi Minh Trip ^_^

Part 1 -- Mekong River Day Tour

Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia and the 7th longest in Asia and the 12th longest in the world. From the Tibetan Plateau, this river runs through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. (~~ from Wikipedia)

Because Mekong River is too long, we can only pick points of attraction to visit. Hence, we chose the Mekong Delta tour to My Tho - Ben Tre. We departed from Ho Chi Minh to My Tho city at 8.30am and the journey took us 1.5 hours. At 10am, we reached the pier and got on a motorboat to have a look at the floating houses.

View at the pier

Look at the boats

Walking under the hot sun to get on board of the motorboat

Us on the motorboat. Look at the lady behind us, so sensitive to camera XD

Take a round at Mekong River

The Fish Farm

Then the boat make a U-turn and send us to Con Thoi Son (Unicorn Island)

The view upon reaching Unicorn Island.

We reached the island. It is full of trees and seems so adventurous! Time to explore!

We took a 3 minutes walk to the river to get on the hand-rowing boat (which is the main transportation in My Tho and Ben Tre). 

One boat can only fit 4 people and there are 2 "drivers" to row us to another part of the river. Photo taken while queuing up to get on the boat. It was 12pm and the sun was pretty hot! Really appreciate those workers who helped to row the boat. They are working so hard under the sun to let us enjoy the trip. THANK YOU!!!

There are women "drivers" to row the boat. Such a tiring job. 

The men who worked so hard to row the boat and avoid banging to the coconut trees.

And us with the other man rowing the boat at the back.

Sorry for moving too much as we were all very excited. It feels like we are entering Jurrasic World! Woohoo!!

Can't stop selfie! Too excited as the view is really awesome!

After that, we had lunch prepared by the chef living at Mekong Delta. We were served with elephant ear fish, spring rolls, some meat, fish, and vegetables. Ah! Not to forget the pot of sour soup with damn lots of vegetables. I would say, Vietnamese people are really really healthy. I don't have to worry about traveler constipation here. So much fibre, how to constipate?? XD

Huge Elephant Ear Fish. 

It is served as part of spring roll. First time having fish spring roll. Yumzzz...