Normadic backpacking to Can Tho & Mekong

Due to unforeseen reasons of anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam during May 2014, my trip has been postponed to 25 August 2014 instead. Booking a tour to Can Tho via Impress Travel online, a total of 3 day 2 night tour (which actually consist of 2D1N Can Tho Mekong Delta tour and Cu Chi tunnel day tour) adds up to $128usd. Inclusive of a night stay in 3 star hotel and an inclusive dinner in a nice restaurant.

comfortable 40 seater bus provided by the agency.

Packing my gears and stuffs, this will be my longest ever solo travelling to a foreign land, staying for 5 days with nomadic style living moving from hotels to hotels, in different cities almost every night. Sounds boring to be travelling alone? Not at all, when I'm having my cameras and itineraries packed.

Reaching Tan Son Nhat airport around 3pm local time (GMT+7), there are actually only 2 more trustable taxi companies that can be taken in Ho Chi Minh, 1 is Vinasun (white) taxi and the other is Mai Linh (green and sometimes white) taxi company. I will say that they are more honest and run on meter. Never forgetting the first time I went to Ho Chi Minh with Ashton, we took a taxi from airport to district 3 hotel, and that cost us 500,000vnd ($30sgd)! Today, taking Mai linh taxi running on meter cost me about 130,000vnd going to district 1 which is quite near to district 3. See the price difference? 

Taxis in Ho Chi Minh are quite notorious in ripping tourist off and likewise for nightclubs, drinking outlets, so just be more mindful when visiting these places. Safety wise, same rules applies: no walking in dark alleys or wander around when night falls, especially for solo travelling, don’t count money in public places or taking out a whole stack of cash and counting, merely just inviting troubles. Hand phones and cameras is more advisable to be sling or held firmly as snatch theft is quite common there, even locals fell victims to them. 

all time favourite beverage...

Back to Can Tho Mekong Delta adventures! Arriving and checking in to my hotel along De Tham Street, the tour agency is just 4 shop house away from my hotel, perfect! Drop by to make some transit arrangements and confirming that my name is registered (better be registered, already paid!) the staffs are friendly and the tour is handled very professionally.

The weather wasn't on our side as not long after setting off, it started to pour heavily. Our first destination is to My Tho city which is south of Ho Chi Minh City to visit Vinh Trang Temple which has a gigantic Laughing Buddha that sat beautifully in the rays of the Sun. After setting off from Vinh Trang Temple, we proceed to the boat jetty where we took a wooden motor boat into Mekong Delta to experience their local cultural handmade food. The rain start to fall when we are on the way to the jetty, nevertheless we have to buy a disposable raincoat that cost 10,000vnd from the bus driver so as not to get too wet. Soon as it came, the rain starts falling and it gets stronger and stronger, argh it’s the 2nd time I'm caught in a thunderstorm in the middle of Mekong Delta!

Laughing Buddha Statue

Sleeping Buddha statue in the temple

There is something that is kinda interesting along the highways, unlike the North-south Highways in Peninsula Malaysia that has R & R, they has rest house instead. The houses are open concept with hammock sling from pillar to pillar, and a café that serves food and drinks as well. Just by purchasing a drink, I am allowed to use the hammock for as long as I wish. Also, ancestor graves are normally rested on their Padi fields, and all these can be seen while I’m travelling on the highway. They believe that the ancestor will give the field blessing and have a smooth harvest.

Resting hammocks

Cemetery seen on padi fields.

Travelling on Mekong Delta in the pouring rain, I’m so glad that my Canon EOS 70D and EF 24-105mm F4L IS USM Lens are weather sealed (not water-proofed) as I'm shooting many heartfelt images while the rain is pouring. My camera and lens is dripping water while I’m wrapped up in raincoat.

fishing boats on mekong river (taken during heavy rain)

Firstly is lunch, and I joined a couple from Holland and Spain as we are having the same package, the food we have is much better than the others. After lunch is visit to a house factory making sweets, Royal Queen Honey Bees and boat rowing through the meanders in Mekong Delta.

Deep fried Giant Gourami for lunch


making and packing of local sweets


bees on honeycomb


rowing in sampan through the meanders

Being caught in the rain the whole day, my activities ends around 1830hrs where I check in to a hotel in Can Tho. The hotel is nice and cozy at 1 look. After checking in, I made my way to the designated restaurant arranged by my tour agency, it’s kind of posh, service is not bad and the food is good, but sadly my legs are once again attacked by mosquitos throughout the dinner.   

the room is really very cozy.. but sadly there is bed bugs... ended up sleeping on the floor.


my sumptuous dinner in CanTho

Taking an after dinner stroll through the Can tho night streets, I found that there isn’t much tourist around, and some people are looking at me (maybe they thought that I am from China?) – HAHA. There aren’t many things along the streets and it feels the same as if I am in Ho Chi Minh. So I decided to return to my hotel for an early rest as tomorrow will be another early day. Ironically, my cozy and comfortable room bed is infested with beg bugs! Fxxk! As I’m too lazy to get around changing bed or sorts, I slept on the floor with the bed comforter the whole night.

Moving on from a night of bed buggies, I woke up to the hotel provided breakfast and check out of the hotel. Soon and punctually, the tour guide has arrived to bring us to the floating market as scheduled. Along the way to floating market, I witness some river lives that is led by the Vietnamese, working alongside river as well as boathouses used as accommodation and river taxi. In the floating market, many things were sold and all were placed on their tiny boats, with stoves, grills, pho, fruits and drinks. Many were doing trading on bigger boats before bringing to cities to sell.

selling live fish by the road side


staying in boathouse, also using it as river taxi


harvesting his catches


trading boats


selling food and drinks on boat in floating market


cooking on river.... and selling food.

After the floating market visit, we travelled deeper into Mekong Delta to another house factory; making pho (Vietnamese noodles), and also mountain biking around the local villages. We are offered fruits by farmers and see how their normal lifestyle is. As now we are quite far away, our activities ended after lunch (where we ate in Can Tho) before setting off back to Ho Chi Minh City which is about 5 hours drive from Can Tho. 

manual cutting from rice skin to pho


cycling around the villages.


farmers offering us his harvest


grilled frog and birds


last pose before leaving

My last 2 night stay will be in a 4 star hotel in District 1 facing Saigon River – Liberty Central Riverside Saigon.

my fantastic room.. loving it so much...


view from my balcony

4^th day in Ho Chi Minh is my re-visit back to Cu Chi tunnel, to see if I have missed out any interesting stuffs as compared to my previous visit. I wouldn’t narrate much here as it will be quite similar to my previous Ho Chi Minh Blog. Half-day tour to Cu Chi tunnel and here I am back in Ho Chi Minh City, strolling and wandering around the streets, some shopping and bought a North Face backpack for my wife. Drop by District 7 in the evening for dinner and had a walk around; District 7 in Ho Chi Minh is reputable for being most developed with high buildings and large air-conditioned shopping center, but sadly most of the restaurant are empty even during dinner time, probably due to their costly meals that not much Vietnamese will go normally.

infrastructures in District 7


my hotel pool... to laze my last night away...

Time flies and now I'm in my 5^th day in Ho Chi Minh, it feels really good and comfortable; living alone off in a faraway land, a mind carrying away experience. As of my usual last day routine overseas, I woke up early for a relaxing run in the gym and a cold morning swim before heading to their posh restaurant for International breakfast buffet, before setting off to airport to head back home.

for more photos
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