The Mekong is called the Tien in Vietnam and is a mighty river 4900 km long originating in China and emptying into the South China Sea. The river provides nearly 25% of the world’s fresh water catch besides providing a livelihood to the millions who live along the river. The Mekong river branches into four at the delta .

My Tho is the gateway to the Mekong delta and is an easy three hour ride from Ho Chi Minh city, and a visit to the Mekong delta is a must on every tourist itinerary. Once we got past the traffic of Saigon and crossed some populated rural landscape we made our first stop at the Vinh Trang pagoda. Built in the 19 th century, it is located on the outskirts of the town of My Tho. The pagoda’s main hall houses a magnificent statue of Amitabha ( infinite light and life) Buddha, The main statue is surrounded by other statues of bodhisattvas and arhats or worthy persons. The hall’s interior is adorned with intricate carvings and murals depicting Buddhist legends and stories and has a very serene and calming atmosphere. The compound also has some well laid out gardens where we spent quite some time admiring the exotic collection of rare bonzai and plants despite of the heat and the humidity.

From the Vinh Trang pagoda we headed to the My Tho boat house on the Mekong river. The boat house is on the banks of the main distributary also called the Tien River. There are four islands on this part of the river between My Tho and the Bien Tre. Thoi Son is the largest (Unicorn Island) The others are Phoenix , Turtle and Dragon island. Each of these islands is a place of interest and involves a boat ride across the mighty river and a sampan ride through the canal. The larger boats are sturdy and primitive and the ride does get rough giving us a few uncomfortable moments when the wind gets strong.

When you get to the island you switch to a smaller sampan/ canoe kind of boat. The ride takes you through tree lined canals which end either in a restaurant or a crocodile farm or a shopping joint. A pleasant walk through a coconut plantation and some sampling of the coconut sweets and fruits provided us with a happy interlude. We stopped by at a restaurant by the side of a crocodile farm and had the most lavish vegetarian meal ever. The sumptuous meal dispelled the notion that Vietnamese cuisine is all about meat, fish and seafood! While we went to three of these islands essentially it involved hopping on and off a large river boat to a ride in a canoe on a canal . The jetties were crude and my creaking bones did find it difficult to board and disembark from the boats and canoes. At each of these islands we walked through the coconut and fruit farms and stopped by at the restaurants for a break. Add a coconut product factory and a few local singing groups and that is about all. Very much like any tropical excursion anywhere in the world,

In hindsight I would recommend that you select just one island and explore the island and spend a longer time – My choice would be the Thoi San island closest to the My tho boat house and better developed infrastructure -You will get a good experience of the mighty river. Suggest you spend the whole day walking through the plantations and orchards and stop by at the numerous small restaurants for a break – If you are a cycling enthusiast cycle around the island.Pretty much a full day’s outing.

All conducted tours recommend a half day tour to the Mekong delta from Ho Chi Minh city and some even offer combining it with the Chu Chi tunnels. I don’t particularly agree with the idea and would suggest that a full day tour to just one island is the best to get a feel and flavor of the Mekong – Should you have more time spend cross the Cau Rach Mieu bridge and spend time at Ben Tre and the floating market.

Normally I would have planned and researched the trip on my own but this time opted for a guided tour recommended by the hotel. I paid a few million dong for a private tour which was quite a sum even if you consider the low exchange value of the Vietnamese Dong (VND). For me the lesson learnt form this trip was that I should avoid conducted tours. Apart from the joy of the DIY there is great pleasure to be derived in the planning and research itself !

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