Experience Mekong Delta once in a life time!
The Mekong River runs through China, Myanmmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam,is the longest river in the southeastern Asia region. Deep in history and rich in culture, it's one of the last travel frontiers with stunning natural beauty and incredible cultural diversity.
The Luxury Travel Company (www.luxurytravelvietnam.com ), Vietnam's leading bespoke travel experience company, is experienced in providing special services and unique tourism products to luxury global travelers over the years.
Embark on two days tour of the company, on traditional river barge cruise sampan upstream of the Mekong River allows you to explore Mekong Delta in style . Traditional sampans in Mekong delta are small Asian flat-bottomed boats, propelled by oars or a rear-mounted oar. The sampans used for the new Mekong tours are larger, luxury versions of the smaller traditional vessels. These 22m-long and 4m-wide wooden boats, with two bedrooms and a living room, offer a relaxing way to cruise the waters.
Sampans used to be the vehicle of choice for locals on the Mekong Delta, which is filled with wide waterways and meandering rivers and canals. Now the sampan has proved to be suitable for tourists, with many visitors from Europe taking the sampan tours.
Pham Ha, Founder and CEO director of Luxury Travel Company, says the tours let visitors see local life on the water and land. The tour lasts two days, and takes visitors through the provinces of Tien Giang, Dong Thap and to Can Tho City.
"Visitors can join locals on the banks of the river, feast on local cuisine in lush tropical gardens, visit handicraft villages and travel down the tributaries of the Mekong Delta," says Ha.
David Nguyen, a sales manager at Luxury Travel, says the company's sampan tours start at around 10am, setting off on the Tien River in Cai Be Town.
Each boat carries a maximum of four tourists along with the crew. The sampan also tows a smaller junk, which is used to penetrate deep into the delta's many narrow canals.
Coconut candy
After a bellyful of coconut treats, the boat heads for Cai Be floating market, cruising among local barges that are stocked with fruit and vegetables, before cruising upstream on the Tien River and heading to Vinh Long and Sa Dec.
"Sa Dec Town in Dong Thap Province has a long history. The village has changed a lot during the last decade," says David. "House with roofs made from coconut fronds now increasingly have roofs made from sheet metal. But the local people still keep their lifestyle and tradition of hospitality. People are so friendly here that visitors can feel free to stop at any house they like, where hosts often offer tiny cups of rice wine."
Dinner is served at an old house of Huynh Thuy Le dating from 1890 in Sa Dec, with the spread of food including dishes made from fresh vegetables and fish caught in the river by local fishermen.
With the sampan anchored nearby, tourists have two hours to walk around and explore the pagodas and houses in the area.
Sa Dec is like a small, Asian-style Venice, with numerous narrow canals criss-crossing the land. There's a local market, which is a lively centre of town. The town's narrow streets still have many beautiful French houses and Chinese temples, built in the 19th century.
After exploring the town on foot, dinner is served late in the evening at a local house. Then, it's time to get back on board the sampan to cruise down to Can Tho City.
At night, the crew anchors the vessel in a peaceful part of the river. A surprise for us is that we can watch the famous movie " l'Amant" or "the Lover", a wonderful and evocative story of love between a Chinese landlord and and a French teenage émigré during n the Indochina war. I steps from movie to the reality and touch to the past.
"As usual, the crew find a wharf where tourists can get an insight into the life of local people," says David Nguyen.
Most families in the Mekong Delta make their living by catching fish. "It's not unusual to see entire families living on small boats in the delta," says David.
But for those on the sampan tours, there's plenty of room to stretch your legs. The boat's bedrooms, with their timber furnishings, are cosy and romantic. Blankets are provided to keep travellers warm, as the Mekong's breezes can make the night-time quite cool. But with the boat gently rocking on the water, a good night's sleep is almost guaranteed.
The second day starts early in the morning. Breakfast is served on board while approaching Cai Rang floating market--the largest in the Mekong Delta.
The sampan will cruise through the large cluster of boats selling everything from sand and rice to fruits, vegetable, fish and flowers.
"Visitors can bargain with the locals, but they will not overcharge you as most trading here is wholesale," says Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel Ltd.
The cruise ends around 10am in the morning, when the boat stops at Ninh Kieu Wharf. Tourists will hit the road to have lunch in Can Tho, before cycling around the large town.
With their journey almost complete, visitors can make a four-hour car trip to HCM City in the afternoon or stay for the night in Can Tho City.
For details, check www.luxurytravelvietnam.com .
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