Saint Chu Dong Tu Festival

Being held annually from the 10th to the 12th day of the second lunar month, the Saint Chu Dong Tu is a popular religious festival celebrating Godfather Chu Dong Tu, who discovered culture, conquered marsh, and developed agriculture and trade in the Vietnamese society. The Saint Festival. The festival is a joyful occasion whose events include a procession, religious ceremonies, feasting, music and dance and children's games.

Main features

As far as you may know, the Saint Chu Dong Tu isone of the four immortal gods in the Vietnamese pantheon.

Celebrations take place at two beautiful temples of Da Hoa and Da Trach, in Khoai Chau District, Hung Yen Province, about 20 kilometers from Hanoi. Starting from Ha Noi, visitors can travel downstream on the Red River by boat or canoe, or go by motorbike along the dyke of the Red River. During the festival, pilgrims in colourful dress converge on the two temples, Da Trach and Da Hoa. As the festival is celebrated, pilgrims wearing gaudy dress, come in the two temples in Da Trach and Da Hoa.

After the opening ceremony, there is a procession to remind people of the legend, life and work of Saint Chu Dong Tu and his two wives. Heading the procession which consists of beautiful girls in colourful dress and  musical bands is the two luxurious dragons controlled by ten people in the rhythm of the drum. Moreover, the procession includes musical bands, God palanquin and eight weapons for ornaments andbig pots. They sit o­n tens of boats, rowing to the middle of the river, scooping water into the pots and coming back to bathe the statue. After thurifying ceremony, you will be treated with various forms of entertainment like wrestling, fighting with sticks, human chess, traditional and religious dances and Cheo.

Legend associated with Da Trach Temple

The legend has it that Da Trach Temple was built on the former high platform of Chu Dong Tu and Princess Tien Dung's castle and citadel, after they returned to the Heaven. Once a year, villagers in traditional ao dais and sarongs make their way to the temple of Chu Dong Tu to make offerings of incense, flowers and candles. They say prayers for the soul of the famous fisherman and for their friends and family who risk their lives by fishing out at sea. It is an interesting local spectacle and if you're in the area, definitely worth a visit.

The festival is opened by a procession to carry water from Red river to the temple. The majestic procession is led by golden-dragon dancers, flag carriers, drummers, an octet of instrument players, eight carriers of offering weapons, sinh tien dancers, long dinh palanquin, water big-bellied jar palanquin, conical hat palanquin, walking palanquin and three palanquins carrying statues of Chu Dong Tu and Princess Tien Dung. When the procession arrives in Red river, at the same time, a dragon boat from the Tu Nhien (Nature) alluvial plain comes to join in the procession. On the river, flags fluttering in the wind, golden dragon effigies waving and the bustling sound of drums make the procession splendid and ebullient. In this festival, you will have a chance to know more about Vietnamese traditional art, such as trong quan singing, quan ho singing, ca tru, etc. and traditional games (earthenware pot beating, kieu bridge passing, catching ducks in the pond, etc.) are held during the festival.

At Da Hoa Temple

In the early morning of the 10th, the inhabitants of nine communes hold a long procession along the dyke of the Red River to Da Hoa Temple. Marching in the van of the procession is Hoang Trach Commune. Following are Dong Que, Bang Nha, Phu Thi, Phuc Trach, Thiet Tru, Nhan Thap, Da Hoa communes, and finally Me So Commune. When the procession reaches the temple, palanquins and offerings are placed at a stipulated place. Then, the members of the procession and pilgrims begin the opening ceremony at the courtyard. As the opening ceremony and incense presenting ceremony end, people participate in traditional games that take place during day and night.

It must be said that if you are in Vitenam, you will be strongly recommended not to miss out watching this festival. The host of processions, dance, music, food fun and social gathering will mesmerize you during the festival. The package of dragon procession, martial arts competitions, lion dance, and Cheo performances (a kind of Vietnamese popular opera) make this festival grand, colourful and popular among the tourists.

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Hung King Temple Festival

Every year, a large number of visitors from all over the country participate a national festival - Hung King Temple Festival - an incense offering ceremony in honor of Hung Kings, who were instrumental in the founding of the nation.

Legend associated with the Hung Kings

It is said that thousands of years ago, Lac Long Quan (King Dragon of the Land of Lac) had superhuman strength and liked to stay near water. He succeeded to the throne of his father, and governed the Lac-Viet tribe. De Lai, king of a northern tribe, with his daughter Au Co made a trip to visit the south.

Admiring Lac Long Quan's talent, De Lai married Au Co to Lac Long Quan. Au Co became pregnant and gave birth to a membranous sac. The sac kept getting larger and larger, and burst on the seventh day. Surprisingly, there were one hundred eggs in the sac, which hatched into one hundred beautiful babies. The children of Lac Long Quan and Au Co were the ancestors of Vietnam, and so the Vietnamese are known as "Dragon and Fairy descendants." The eldest son of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, who was with this mother, established himself at Phong Chau, now the southern part of Phu Tho Province, and made himself king. That was King Hung I whose realm was made up by 50 tribes. The 18 Hung kings then ruled the country from 2879 to 258BC.
According to historical records, the regime of the Hung Kings was an impressive, brilliant and outstanding start for establishing Viet Nam as a sovereign nation. The 18 generations of the Hung Kings saw the birth and development of a nation and are credited with forging national characteristics such as the sense of community, mutual affection, patriotism and unwillingness to yield to oppression. From this original settlement, the Hong (Red) River civilization and the pre-Dong Son cultures grew. From generations to generations, the Vietnamese people hold a festival nationwide on the 10th day of the third lunar month to commemorate the anniversary of their ancestor's death, founder of the Vietnamese nation - the first Hung King.

Hung King Anniversary

The Hung King Temple Festival is annually held from 8th to the 11th days of the third lunar month. The main festival day is on the 10th day of the third lunar March, on which the National Assembly has approved Vietnamese working people to annually have one more national holiday to mark the anniversary of the Hung King’s death. Every year, on this traditional occasion, Vietnamese people worldwide join their brothers and sisters in spirit to observe Vietnam National Day in commemoration of their ancestors. The main ceremony takes place at the Hung Temple on Nghia Linh Mountain in Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province, some 85km northwest of Hanoi. The Hung King Temple Festival is one of the most important and sacred festivals of the Vietnamese people, deeply imbedded in the minds of every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of where they originated from.

Let’s contemplate this historical vestige!

The Hung Temple is an ancient and sacred architectural ensemble on the top of the 175 metre-high Nghia Linh mountain. The festival offers an opportunity for Vietnamese to visit their land of origin. A day before the festival, ancient and modern flags are to be hung along the road leading from Viet Tri to Hung mountain. A large ballon will also publicise the festival to surrounding areas. On the eve of the festival, 100 flying lights are released into the night sky. The main worship service is held in earnest the following morning, 10th day, beginning with a flower ceremony. In Den Thuong (Upper Temple) where the Hung Kings used to worship deities with full rituals, the ceremony consists of a lavish five-fruit feast. Banh chung (square cake) and banh giay (circle cake) are also served to remind people of the Lang Lieu Legend (the 18th Hung King who invented these cakes), and the merit of the Hung Kings who taught people to grow rice. Next to the stage procession for deities, there are several marches in the procession such as the elephant march followed by the procession chair. The procession marches are followed by a Xoan song performance (a classical type of song) in the Den Thuong, a "Ca Tru" (a kind of classical opera) in Den Ha (Lower Temple), and other activities like cross-bow shooting, rice cooking, swinging contests, cock fighting, and dragon dancing.

On the day of the Hung King Temple Festival, the Vietnamese always jubilantly take part in the festival with religious belief deeply imbedded in their minds, that is their love and pride of their ancestral land. The Festival not only attracts visitors from all over the country thanks to its special traditional cultural activities, but it is also a sacred pilgrimage back to the origins of the Vietnamese nation.

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Huong Pagoda Festival, lost in a world of fairies

“This immense area with wonderful features 
  Makes one wonder whether it is fairyland 
  Huong Son itself is fairyland 
  Which is seen in this earthly world"

The beautiful verse describes scenic spot of Huong Pagoda, designated by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site, which makes one can’t help having the feeling that is one were lost in a world of fairies. Huong Son attracts visitors not only with its wonderful landscape, but also with its sense of philosophy embodied inside its splendid caves, of which  Huong Tich and Tuyet Son are the most impressive. Visitors are bewitched by the beauty of these cases which look half real and half unreal. That explains the reason why the cold weather cannot keep thousands of pilgrims and tourists away from the Huong Pagoda Festival, the nation’s longest and most elaborate annual festival.

Oficially occuring from the 15th day to the 20th day of the second lunar month, Huong Pagoda Festival mainly consists of sightseeing trips to pagodas, temples and caves as well as visiting ceremonies to ask favours from Lord Buddha. Situated approximately 60 kilometers southwest from Ha Noi, Huong Son boasts quite a few pagodas built in the Posterior Le Dynasty. Annually, a vast number of pilgrims have been flocking to the northern province of Ha Noi’s My Duc District for the three-month Huong Pagoda Festival, enjoying the beauty of the Huong Son limestone mountains at a time when apricot trees are in bloom and pay tribute to Buddha, specifically to Avalokitasvara, one of Buddha's disciples.
Legend has it that the festival is held to worship a princess named Dieu Thien who incarnated Avalokitasvara and attained enlightenment there. As the princess was born on the 19th day of the second lunar month, that date is now observed by all Vietnamese Buddhists as a saint day. The shrine in which she practised her religion was discovered in the 15th century by three monks. The pilgrimage to Huong Son dwindled to a trickle during the war years and the temples and shrines were left vacant.. In 1770, Lord Trinh Sam wrote five Chinese characters to describe Huong Tich Cavern: Nam Thien De Nhat Dong (the most beautiful cave in Vietnam). The Huong Pagoda Festival started during the Le-Trinh Dynasty. In 1958, after the restoration of peace in North Vietnam, the Government and President Ho Chi Minh personally gave instructions for the repair of the pagodas and temples and the restoration of the festival. Annually, visitors to the festival to enjoy the beauty of the Huong Son limestone mountains at a time when apricot trees are in bloom and pay tribute to Buddha, specifically to Avalokitasvara, one of Buddha's disciples.

According to the legend, a pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda in the spring will bring health, prosperity, good luck and happiness. And whether you believe in the story or not, there's no disputing that a trip like this offers a perfect chance to get closer to both nature and Vietnamese tradition.
A meaningful pilgrimage

The festival is a traditional Vietnamese Buddhist celebration, held simultaneously in three locations: Huong Tich, Tuyet Son, and Long Van. The festival is most crowded from the 15th - 20th day of the 2nd month of the lunar calendar as this period marks the the main festival. However, since the first day of the lunar New Year, thousands of tourists and pilgrims have flocked to the sacred land to tour and pray for a prosperous and happy year. Spring is the idea time for bothVietnamese and foreigners come to Huong Son. Heading there, you have chances to live in a boisterous atmosphere of a spring festival amidst beautiful landscape. They seem to be free from all tiredness and sorrow and come to pay respect to the compassionate Buddha.

Unlike many other festivals, the Huong Pagoda Festival does not centre around traditional games, but rather romantic trips to caves, pagodas and temples and participation in ceremonies to beseech favours from Lord Buddha. The Venerable Thich Minh Hien rang the bell to officially open the festival at the Huong Pagoda, on the sixth day of the first lunar month. The opening ceremony began at the Thien Tru Pagoda with pilgrims and tourists invited to take part in the incense offering ceremony. In order to warning up the festival’s lively ambience in the chilly weather, the traditional raditional songs and dances took place before and after the ceremony. Visitors attending Huong pagoda festival usually make some wishes and when they are worshipping Buddha’s in the pagoda, they pray for their wishes to come true. The visitors bring offerings with them from home, including boiled chickens, boiled pigs' heads and steamed sticky rice. After prayers, each person will take a small portion of the offering (called loc) which is then carried home for their family. Loc is a sacred and precious thing as it is believed to bring good luck to those who eat it. In addition, cultural activities and sporting contests are also held on the occasion of Huong Pagoda Festival: boat racing, climbing, folk song singing, etc. These festive activities take place throughout the festival.

A pilgrimage to the Huong Pagoda Festival cannot only be for religious reasons, but to see the numerous natural shapes that are typical of the landscape and the buildings that are valuable artifacts of the nation. When you make a pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda you are in the middle of nature at its best, with a gorgeous river, caves, and mountains.Therefore, people of different ages all so interested in the Huong Pagoda Festival...

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Street Food Moves From Sidewalk to Storefront in VietNam

On my first trip to Southeast Asia almost 30 years ago, I fell in love with street food. I was a student on a budget, staying in an area in Bangkok still famous for backpacker hotels.

Along the streets and alleyways, stalls were mixing up complicated soups, grilling skewers, wrapping pancakes and selling the best noodles I had ever eaten.

The only thing to do was count out the equivalent of 50 cents or a dollar, sit down on a plastic stool at a table covered with oilcloth and start eating.

Back in those pre-Internet days, street food was something you explored for yourself. The intrepid foodie was rewarded with unexpected treats that were cheaper, more authentic and tastier than anything that might be served in a grown-up restaurant.

Bangkok is not the only Southeast Asian city renowned for street cuisine. These days, you can find Top 10 lists and apps directing you to stalls and markets from Singapore and Taipei to Penang and Manila.

Nor are frugal travelers the only visitors drawn to street food. When I checked into the Essence Hotel in Hanoi with my husband last summer (“an unrivaled luxury boutique hotel chain experience in the heart of Hanoi”), a sign at the desk advertised street food tours.

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And indeed, delicious packets of sticky rice, fried spring rolls and skewers of grilled chicken are prepared by vendors on crowded streets in the Old Quarter and in farther-flung neighborhoods.

I found myself buying sidewalk banh mi — Vietnamese sandwiches of grilled meat or cold cuts, herbs and vegetables stuffed into small, perfectly crusty baguettes, inevitably produced from a large straw basket by a vendor on a busy corner.

The dishes are so delicious, and so clearly carry local flavors, that the culinary genre has made a leap into upscale restaurants where menus feature “street food snacks” or “famous street noodles.”

It seems that lowly street food is now, paradoxically, a higher-end tourist business. I decided to check out a few restaurants, both expensive and humble, in Hanoi and around the historic town of Hoi An.

But before I get started on what I found, it is helpful to note that restaurants and street stalls in Vietnam reflect more than culinary traditions.

In “Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam,” Robert Templer talks about how pho stalls in Hanoi were shut down in the ’50s, under Communism, generating a culture of “speakeasy soup joints.” When the economy was liberalized in the late 1980s, street stalls were among the first small businesses to return.

In 1990, when a law was passed encouraging private enterprise, restaurants and even restaurant empires began to grow out of some of the most successful streetside soup pots and other cherished recipes.

One of the first meals we had was lunch at Quan An Ngon, a restaurant that is celebrated for serving street food from all over Vietnam. The huge courtyard was lined with stalls, each contributing to an encyclopedic menu that included noodle soups, spring and summer rolls, grilled fishballs, salads and more.

We tried banh cuon, rice flour pancakes stuffed with pork and mushrooms; the grilled pork dish bun cha; and banh xeo, a crepe with a distinctive rice flour texture.

It was a pleasant meal, but this upscale emporium couldn’t touch what was delivered at far less expensive joints, many of them transitional spots that are essentially overgrown street stalls. While taking over slightly more permanent real estate, moving from sidewalk to storefront, the informality and limited menu of the street vendor are preserved. The more we sought out these specialized places, the better we ate.

Take bun cha, a classic Hanoi meal of charcoal-grilled pork slices and pork patties, served over thin noodles. We had pleasant restaurant versions, but they paled next to the bun cha served at Bun Cha Nem Cua Be Dac Kim, a one-dish joint in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where phenomenally flavorful grilled meat arrived hot and juicy, and the dipping options included a mountain of pepper-spiked garlic, along with fish-sauce-based condiments.

The little two-story storefront, which opens onto the street where some of the grilling takes place, is furnished with those same oilcloth-covered tables and plastic stools that seem to define street food everywhere. A dedicated staff produces that one spectacular recipe (well, actually two recipes, since the bun cha comes with excellent crab spring rolls).

A similar setup exists at Bun Thang Ba Duc on Cau Go Street, also in the Old Quarter. Bun thang is one of the great noodle soups of Vietnam, but less well known than pho — the anise-scented beef noodle soup that has been franchised all over the world.

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This is another one-dish place, and once again, much of the cooking (and eating) is on the sidewalk, although there has been expansion into a modest two-story restaurant. When we were there, the spaghetti-like noodles, bathed in a rich chicken broth, came with an array of toppings — egg, chicken, onions, herbs, dried shrimps, fried shallots, pickled vegetables — arranged in a gorgeous mosaic atop the white noodles.

And then there are the essential flavorings: shrimp paste, and what Mr. Templer describes as “the tiniest drop of musk produced by a male belostomatid insect, a large and rather fearsome beetle.”

Our plan was to complement our culinary itinerary with visits to cultural sites. And so, our stomachs full from our Bun Thang Ba Duc meal, we headed for the magnificent Hanoi Museum of Vietnamese History, which houses Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian art and artifacts. It is the perfect place to learn about the complexity of the cultural influences that shaped the country.

Among those influences was the ancient Hindu Cham kingdom, which dominated central Vietnam from the seventh century, and was powerful enough to rival and assault the Khmer kingdom of Angkor in the 12th century. The Cham still constitute a linguistic minority group in Vietnam. Cham Hindu sculptures — beautifully carved images of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma — are showcased in the Hanoi exhibits.

The museum building itself — the former French École Française d’Extreme Orient, built by the French colonial architect Ernest Hebrard in the 1930s in the “pagoda” style — reflects the complexity of cultural influences in Vietnam.

It is only one example of French colonial architecture in Hanoi; others include the cathedral and the opera house. And the colonial Hotel Metropole is now fully restored in all its luxury — complete with an exhibit on the celebrities who stayed there before, during and after the war years (including Charlie Chaplin, Catherine Deneuve, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez and John McCain). At the Metropole, lobster thermidor is on the menu, and guests are advised to dress appropriately for dinner. But we had other meals to pursue.

One of those meals was xoi, made with sticky rice with mung beans and onions, among other toppings. We found the dish at Xoi Yen, another couple of steps up the ladder from street stall to restaurant. We ordered xoi with chicken, which was delicious, but also saw bowls going by topped with fried eggs, pork, vegetables and other combinations.

Xoi Yen feels more like a real restaurant, with a corps of busy waiters, and a balcony crowded with families and sociable groups, all eating xoi. Again, much of the cooking is at a counter right out on the street.

Near the end of our stay in Hanoi, we sought out Cha Ca La Vong, a restaurant that, like the Metropole, has hosted celebrities and inspired famous chefs around the world.

Unlike the Metropole, it is a one-dish place with food that you might easily find on the street; a single preparation of freshwater fish prepared in a pan. At the restaurant, the fish is grilled on an electric skillet at your table, flavored with turmeric, herbs, green onions and shrimp paste. Once again, the dish was better than any version we ate at restaurants with tablecloths and more extensive menus.

After Hanoi, we moved south to Da Nang, the booming city that is the economic heart of central Vietnam, but actually dates from the Cham empire. The Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, established by French archaeologists in 1919, has spectacular works: dancing apsara ladies, playful elephants, a galaxy of monsters and divinities.

In My Son, we saw the Shiva temples, the most important Cham archaeological sites in Vietnam, even after the American bombing during the war.

Most of the surviving temples date from the 10th century, and are built of red brick and covered with graceful carvings. The towering temples and the lush plants that grow around and over them evoke a sense of a giant kingdom lost and found.

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You visit My Son from the touristy historic town of Hoi An, about one hour away. The big enterprise here is tailoring; you can get clothing made or copied in a day or less at numerous tailor shops.

After walking around the old town, we took a cab to the beach at Cua Dai, three miles away, where we found the Man Restaurant, one of several beachside seafood joints, where our driver clearly had a connection. The beach was spectacular, with views of mountains and islands and a pink tropical sunset. We were invited to find a spot in a row of chairs and umbrellas on condition that we ordered food.

And did I mention that it happened to be one of the best restaurants in the world? The waiter assured us that his father had caught the fish that was being grilled by his brother on the patio.

We went back the next day (and the next) to hang out on the beach, and then earn our right to the beach chairs by eating dinners of barbecued clams, perfumed with a shallot-scented oil that the waiter said was one of his mother’s special recipes, and grilled fish wrapped in charred banana leaves.

Shallot oil, fermented fish sauce, the essential drop of musk from a belostomatid beetle: I’d like to think these flavors may go back to the ancient kingdoms that carved the sculptures I admired on our journey.

What we were served on the beach wasn’t street food, exactly, because there wasn’t any street. But it was a restaurant where there was nothing hidden: The cooking was happening out where we could see it, on grills and open flames.

As with the other great street-inspired food we found in Vietnam, the secret was in the narrowly focused menus, a devotion to the subtle and complicated combinations of ingredients, and a commitment to the culinary traditions of the street.

If You Go

Quan An Ngon, 18 Phan Boi Chau Street, Hanoingonhanoi.com.vn/index.php/en/about-us. Average cost of a meal: About 150,000 to 200,000 Vietnamese dong, or $7.10 to $9.50 at 21,000 dong to the dollar.

Bun Cha Nem Cua Be Dac Kim, 67 Duong Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. About 100,000 Vietnamese dong.

Bun Thang Ba Duc, 48 Cau Go, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. About 50,000 Vietnamese dong.

Xoi Yen, 35B Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. About 50,000 Vietnamese dong.

Cha Ca La Vong, 14 Cha Ca, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. About 170,000 Vietnamese dong.

Man Restaurant, Cua Dai, Plot No. 05, Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An. About 100,000 to 200,000 Vietnamese dong for a meal, but varies by type of seafood.

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Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay

Hochiminh Muslim Tour Malaysia sincerely introduce you the Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay as follows:

Trying a new experience at homestay with famer house in the original Mekong Deltal. Seeing the floating market. Sight-seeing  lively activities along river as fishing, water transferring. Wandering into the village for seeing local people make sleep mats, make bricks in handy, tasting a delicious coconut in orchard garden. Trying a new experience on “ tuk tuk” or “ xe loi” on shady paths, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on really life and find out about tropical culture from Peasants.

Itinerary details:

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh – Ben Tre – Ham Luong (L/D)

• At 08.00am, pick up at your hotel and leave Ho Chi Minh city for visiting Mekong Delta. On arrival in Hàm Luông Pier (Bến Tre town). Take a boat on Bến Tre river – one of tributaries of Mekong river, sight-seeing  lively activities along river as fishing, water transfering… Stop at brickwork to see how to make bricks in handy traditional style by printing and baking. Visit one of plenty of coconut processing workshops located along canal. Turn on natural scissors creeks where they look smaller and smaller to go to village. Take a walk to family workshop making sleepmats and enjoying some fruits and tea.


• Take a motor cart (xe lôi) or cycle riding under tree shades, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on realy life and find out  about tropical culture from Peasants.


• Lunch at Hai Hồ family.  Check in  accommodation.


• Time for taking a rest.


• In the afternoon - riding to Mr. Sau khanh’s house – seeing ancient porcelains collecting set. Help peasents planting, harvesting in the field.


• Joining cooking together with family, have dinner.


• Overnight in farmer house.

Day 2: Ham Luong – Cai Be floating market – Ho Chi Minh (B/L/_)

• Having breakfast at farmer house. Going to local market and seeing local temple on the way. Check out take a rowing - boat along water palm creek and boating along Cái Cối creek. Back to Pier. Meeting your driver and proceed to Cai Be.


• On arrival to Cai Be, set off by motor boat to visit the Cai Be floating market and watch the locals trading fruit and many other commodities on board their vessels. Visit a small family business to see how coconut candy and crispy rice popcorn are made. Then wander into the small villages to visit the orchard and fruit plantation, accompanied by traditional southern Vietnamese folk music.


• Keep cruising to a series of small canals to experience the charms of the Upper Mekong Delta. Arrive in Tan Phong island. Trekking around the village path with fruit orchards and bonsai garden. Meet the local islanders to learn more about the local daily life in the Mekong delta.


• 14h00. Return to Ho Chi Minh city.


• The tour ends at your hotel around 16.30.

Group size	2 pax	3 - 5  pax	6 - 8 pax	9 - 11 pax	12 – 15 pax
Cost in US$ per person	183	147	104	89	79

Tour price includes: 

• Private van for pick up, transfer & sightseeing as per program


• Cold mineral water on van (2 bottles/ pax/ day)


• English speaking tour guide


• Private boat trips in the Mekong Delta


• All entrance fees


• Tuk tuk or xe loi


• Home stay arrangement


• Meals as indicated in the tour program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)

Tour price excludes:

• Travel insurance


• Personal expenses.


• Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program

Thank you for visiting our Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay. We are looking forward to serving you.

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Mekong Delta Tours 1,2,3 days

Hochiminh Muslim Tour Malaysia sincerely introduce the Mekong Delta Tours 1,2,3 days as follows:

Mekong Delta 1 day tour My Tho – Ben Tre: price 12$

Mekong Delta Tour 2 days – Cai Rang floating market: price 24$

Mekong Delta 3 days tour and exit to Phnom Penh: price 69$

Take a handed paddles boat along the canals under the water coconut palm trees, taste seasonal fresh fruit in the orchards, see the lively floating markets in Can Tho, experience the “Monkey Bridge” in the Delta, Spend the night in the village with the local farmers. Visit the Bird Sanctuary in Tra Su, Visit the Sam Mountain and the caved pagoda, Contemplate the sunset over the Vietnamese – Cambodian Frontier, cruise up the Tonle Sap river through Vinh Xuong newly – opened border

Day 1:  Ho Chi Minh – My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho (L) 

• At 08.00am, depart for Mekong Delta.  Enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields. On arrival at My Tho, visit Vinh Trang pagoda, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet


• Have lunch in the orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shade of water coconut trees along natural canals. Have a short cycling tour (applied for private tour/if time permitted) then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, performed by the locals. Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantations and villages. Proceed to Can Tho.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Can Tho.

Day 2:  Cai Rang  Floating market – Chau Doc – Tra Su Sanctuary (B)

• Take a leisurely boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river (Bassac River), then proceed to Cai Rang floating markets (& Phong Dien is optional), which are the liveliest in the whole religion.


• Have you ever tasted Vietnamese vermicelli soup? Well, now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people and experience how to pass a “Monkey bridge” which is built by only one stem of bamboo. Visit the orchard garden.


• Stop for lunch. Proceed to Chau Doc, continue the tour to visit Tra Su, getting to the wild birds Sanctuary, cruising smoothly with small boats to discover the arrays of splendid canals deep into the forest, watching storks, cranes and other tropical birds, back to the Town, hotel check in.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Chau Doc.

Day 3: Chau Doc – Phnom Penh (B) 

• After breakfast. Transfer to the ferry for boarding the speed boat to PhnomPenh.


• Arrive in Phnom Penh around 2.00 pm at the Sisowath tourist dock.


• End of your Mekong Delta Tours 1,2,3 days.

Include:

• A/c bus for transfer & sightseeing as per program.


• Boat trip in the Mekong delta.


• Express boat ticket Chaudoc – Phnompenh


• English speaking tour guide


• All entrance fees, fresh fruit and honey tea


• Meals as indicated in the program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)


• Accommodation based on Twin/Double room share basis

Exclude:

• Travel insurance


• Cambodia entry visa (US$22/person)


• Other meals not mentioned in the program


• Personal expenses.

Note:

• Private tour is available on request. We highly recommend you do private tour for more privacy as well as more convenience.

Thank you for visiting our Mekong Delta Tours 1,2,3 days. We are looking forward to serving you.

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Mekong Delta 1 day tour (My Tho - Ben Tre)

Hochiminh Muslim Tour Malaysia sincerely introduce the Mekong Delta 1 day tour (My Tho - Ben Tre) as follows:

•  Enjoy the scenic journey along the Express Trung Luong Highway, take a leisurely boat trip around the four beautiful islands known as Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise islands, visit the picturesque orchards and sample the freshly picked fruit at the invitation of friendly local farmers, get on a rowing boat ride in the shadows of the water-coconut palms along the tiny canals of Ben Tre Province. Learn the traditional rural lifestyle of the Mekong Delta inhabitants.

• At 8.00 am, leave Ho Chi Minh city, enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields. On arrival at My Tho, visit Vinh Trang pagoda, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet


• Have lunch in the orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shade of water coconut trees along natural canals. Then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of "Southern Vietnamese folk music", performed by the locals.


• Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantations and villages.


• Return to Hochiminh city by road.


• The tour end at 5.00pm


• End of  your Mekong Delta tour 1 day (My Tho - Ben Tre)

Include:

• A/c bus for pick up and transfer as per program.


• Escorted English speaking tour guide


• Mineral water on bus (1 bottle/ pax)


• Boat trip on Mekong Delta


• All entrance fees


• 1 lunch

Exclude:

• Travel insurance


• Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program.


• Hotel pick up & drop off

Note:

• Private tour is available on request. We highly recommend you do private tour for more privacy as well as more convenience.

Thank you for visiting our Mekong Delta 1 day tour (My Tho - Ben Tre). We are looking forward to serving you.

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