Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ramen209]

Has anyone visited or have any advice on the Mekong Delta area in Vietnam? (Good cities, hostels/guesthouses, etc.)

Thanks!

[mmstyle]

Definitely worth a visit. Can't recommend any places, though. We took a recommendation for a tour, and while the Mekong was cool to check out, I was NOT impressed by the hotel or the tour guide. Depends-do you want to go as cheaply as possible or spend a bit more and stay in better places. (My husband and I prefer not to go the cheapest route, but not the most expensive either).

Unless you are going during TET, I think you don't have to worry too much about booking everything ahead of time, though. We didn't. Don't take my word for that, though, wait for other responses. I could be wrong.

[ramen209]

thanks mmstyle.

we are looking to travel as inexpensively as possible without being really unconfortable, and prob. not looking for a guided tour. We'd rather just tour on our own..

We are looking to go on a boat throught the mekong delta also, if anyone has any experience with this it would be good to know.

[mmstyle]

If you fly into Saigon, book at the bich duyen (not certain of spelling). owner is Chan. he rocks. It's cheap. He can get you started on all kinds of places to go. Usually I think the boat rides come witha guide, but he can help you out around that, anyway. He really is great. No need to book anything else ahead unless it's TET, I think. TET is something liek the second to last week in Feb.

[ramen209]

MMstyle

Hi, what's TET?

The second to last week in February is when we will be there.

Thanks

[curiousaboutkorea]

Tet is Vietnamese New Year (Chinese New Year, Seollal, etc.)

I spent a bit of time in the Mekong Delta; it's pretty cool. I don't think it's worth it to do one of those inclusive tours out of Saigon. They are usually 1-3 days and most people I've met didn't seem to enjoy it. The Mekong Delta is really best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. It's hot but friendly and endearing. It's very busy with all the agriculture and hustle and bustle on the rivers... yet it seems laid-back at the same time (people, of course, ARE working very hard).

The whole region is well connected by mini-buses (really just large passenger vans).

Here are the cities I went to:

Can Tho: The heart of the Mekong Delta. It's the largest city of the region (5th largest in Vietnam, by population, if I'm not mistaken). It's a big city, but isn't overwhelming at all (unlike Saigon, Hanoi etc). Also, unlike many big cities, I found people to be very friendly and outgoing. I spent maybe 4 nights here. By the end, I knew the names of some people in the neighborhood and they knew mine. People showed great hospitality. There's a handful of tourists in the city, and there's infrastructure for it, but there's not a ton of tourists. You can hire a boat to take you to the nearby floating markets (very cool). You'll also be taken through all the tiny canals. It's very peaceful and fascinating. The markets in the city are really cool, too. The riverfront area is great for hanging out. The city has really awesome street food. I highly recommend Can Tho

Chau Doc- It's near the Cambodian border. I came here by boat from Phnom Penh (I think there's at least 1 other crossing for foreigners in the Delta). The town is pretty nice. It's large-ish for a town but easy to navigate. It's fairly active, probably at least in part due to it's proximity to Cambodia. However, it's not some seedy place, like some border towns. The market is large and is great. There's also a mountain nearby that is supposed to be cool. You could definitely spend a day/2 nights here, but maybe not much more unless you just wanna hang out.

My Tho- I didn't spend much time there. I've met a couple people who said they liked it. I only spent one night here. I didn't really pick up on the vibe of the place. I met one other traveler in Vietnam who had also visted there and shared that sentiment. BUT, I think most people like it. I stayed at the Rang Dong mini-hotel (something like that). It was pretty nice and clean and fairly cheap if I remember correctly. It was close to the town center and ferry landing.

Ben Tre- When I was there, this province was only accessible by a 15-minute ferry ride from the riverfront in My Tho (easy to find). The ferries are huge, carrying vehicle and such, and are running constantly (like maybe every 20 minutes). Supposedly it costs 1000 dong (like 5 cents or something) for people (pedestrian/no vehicle). But, when I went they weren't even charging pedestrians; just letting them on for free. The province is essentially a triangle-shaped island. It has rivers on two sides (separating it from the rest of the country) and has coastline on the third side. You can take a motorbike taxi for a ways from the ferry landing to Ben Tre Town (maybe 20-30 minutes away). There are also mini-buses to the town (at least to/from Saigon) which go on the ferry. I read there's a new bridge opening soon, though. I can't remember the hotel where I stayed, it was near the small man-made lake in the town center. It was a REALLY shoddy hotel, I should have shopped around, but it was cheap. It might have been called the Phuong Hoang, but don't quote me on that. The town is really cool. It's not much for attractins, but it's cool to walk around near the river. There's a great big market. The food is great. It's generally very friendly. I stayed in town for a few days, just hanging out. There's very few tourists there. I think I saw one foreign couple during my 3-night stay there. You can hire a boat to take you on a tour of the area. You can see canals and they'll take you to a coconut candy factory. The area is famous for coconut and coconut candies (which are delicious).

I also went to Vinh Long- I went there to do a homestay. I went through the government travel agency in town. It was meh. It's more organized than one might assume a homestay to be. The "home" was a bit more like a hotel/hostel with a guest dining area and such. I went alone; it may have been more fun with another person. Hiring a bicycle from the "home" was fun, though. You can check out the rural island . To and from the home, you take a boat. It stops at various touristy stuff, like a candy/snack factory (small-scale, handmade tasty stuff), fruit plantation etc. It's fun, in a cheesy way .

Out of the cities I went to, I would strongly suggest Can Tho and Ben Tre. A big city and a small town.

Wherever you go, enjoy your travels!