Meandering the Mekong Delta 7 days

Following a leisurely breakfast, we bike from the homestay, cycle on the open-air paths- ride paddies, race along small rivers to Cang Long. Then continue bicycling on tiny roads to small Tan An market where we follow small country paths along canals Tieu Can.

Benifit the real countryside and life of Kkmer people crossing charming villages. Your guide will lead you to ride, enjoy scenic landscapes, and learn about the cultural features of the Khmer Empire. Four ethnic groups live in Vietnam's Mekong Delta; Khmer, Chinese, Cham and Vietnamese. Most Khmer reside in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces, and they are one of the godliest Buhhdist believers. Their homes are not far from colourful temples, and they live in tiny houses, but the temples are massive with colourful, detailed patterns, unique architectural styles. The routes are smooth concrete paths through beautiful hamlets, green rice paddy fields, and country farms. Khmer monks often walk through for food from their community, but they never ask for anything from villagers.  Khmer history and culture from the monks and locals.

Afterwards, we ride past thatched houses on the way to Cau Quan via Tieu Can. We will get on the support vehicles then, cross the Mekong River on ferry, then transfer to Bac Lieu city.

After breakfast, take some photos, and admire the most elegant colonial building in the town, the wealthiest landlord house in Mekong Delta before 1975. He ordered more than 90% of building materials from France with a well-known French architect. Built-in 1919. Tran Trinh Huy was the son of a family of 4 daughters and 3 sons, and he spent money like the water. Two men fell in love with a beautiful girl, and both tried to appeal to her with money, gold, and luxury Citroen cars. It was difficult for the girl to make her decision. Eventually, two men agreed to take a gamble to burn their money notes to cook congee. Each cooked one pan filled up rice, water on the same size pans. The beautiful girl was the referee and the witness from the beginning to the end.

Check out the hotel for a 20-minute vehicle transfer out of the town. Explore verdant agricultural lands and remove Chinese, Vietnamese hamlets where purely agricultural lands are huge paddies and small hamlets with fewer people. The locals still use Vietnamese water buffalos, cows for works, but not many Japanese buffaloes in small villages. It's simple to understand that Japanese buffaloes are more expensive. It's funny that there is not any market along the villages, but we can enjoy a snack, fresh fruits, drinks from grocery shops. Do remember! Foreigners are rarely seen here in the hamlets. Take a chance to explore the undeveloped rural hamlets with plenty of small wooden bridges, enjoy watching tiny thatched houses, cross man-made canals, and rustic farms to Nga Nam township. Nga Nam (five different waterways meet at one point) is famous for its floating market because it's natural with small sampan boats. This market opens every day and the whole day as well. Of course, it's more crowded in the morning, but still busy at noontime. You will have a sampan boat paddled through it slowly past waterfront villages—lunch en route.

We will have an hour and a half vehicle transfer to Ben Nhut to enjoy an hour and half pleasant ride to Minh Luong to avoid the heat. Explore the river full of water hyacinth, small fishing village, and finally have transferred to Rach Gia city

Today's highlights are the historic Ba Chuc killing village and Tra Su forest. After breakfast at the hotel, we travel on the road, a 30-minute transfer west of Rach Gia to a tiny town for today's ride to Chau Doc. In the morning, we ride to Ba Chuc, the fertility of Mekong land offers the vast farmlands and agricultural canals system. Under the shade of cajeput trees, we take it easy and ride along the dams, past some families making oils from cajeput, melaleuca's leaves. It's one of the traditional medications and has been used for years. We will see locals farming on the endless verdant farmlands and sampans moving along canals.

Stop at the Ba Chuc village, visit it's memorial that worship more than 3 thousand people. The village is closed to the Cambodia border, and Pol Pot attached it in 1978. Then we break for lunch in a small town. We wander through Khmer hamlets with palm trees in their surroundings. There are some smaller towns along, and most people here live essentially on farming. Views the mountain spectacle and undulate on back roads to Tra Su forest. The forest is about 800,000-hectare forest is home to an astounding number of wading birds. The rainy season is the best time for breeding. We will have the sampan boat paddled and the motorized boat long, narrow channels when plenty of storks, herons, birds, and bats are returning home to sleep. Afterwards, we cycle through the parks, passing the lotus fields, and the colourful pagoda, and we end up on today's ride in Sam mountain.

Take a rest, and transfer up to Sam Mountain Loge Resort. Relax your legs by the pool, admire the sunset, and looking over the Cambodia border. 

Enjoy an hour motorized boat to catfish farms and floating villages. Then we bike on a small road along Bassac River, past Muslim villages, the local market and verdant vegetation, pedal along Bassac River. Muslim Cham Ethnic is the second largest group after Viet Kinh people living in small Chau Doc town. Women still weave traditional clothing at home, and the particular is the sarong. There are plenty of chances for us to learn about different cultures. Take a small ferry to cross Bassac River to wetlands- Dong Thap province.

We stop at the local market by the river, have fresh snack fruits, and find something interesting; next, we cycle through stilted house villages, colourful Buddhist temples and mingle with children on pushbikes on rural roads. Lunch in Cho Moi town. During the French colonial period, the French travelled from Saigon to Siem Reap by steamboats, and the French discovered the Angkor Wat. Followed by the Angkor Wat, the French structured the Monastery and churches in later years. The complex of Roman Catholic structures on the island is astonishing. The most striking is Cu Lao Gieng Church, built by a French priest named Gazignol between 1879 and 1889 with construction materials brought in from France.

In the afternoon, we take a leisurely ride through the Gieng island, views the Monastery, and its surroundings from the bridge, look over fish farms on the river, pass many fruit orchards to the ferry. Share space with locals on a ferry crossing to the lush green rural Dist, and we continue biking through mango orchards and on small concrete paths to Cao Lanh City.

The drowsy former capital of Dong Thap province, Sadec, is a comparatively peaceful city of tree-lined streets and fading colonial villas. Cao Lanh is a new town after 1975, and there were many Viet Cong" camps and bases during the Vietnam war. So far, the yearly flooded season from late September to early November almost destroyed them while Sadec is an old town built by the French, and it became known to tourists since the movie "The Lover" had published. Marguerite Duras's love story is about when she fell in love with a local man before 1932. You can see the difference between new and old.

Following the hearty breakfast, we ride on a narrow lane from the town to the outskirts of the town. Start to explore villagers' morning activities, pass tiny markets, have a ferry crossing, explore a beautiful route through flowery villages, flower plantations, and lunch at the ancient house of Huynh Thuy Le. The afternoon leisurely ride as we cycle slowly and enjoy the scenic scenery. We pass a village making rice power and sweet potato plantation. Take a rest on the vehicle transfer to Can Tho city. 
 

On the last morning of the tour, we’ll take a motorized boat to check out the lively floating market. Cai Rang is the real floating market full of wholesales and retail boats. You could see literally hundreds of big and small boats every morning to buy and sell just about anything you can imagine – freshly harvested fruit and vegetables, rice, and even noodle soup, broken rice, and coffee are also for sale aboard a tiny boat or another! Primarily, you can see many grocery boats and floating houses around you.

Disembark your boat for a short transfer to the other side of Hau Giang River to Binh Minh for a half-day ride. We cycle through the vast rice paddy fields, explore the Khmer villages, and stop visiting some colourful Khmer temples, and the small workshop produces hats, handbags, indoor sandals, and bins, all made from water hyacinths. We end up the ride in Tam Binh, lunch en-route before returning to Saigon by vehicle. Ends of services!