Monday 14th September, 2026
Arrived at the Riverfront boat terminal, shown a map of the islands in this part of the delta we would be visiting and then guided onto a small passenger boat, put on our life jackets and off we went. First stop was a bee / honey farm, tried honey tea, sweetened with bee pollen, even tried the pollen by itself, quite sweet and a pleasant flavour.
Next stop was a coconut farm where we had a display of how coconuts were harvested, water collected, flesh ground, milk and oil collected. With various ingredients coconut jam and sweets were produced and we got to try many of them. We also were able to try snake rice wine and banana rice wine - both very similar to the Italian grappa. We then walked through the gardens here which grew most of the local produce both fruit and vegetables as well as the coconuts. Very lush, lots of water.
A stop for a plate of fruit and a cup of tea, then a tuk tuk ride through the lush island settings, past homes and resorts, and over 'Monkey Bridge' to our restaurant for lunch. There was an amazing array of food here including elephant ear fish, large fresh water shrimp, chicken, rice and much more !
Following lunch we were treated to a sampan ride through small waterways lined by water coconut groves, so peaceful and tranquil. At the end of the ride, it was a short walk back to our motor boat to take us back over the Mekong Delta to the river front terminal. Back on our air conditioned bus and another 2 hour drive back to our Ho Chi Minh hotel.
It was a nice day out even though we had to hunker down at the first port to wait out a sudden heavy downpour, but other then that it was an enjoyable day.
We opted out of the group dinner tonight - too much food already during the day, but did get a Banh Mi and coffee not far from our hotel.
Snake rice wine – wtf?