Day 10 – Ship Tour, Fruit Carving, Afternoon Canal Paddle, Coconut Toffee, Palm Tree Spoons, Evening Vietnam Traditional Music
Following breakfast, our Pandaw guide took us on a ship tour. We had an opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes areas, such as the kitchen, engine room, location of the staff cabins, and bridge. The ship was in top shape for the tour, and it was interesting to see what it takes to create an incredible river cruise experience.
The ship’s main chef then did a melon carving demonstration where he created beautifully carved flowers. This was followed by a demonstration where guests were invited to create salad rolls. This was done by soaking rice paper in water, then filling them with different vegetables and rolling them into a delicious appetizer. The demonstration wrapped up with tastings of a variety of locally grown fruit. One which smelled horrendous was called Dorion. I didn’t see many like the taste either.
We had some more downtime as we cruised down the Mekong river and enjoyed our noon lunch as it poured rain outside. By 2:30 pm, the rain was finishing as we had anchored and were ready for our day’s excursion in the village of Ben Tre. We motored for about 20 minutes by sampan boat along the shore to a canal lined by mangroves and bamboo grove-lined shores. It was a beautiful narrow canal that suddenly ended as we disembarked at a hidden staircase. We got out in a remote area and walked about 1 to 2 kilometers through a remote farming residential area. On all sides, we could see people growing jackfruit, pomelos, cocoa, and much more. The occasional dog barked as we walked along a paved pathway. At least one person in our group slipped on the walkway, which had the rest of us being a bit more careful. It had just stopped raining, so it was a bit slick.
Our walk ended at a roadway where covered Tuk Tuk’s met us. 7 to 8 people hopped into the back of each vehicle, which then took us on a 15 to 20-minute tour through the village streets. The roads seemed like a maze as they went in all directions. Scooters followed close behind us and passed us as their drivers went in various directions. Few people in these parts of Vietnam have a car. Most ride bikes, scooters, or motorcycles.
We were dropped off at a coconut workshop. A disabled man was busy carving wooden spoons and other things out of coconut tree wood which had cool speckles in the grain. Others were chopping up coconut candy into squares, wrapping them, and packaging them for us to buy.
Samples of rice wine, bee wine, banana wine, and scorpion wine were also offered to all that wanted to try it. When someone sampling the bee wine asked what was in it, she was surprised to hear that the honey, honeycomb, and bees were all added to the mixture. I could even see a real scorpion in the scorpion wine. It’s incredible to see what people in Vietnam will eat.
After sampling many types of local fruit, we continued our tour by walking to a very narrow canal wide enough for one small canoe-sized boat. About 3 people joined a traditional paddler as we were paddled about 2 miles down a palm grove canal. It was a magical trip as palms created a tunnel-like canopy over us down the narrow channel. At one point, I saw a bright blue kingfisher bird. It had stunning blue feathers and a red-tipped beak.
We hiked about 20 minutes down pathways wide enough for only three people or a scooter and one other person. They took us past small homes, which were very rural areas. Internet and phone lines hung at head height along the path, and plastic pop bottles were used to keep the splicing points dry. Our excursion went from 2:30 to 5 pm and was a very memorable experience.
As we returned to our boat by sampan, the sun was beginning to set. The sunset was beautiful, and it highlighted our river boat well as we pulled in for the evening.
We docked in the evening at a pier at our final trip stop. The evening was memorable as the cocktail hour ended with a Vietnamese Cultural Show. Dancers performed traditional songs and dances while playing traditional musical instruments. The Vietnamese performers shared with us their music and humor through their performances. It was the perfect way to conclude our four-night river cruise.
