Mekong River Cruise in Vietnam

One thing you should try in Vietnam is the Mekong River Cruise for just US$8. The tour is whole day with free lunch but one can also try the 2 day trip to the Mekong with overnight accommodation.

The tour starts at 8:00am from Pham Ngu Lao point where I was picked up by a coach to Mekong. The trip to Mekong is around 2 hours from Saigon.

Before we continued in our journey, we had a short stop at a local art gallery. Whats unique about this gallery is that they use chicken eggshell to create a marvelous work of art. Aside from that, the workers were victims of Agent Orange chemicals during the war era so workers are either decapitated or disabled. But beyond that, their work of art is truly amazing. I learned that it takes a few months in order to complete the whole art in frame or through a vase.

These handicrafts are just one of the best I’ve ever seen, making it requires tremendous patience and artistry. Who would ever thought that from a humble eggshell, a work of art is created. 

After this Handicraft center, we went to Mekong river. We rode on a small motorized boat. The tour brought us first to a small ssland where they make coconut products like wine, handicrafts and candies. The treats were tummy fillers too. 

We had a taste test of different local products from wine, tea’s and candy. If you like their products, you can order some of it. I realized later that this could be one of a tourist trap. The island have different stations, one the other side we ate some tropical fruits from Vietnam like rambutan, papaya, lychee-like fruit, jackfruit and so much more.

So right after this taste all you can free treat, we finally head on to the river. I expected too much on this part, I call it the highlight of my Mekong cruise but it seems Loboc-Bohol River cruise was way better for me but its a good experience definetely. I can feel my Vietnam moment that time just like in some old Vietnam films Ive seen. 

So finally we had our lunch in another island, we were served a packed lunch meal and have the option to order other foods from the menu at extra cost. In the island, you can also do biking around the local town and rest in the hammock while waiting for the boat to go back to Saigon.

The tour also has an optional fast ferry back to Saigon at extra cost but I chose to do the bus back to Hanoi for free. It was already 5:00pm when our bus to Saigon arrived.