MRM05: Mekong in Depth and Phuquoc island

After breakfast, we’ll stroll through the market in town and stop to see a workshop where women craft hand-made brooms used in homes all around southern Vietnam. From Mo Cay we’ll drive 25 kilometers to the Ben Tre Wharf for a boat ride to the main coconut farming and production area. Situated on a branch of the Mekong River, the people of Ben Tre make their living by manufacturing coconut products. At one of the coconut processing plants, you’ll witness each stage of the coconut’s journey – from husking to shaving and washing – to the creation of a wide range of products such as oil, candies and even kitchen utensils. We’ll take a short walk to a local mat-weaving workshop before stopping for lunch in a traditional Mekong Delta house.

After lunch, we’ll continue our tour of Ben Tre at a brick factory, where you can have a look around the enormous kilns where the bricks are fired. A boat will bring us back to the bikes and we’ll begin the drive to Tra Vinh and Soc Trang for an overnight stay.

In the morning we’ll have breakfast at a local restaurant before setting out to explore Ca Mau. There’s plenty to see, including a Cao Dai temple, small canals running through the city, vendors in the market and quaint traditional homes. Lunch is enjoyed on the river with a view of the boats going by. After leaving Ca Mau we’ll drive through U Minh Thuong National Park en route to Kien Giang. Part of the drive will be off-road, following the bends of the river and past a field of pineapples. We’ll stay at Kien Giang overnight.