Truly Enjoy Local Experiences in Mekong Delta Vietnam

 

The Mekong Delta, otherwise known as the Nine-Dragon Delta by the locals, is a fertile agricultural land that produces the majority of the nation's food for domestic consumption and for export. Located not so far from Ho Chi Minh City, this area will delight you with its stunning greenery or tasty coconut drinks. Because the people enjoy relatively stable living conditions, they have developed an optimistic attitude and a distinctly laid-back lifestyle.

 

The Mekong Delta is popularly known in Vietnam as Cuu Long — Nine Dragons thanks to the nine tributaries marking the end of the great Mekong River. It is a large countryside area to the South West of Vietnam, the local also call it as “the rice bowl"

It will take you approximately up to 1 hour to go to Mekong Delta (by car) from Ho Chi Minh. If you do not have any idea about traffic, a guided day tour is the best choice for you. There are many Mekong Delta tours from Ho Chi Minh which hold by tour operators, so you can learn more useful things from the local tour guide.

These are several top local experiences you should try when you have a chance visit Mekong Delta

(Full article is first published on Medium)

1. Eat  Purple Sticky Rice Cake

 Purple Sticky Rice Cake ( in Vietnamese is Bánh Tét Lá Cẩm) is a sticky rice cake that is slightly sweetened and cooked in coconut milk. The addition of the black glutinous rice made it healthier and gave it a better texture when you bite into it (Source: https://pinoybites.com/recipes/purple-biko-sweet-rice-cake/) 

The usual assemblage includes a sticky rice outer layer, the mung bean filling with either fatty pork as the savory element or bananas for vegetarian eating, and banana leaves encapsulating everything.

‘Banh Tet La Cam’, a delicacy of ‘The West’, is a much sought-after gift to bring home.

2. Taste Coconut Candy

You can find this lovely candy at Ben Tre province, located at the East of the Mekong Delta. This sweet from Ben Tre is made from fresh coconut flesh, which is shredded and pressed to extract coconut milk. The extracted goodness is then mixed with a number of ingredients. The recipe for the mixture is closely guarded a secret and entrusted only to family members

Making coconut candy

Packaged Coconut Candy

3. Taste Coconut Milk Rice Paper

Similar to its more traditional cousin — the rice papers used in spring roll — in size and shapes, the coconut milk rice paper or milk paper, however, is rather different in terms of composition which sees the addition of cassava flour, water, salt, sugar, pandan leaves and coconut milk.

4. ‘Banh Pia’ — Vietnamese peeling flakes pastry

The word ‘Pia’ itself is an approximation of the word ‘pi — é’ which means ‘pastry’ in Chaozhou dialect. In Vietnam, the filling, which still consists of mung bean paste, also has mixed-in durian and shredded pork with salted egg yolk in the center or coconut and taro as an alternative for the mung bean.

 5. Visit Mekong Delta famed orchards

You can visit these gardens while visiting the region and have first-hand experience of walking between row after row of bounteous trees, besieged by thousands of delicious fruits waiting to be picked

 6. Visit Tram Chim National Park

Tram Chim National Park is a biological treasure trove housing as much as a quarter of the bird population in Vietnam, which is the equivalent of 200 species of birds, some of which belong to the endangered list.

The entrance fee can be anywhere between 2.6 to 17.6 USD. The dry period between December and May promises the best experience

7. Visit the prince of Bac Lieu’s Mansion

The man in question here is Tran Trinh Huy, the son of the self-made richest landlord of the time — Tran Trinh Trach. Through his hardship-ridden upbringing, Tran Trinh Trach managed to amass great wealth, transforming from a poor young boy to the most affluent figure in Bac Lieu. And as it is with almost every well-off individual, they seek to indulge themselves. The same goes for Trach as he had in mind the plan to erect the most lavish, most extravagant of houses.

Designed by a French architect, with materials imported from France and an interior from Italy, this not-so-humble abode became home to Trach and his wife, with whom he later had 7 children. Tran Trinh Huy was supposed to be the golden child who had the most potential.

8. The "Bat" Pagoda

The Bat Pagoda of Mahatup Pagoda is a unique blend of Vietnamese and Cambodian architecture.

In the main hall the 2-meter tall monolithic statue of Buddha sits atop a lotus pedestal. The pagoda also has an interesting collection of scriptures recorded on doub palm leaves which is of significant religious and cultural importance.

9. Visit "Ba Chua Xu" Temple - Lady of the Realm Temple

Ba Chua Xu or Lady of The Realm is a deity worshiped in Southern Vietnam’s Thanism. An enormous Temple was erected in her honor at the foot of "Sam" Mountain in Chau Doc City, An Giang Province.

3D View

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/RVEW9R5EkAT2
 
This temple is a site of architectural, historical and spiritual significance, attracting a plethora of pilgrims from all over the country.

Lady of the Realm Temple

The Lady of The Realm is synonymous to many tales from her worshipers, in which she is portrayed as a supportive and responsive goddess bestowing luck, health, protection and prosperity while inflicting horrible consequences involving broken promises.

10. Dong Tam snake farm

The farm, dubbed the ‘Kingdom of Snakes’, instead, sees an awe-inspiring 400 varieties of snake and other critters. Colloquially referred to as Dong Tam Snake Farm, the facility is actually called ‘Military District 9 Center for Researching, Breeding and Manufacturing Medicine’ and was established with a view to produce venoms as well as anti-venoms for medical and commercial purposes.

Read full article at Medium: https://medium.com/@indochinagetlost/best-things-to-do-in-mekong-delta-vietnam-d0d76b36d60d