Cruising the Mekong by sampan

Hanoi (VNA) - For travellers who want to explore the sprawling Mekong Delta
by boat, Cai Be town in Tien Giang province, some 100km south of HCM City,
is one of the best launching points - and here you can also travel the delta's
seemingly endless waterways on a sampan.

Earlier this year, Hanoi-based Luxury Travel Company started tours of the
delta on large sampan boats - a much more charming option to explore the
delta than the usual metal tour boats used by most tour operators in the
area.

Traditional sampans are small Asian flat-bottomed boats, propelled by oars
or a rear-mounted oar. The sampans used for the new Mekong tours are
larger, luxury versions of the smaller traditional vessels. These 22m-long
and 4m-wide wooden boats, with two bedrooms and a living room, offer a
relaxing way to cruise the waters.

Pham Manh Ha, director of Luxury Travel Company, says the tours let
visitors see local life on the water and land. The tour lasts two days, and
takes visitors through the provinces of Tien Giang, Dong Thap and to Can Tho
City.

"Visitors can join locals on the banks of the river, feast on local
cuisine in lush tropical gardens, visit handicraft villages and travel down
the tributaries of the Mekong Delta," says Ha.

Nguyen Cuu Hung, a sales manager at Luxury Travel, says the company's
sampan tours start at around 10am, setting off on the Tien River in
Cai Be Town.

Each boat carries a maximum of four tourists along with the crew. The
sampan also tows a smaller junk, which is used to penetrate deep into the
delta's many narrow canals.

The first stop is at a coconut-candy maker in Cai Be town.

"The town is famous for its coconut products and visitors will see how
they are made - it's something that foreign tourists have never seen in
their homeland," says Hung.

"The town is surrounded by the greenery of coconut trees."

After a bellyful of coconut treats, the boat heads for Cai Be floating
market, cruising among local barges that are stocked with fruit and
vegetables, before cruising upstream on the Tien River and heading to
Vinh Long and Sa Dec.

Sa Dec Town in Dong Thap province is like a small, Asian-style Venice ,
with numerous narrow canals criss-crossing the land. There's a local market,
which is a lively centre of town. The town's narrow streets still have many
beautiful French houses and Chinese temples, built in the 19th century.

After exploring the town on foot, dinner is served late in the evening at
a local house. Then, it's time to get back on board the sampan to cruise
down to Can Tho City.

At night, the crew anchor the vessel in a peaceful part of the river.

The second day starts early in the morning. Breakfast is served on board
while approaching Cai Rang floating market - the largest in the Mekong
Delta.

The sampan will cruise through the large cluster of boats selling
everything from sand and rice to fruits, vegetable, fish and flowers.

"Visitors can bargain with the locals, but they will not overcharge you as
most trading here is wholesale," says the director of Luxury Travel.

The cruise ends around 10am in the morning, when the boat stops at Ninh
Kieu Wharf . Tourists will hit the road to have lunch in Can Tho, before
cycling around the large town.

With their journey almost complete, visitors can make a four-hour bus trip
to HCM City in the afternoon or stay for the night in Can Tho City.

Luxury Travel offers sampan tour packages for US$293 for four people. For
details, check www.luxurytravelvietnam.com.-Enditem