HO CHI MINH ESCAPADE - DAY 4 CRUISING MEKONG RIVER & BACK TO SAIGON

All of us have been waiting for this day i.e cruising along the Mekong Delta. The morning kicked off with breakfast served by the hotel.

Accompanied by our tour guide, we took 10 minutes walk to the jetty for our boat. Along the way, we passed by a colorful market and spotted man chopping pigs bones at a road junction.

We embarked from here to Cai Rang Floating Market This two hour cruise in a local boat allows you to see beautiful scenery and the daily activities of the locals who live along the Mekong canals.

With bright and sunny sun in the morning, I don't feel hot but totally relaxed and enjoyed breezy wind from the river. I closed my eyes for about 20 mins and I said to myself 'this is the meaning of enjoying life to the fullest'. It was unforgettable experience.

As our boat approached the floating market, we saw many boats filled with fresh vegetables, fruits and food. This is how the locals make a daily living.

Next, we visited a shop making rice noodles.

Each sheet of rice paper are inserted into a machine allowing it to cut into fine noodles.Process of making rice paper
Ready made rice paper are dried under the sun

We left this factory to take a ferry back to the jetty. It was 1pm we reached the jetty and quickly scout around for lunch. Shortly after 10 minutes, we landed up in Restaurant HO DON BAN LE serving Italian cuisine.

MIXED FRUIT SHAKE (VND19,000 per glass)
to quench our thirst in a hot and sunny day! infused by milk+fresh fruits+ice =thicked fresh shake

Paella (VND65,000) + Spaghetti Mabiroba (VND55,000)
Quite disappointed with Paella cos' it turned out to be seafood fried rice although the taste is acceptable. However, the juicy and succulent prawns & squids + springy spaghetti came hot piping in a pool of flavorful gravy was definetely a star.

PIZZA AL SALMON (VND80,000) This is the best pizza we have ever tasted. Slices of fresh salmon and melted cheese on each piece of pizza! (I'm drooling now while writing this)

After lunch, our coach took us to a bus terminal in Can Tho for a transit bus back to Saigon. While inside the bus, we were counting our money and among the three of us, my pocket was left with USD5 only which is sufficient for dinner and buy some souvenirs tomorrow.

That night, we had our dinner in one of the hawker stall located outside Ben Than Market. We didn't capture any photos cos' all the food which was far better in terms of taste and service.

Since I still have USD3 left (after a sumptuous dinner), we stopped by a small pub and shared a bucket (big glass) of Vodka for USD2 only....meaning in my pocket there is USD2 to finish up before waving bye bye to Saigon tomorrow.