One of the absolute highlights our our trip to Vietnam was the cruise we took on the Mekong River on Le Cochinchine.
We’d organised a private tour for 4 nights through the delta which included an infamous homestay (watch out for my next post for that story) and found this company to take us part of the way on this fabulous boat.
Le Cochinchine Crew & Ashley
We picked up our ride at Can Tho and were taken in a tender to the middle of the river where the it and the crew were waiting with a well recieved cold towel and watermelon juice as we boarded.
It was then that we were told that we were their only passengers for the trip to Cai Be, and that we had full run of the 10 cabin ship!
We were immediately spoiled rotten. A scrumptious lunch, dinner and breakfast were all thrown in as we ambled down the waterways for the next 24 hours.
The high vantage point meant loads of opportunities to snap life as it passed by. The sheer number of boats going hither and thither made for fascinating entertainment, wondering where cargo was coming from or where it was going.
We stopped a couple of times for the obligatory bike ride through the paddy fields and villages. Everyone we saw was cheerful and happy to stop and pose for photos.
Back on board we were treated to a traditional foot massage as we supped gin and tonics while the sun set.
My favourite time though was the next morning….
….catching sunrise through the mist and watching the river wake up and grow fat with bustling traffic.
Later that morning, we had another stop at a bit of touristy spot, where you were encouraged to buy some local arts and crafts (we bought a stunning oil painting for $40) and we were nearly at the end of this whirlwind cruise.
Making Rice Paper
As we rolled into Cai Be, we were still pinching ourselves. The luck we had getting the boat to ourselves was just the icing on the cake.
The food, sights, accommodation and service was top notch and NOT all that expensive for what it was.
Would we do it again?
Yes…..but not if we had to drink any snake wine!
More pics here: Vietnam Photos
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Hi Mel,
Great pics – I think after speaking to Joanna also that Vietnam is on my list this year. I went Cambodia and Laos last year and ran out of time for Vietnam.
The snake wine freaks me out a bit!
Hi Carl
We didn’t drink that, though Ashley did get a bit squiffy on their liquor with a dash of pineapple juice!
Vietnam has such a variety of things to do. The homestay, which I’ll write about next week, was amazing, as was the beach holiday on Phu Quoc.
Have a great weekend!
Mel
Hi, sorry i found this post, and I already got the wine from buy-snake-wine.com but i am now looking for wine or liquor with tarantula or other creatures, do you know where to find ? Thanks a lot.
[…] to our Mekong cruise on Le Cochinchine, we spent a night at the Vietnamese Nam Long Homestay near Ben Tre, as a guest of Mr […]