Vietnam & Surrounds Day 13
Day 13, Tuesday, 3/25/25, Mekong Delta
We are up early today and have breakfast by 7:00 AM. There is a lot of good Vietnamese food! We are on the bus at 8 AM to head to the Mekong Delta.
Interesting that on this trip, to most of the group, 8:00 AM means 8:05 or 8:10. On our last trip, it would mean 7:50 AM to the group. We drive by the Apocalypse Now Saigon Hotel. Today’s ride is about one and one-half hours. Roads here commonly have separate lanes for motorcycles.
Today our journey is to My Tho, the capital city of Tien Giang Province. This picturesque city is located on the Mekong River, about 75 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and is known for its lush orchards and rice fields that produce grains for the entire country. I see a Phat Dat sign for a ‘land’ company. The name Saigon or Sai Gon are prevalent everywhere. Ca Phe Pha May signs everywhere. Translates to Coffee Machine.
We stop at a temple with a laughing Buddha and a lying Buddha. It is called Van Phong Chua Vinh Trang.
We have Honey Pollen Tea at a bee farm. Band An tea. They serve us ginger and banana together. They are good.
We board river boats on the Mekong River and ride to a village. We visit several parts of the village and then get into small SamPan boats where we are paddled along a small canal through water coconut groves.
We then walk along the Mekong River and visit a place where we taste different fruits and listen to singing and instruments playing. Then it’s back on the river boat and off to lunch.
The food is good and includes whole fried tilapia fish and deep fried sticky rice balls. Dessert is watermelon.
We visit a candy factory and taste various taffy and other candy.
Back on the riverboat to the bus. We are each given our own coconut and a straw. It’s very sweet. These coconuts grow only in Vietnam.
Back on the bus for the 90 minute drive to the hotel. I wonder if my camera can find something new or if my sleep mode will win?
Sleep mode takes the lead and I doze for most of an hour. But I wake with the jostling of the bus brings me awake and I watch us drive through traffic into the city. We arrive at the hotel and recon in the room for a few minutes. Then it’s off to find a Happy Hour and I locate one that’s only 5 minutes walking distance.
Le’Fe Rooftop Bar is found without too much hassle and we sit up looking over another part of Saigon. It’s a fun place to have drinks. We watch the sun set into the smog and watch the building lights turn on.
It’s Happy Hour and I’m 4 IPAs in, LOL. Now it’s time to walk to a restaurant in traffic! We’re on a party street that even includes disco dancers! Wish us luck! We’re headed for Di Mai Ben Thanh. See if we get there!
We find it and have a fun meal. Then we go back to the hotel for the night. We have an early flight in the morning.
Around the World in 80 Trips (Or Less) 
3 Responses to “Vietnam & Surrounds Day 13”
So just how many SD cards do you travel with and are you able to upload in the cloud? I’m green with envy at the sites you are showing us…great stuff, and the colors! Whew!
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Depends on what cameras I travel with. This trip is only with my G3X and iPhone. Only used less than 2 32Gg cards. When I take my 5D Mark IV I use that amount plus 50% more because it shoots a 32 Mg File. I always take a small case with 6-8 each SD Cards and 3-4 CFII Cards. Always go with 3-5 times the space you need. Thanks for asking! BTW, I’m on my second G3X. Looking for another to carry me for more years because they are obsolete!
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I’m also now researching long term storage. It’s a challenge. I’m looking at both HDD and SSD units. Need to decide soon as I have around 20T to store as of today and obviously more as time goes on!
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