Marvelous Mekong River Cruise: Vietnam

In this fifth of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the Vietnam portion of the itinerary as part of her Fascinating Vietnam, Cambodia & the Mekong River cruise.

In February of 2020 I had the pleasure of sailing on my fourth Avalon Waterways river cruise. The Fascinating Vietnam, Cambodia & the Mekong River was my first river cruise outside of Europe. This time my adventures took me to Cambodia and Vietnam on the Mekong River. Of the five Avalon river cruises I have done (so far!), this is my favorite. Because there are so many wonderful stops along the way, this series is broken up into several parts. This fifth post highlights the Vietnam portion of the itinerary, up to arrival in Saigon. Saigon itself will be covered in the next post.

An Overview of the Journey So Far

My incredible journey on the Mekong River cruise started with two days in Siem Reap, exploring several of the fascinating temples. From Siem Reap we flew into Phnom Penh and boarded the Avalon Siem Reap to begin the cruise portion of the trip. We started by visiting several smaller villages in Cambodia and really got a taste for local life there. Our time in Cambodia wrapped up with two days in the city of Phnom Penh.

For more details about my earlier time in Cambodia, click the buttons below:

Crossing Into Vietnam

After an exhilarating first few days in Cambodia our ship crossed the border into Vietnam on the morning of Monday, February 17, 2020. This border crossing is in the middle of the Mekong River, so our ship joined many others of all sizes and shapes waiting to complete the border crossing exercises. Officials from both countries come onboard to complete the border crossing formalities. Everything was taken care of by our fantastic crew onboard the ship. I got to relax and enjoy the sunrise while proclaiming with my very best Robin Williams impersonation…”Gooooooooooood morning, Vietnam!”

Once we crossed the border we sailed further along the Mekong toward our first stop in Vietnam, Chau Doc. There are a lot of fish processing facilities here so there was a, well, a fairly pungent aroma out on the Observation Deck as we sailed through! This area is known for a type of fish called Basa (a type of catfish), and the houses floating on the river all have Basa farms under them.

Chau Doc

We arrived in Chau Doc and were picked up by yet another traditional transportation option, a sampan. Sampans are small wooden boats used as tenders for us for our stops within Vietnam. As with Cambodia, most locations we visited did not have a traditional port or dock, so instead we used sampans to get to and from our ship which was moored in the river. Today we also met our local Vietnam guide, Phi (pronounced “fee”). He will be our guide through the remainder of the cruise.

Chau Doc Market

The first stop in Chau Doc was to the large, local market. This market was bustling with activity as many locals were out doing their daily shopping. Within the market are dozens and dozens of different stalls selling everything from fresh produce to fish (both live and smoked) to household goods to children’s toys. It was a sea of bright colors and cacophonous sounds. After spending the morning at the market we headed back to our ship on the sampan for some lunch.

Sailing the Backwaters on the Mekong

After lunch we boarded another sampan to take a journey down the backwaters of the Mekong. Along the way, I saw stilted houses, speedboat merchants, local markets, and much more. The views along the way are so interesting! Most locals came out to smile and wave to us as we sailed past.

Sam Mountain

We arrived at Sam Mountain, a religious site in a small village where people come from far and wide to make offerings. This area is a place of pilgrimage for many people. They can walk to the top of the mountain (about a two-and-a-half hour walk) to visit the main temple or they can leave an offering at the smaller temple at the base of the mountain. We stayed at the base.

The offerings start small (such as fruit or flowers). If their wish comes true, they have to come back and leave a larger offering such as a roast pig. Within the temple is also the Treasure Room, where the most fancy and valuable offerings are displayed. There is also a large cauldron where people can burn small paper trinkets with their wishes written on them. The smoke carries the wishes to the heavens.

There are many local markets in and around the village that sell offerings to take to the temple. The markets all sell a local specialty, dried fish of many different varieties. People come to the town to leave an offering and to pray at the temple, and then they take some of the dried fish home with them to enjoy.

Another Delicious Dinner

Returning to the ship after a wonderful first day in Vietnam, we had yet another delicious dinner waiting for us. As this was our first dinner in Vietnam, I started to see some more traditional Vietnamese dishes on the menu. As always, the local specialties are always fantastic (or, should I say pho-nomenal?!?) on Avalon. For this dinner I enjoyed:

• Vietnamese paper rolls with shrimp and veggies
• Clam and water spinach consommé
• Vietnamese spiced pork with rice
• Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream

Long Khanh A

The next day dawned beautifully as we woke up near the small island of Long Khanh A. We set off on another sampan this morning, heading to the small island village where weaving is a well-preserved tradition. Everywhere we go, locals (especially kids!) come out to wave “hello” and offer a big smile to us!

Walking Tour of the Village

Our time in Long Khanh A started with a walking tour through the small village. The compact village has a lot of lush greenery, houses on stilts to protect from flooding, and ornate public buildings and temples.

Visiting a VC Soldier

During our walking tour we stopped at the house of a former VC soldier to meet him and hear a little of his life story. He was a medic during the war and continued practicing medicine until he retired a few years ago. He still provides medicine and medical services to those in the village on a part-time basis.

Cotton Weaving

Our final stop in Long Khanh A was to a cotton weaving workshop. The small island is well-known for its cotton weaving. We got to see demonstrations of the different machines they use to weave the fabric – they have a few old manual looms as well as some more modern machinery. There was also a bit of free time at the end to browse through and purchase some of the beautiful finished products. I bought two scarves!

After a lovely morning in Long Khanh A, we headed back to the sampan for the short ride back to the ship for lunch.

Cu Lao Gieng

Once back onboard the ship we had some time to relax as we sailed to our next stop of Cu Lao Gieng for the afternoon excursion. It was a beautiful day for a lunchtime sailing…it was partly cloudy and a bit less humid so it felt great out on the Observation Deck. Like the other places we have stopped in Vietnam, once we arrived near Cu Lao Gieng the ship dropped anchor in the middle of the river and a sampan came out to shuttle us to and from the shore.

Another Fun Ride

Our afternoon excursion included three stops on the small island of Cu Lao Gieng. Once we got to the island we had yet another fun and unique mode of local transportation to shuttle us from stop to stop.

Catholic Church

The first stop this afternoon was to a gorgeous Catholic church on Cu Lao Gieng. We were able to tour the inside of the church and hear some of its history. It is a beautiful building, inside and out.

Non La Hat Demonstration

Next up was a visit to a local family who makes the traditional conical hats (non la). We were able to see how they weave each hat by hand and then add the intricate decorations to the inside of each hat.

Sampan Workshop

Our final stop in Cu Lao Gieng was to a local man who makes small traditional sampan boats. Once again, we had a chance to meet him and see him work on one of the boats he was building. He explained the process of how each boat is made by hand.

Vinh Long

Another stunning Mekong sunrise greeted me on the morning of February 19th in Vinh Long, Vietnam.

Another sampan ride took us to village of Vinh Long. Beautiful and lush garden areas surrounded us as we stepped off of the sampan. The gardens included a gigantic zucchini, gorgeous flowers, banana trees, and mango trees. The bananas here are tiny, about the length of a finger. The mangoes are covered in bags to protect against insects that bite them at night. Keeping them in bags also keeps them smooth.

Rice Paper

Here in Vinh Long we visited a local workshop which makes several different items from rice…rice paper, rice wine, and rice candy. Our first demonstration was how to make rice paper. Rice paper is used as a wrapper to make spring rolls, or it is toasted and seasoned and eaten in small pieces like potato chips. The process to make rice paper is similar to how crepes are made First, a ladle of batter is smoothed out into a thin pancake on the canvas over a very hot fire. It cooks for a few seconds and then it is carefully lifted off the heat and placed on woven bamboo to dry and harden. The woven bamboo gives it its signature texture. We got to sample a rice paper “chip” which was lightly seasoned and quite tasty!

Rice Wine and Cobra Wine

Next we learned how rice wine is distilled. Here they make both plain rice wine and cobra wine (which is exactly like it sounds!). The cobra wine is the plain wine which has actual snakes in it, and they soak in the wine for up to one year. We got to sample both types of wine. The plain rice wine was very harsh and had quite a kick to it. The cobra wine was much smoother and surprisingly good!

Rice Candy

We ended the tour learning how traditional rice candies are made. The first type is similar to Rice Krispie Treats…rice is popped, then it is mixed with a sweet syrup mixture of different flavors and condensed milk, then it is pressed into a mold and cut into smaller pieces. The popped rice is sifted before it is mixed with the syrup to separate out the husks…the husks are then used as fuel in the fires.

The second type is a traditional coconut candy, similar in consistency to a caramel or a taffy. This candy starts with a caramel base. Then coconut milk is squeezed from the shredded meat of the coconut and mixed into the caramel. The candy is then cooled in molds. Once the candy is cool it is cut into smaller pieces. The end step for both types of candy is hand packaging each individual treat. Our final stop was the gift shop, where we got to enjoy some tea and sample all of the delicious goodies they make here.

Sailing to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Once our morning excursion in Vinh Long concluded we headed back to the ship. This afternoon we all got to relax and recharge onboard the ship as we made our way from Vinh Long to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) through the afternoon and evening.

River Views

It was a perfect afternoon to sit out on the Observation Deck and see all of the beautiful scenery pass by. There was an interesting mix of smaller villages and larger cities along the way. As always, we often had many people on the banks of the river smiling and waving to us as we sailed past.

Galley Tour

During the afternoon sailing we also had the opportunity to tour some of the ship. Our first tour was to the galley, where we met our Cambodian head chef. He told us about how he plans and prepares the meals onboard. He also gave us a tour of the small but productive galley area where all of the magic happens.

Wheel House Tour

The last tour of the ship was to the wheel house, where we met our Vietnamese captain. He explained some of the challenges that come with sailing on the Mekong River and let us see all of the different tools he uses to guide the ship along the river.

One Last Sunset Onboard

This was our last evening on the ship and we were treated to a phenomenal sunset as we sailed to Saigon.

Before our last dinner on the ship we joined the full crew for a final farewell in the Panorama Lounge. We had a chance to show our appreciation for the fantastic job they did for all of us. We also got an opportunity to sing and dance and celebrate our fabulous week together!

Conclusion

While this concluded the on-ship portion of the trip, I still had a few days in Saigon before having to head home. But the time on the ship, both in Cambodia and in Vietnam, was absolutely amazing. Avalon always does such a fantastic job of taking exceptional care of each and every passenger. My time in Cambodia and Vietnam was truly fantastic.

Look for one final post in this series, coming soon, about my time in Saigon!

Links

Click the button below for further information on the 2023 Avalon Fascinating Vietnam, Cambodia & the Mekong River itinerary:

Click the buttons below for the other posts in this series:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.