Around Ca Mau

U-Minh Forest

The town of Ca Mau borders the U-Minh Forest (admission 10,000d; 6am-5pm, closed Mar-May), a vast mangrove jungle  which covers  1000 sq km of Ca Mau and Kien Giang provinces. Residents   As well as being an important habitat for waterfowl, the U-Minh Forest – the  largest mangrove forest around the world  beyond the Amazon basin – which was a favourite hideout for the VC during the American War. The Americans responded with chemical de foliation, causing enormous destroy to the  forests. Thanks to the heavy rainfall, the dioxin was washed out to sea and the forest is returning. Many eucalyptus trees have also been planted here because  they have proved to be relatively dioxin-resistant.

Yet the mangrove forests are being further destroyed  by clearing for shrimp-farming ponds, charcoal production and woodchipping, though  the  government has  made efforts to limit these activities. In 2002 an area of 80 sq km was preserved as U Minh Thuong (Upper U-Minh) National Park.

The forest is  known for its birdlife, and visitors  will  enjoy a boat trip around Ca Mau,  though  the feathered flocks aren’t nearly as ubiquitous as the swarms of mosquitoes. It takes visitors around thirty minutes to get a boat trip and costs 100,000d.

Ca Mau Tourist can arrange an 140-US dollar boat tour , but  try to find better deals with locals down at the ferry pier  where you can get a speedboat to Thu Bay (two hours), followed by a motorbike to U-Minh Forest for 70,000d.

Ca Mau Nature Reserve

Sometimes referred to as Ngoc Hien Bird Sanctuary, these 130 hectares form one of the least developed and most protected parts of the Mekong Delta region. Shrimp farming is banned here. You can access by boat .

Around Angkor Thom (Part 2)

Banteay Srei HINDU TEMPLE

Taken into account by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art, Banteay Srei – a Hindu temple devoted to Shiva – is cut from stone of a pinkish hue and contains some of the finest stone carving anywhere on earth. Begun in AD 967, it is one of the few temples around Angkor to be commissioned by a Brahman, not by a king, perhaps a tutor to Jayavarman V.
Banteay Srei, which is 21km northeast of Bayon and about 32km from Siem Reap, can be visited along with Kbal Spean and the Cambodia Landmine Museum.

Kbal Spean RELIGIOUS, SPIRITUAL

Kbal Spean, which is a spectacularly carved riverbed, set deep in the jungle about 50km northeast of Angkor. More commonly referred to in English as the ‘River of a Thousand Lingas’, it’s a 2km uphill walk to the carvings. From Kbal Spean, you can work your way back down to the waterfall to cool off. Carry plenty of water.
At the nearby Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, trafficked animals are nursed back to health. Free tours generally start at 1pm from Monday to Saturday.

Phnom Kulen SACRED MOUNTAIN

The most sacred mountain in Cambodia, Phnom Kulen (487m) is where Jayavarman II proclaimed himself a devaraja (god-king) in AD 802, giving birth to Cambodia. A popular place of pilgrimage during weekends and festivals, the views it affords are absolutely marvelous .
Phnom Kulen is 50km from Siem Reap and 15km from Banteay Srei. The road toll is US$20 per foreign visitor, none of which goes towards preserving the site.

Beng Mealea BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Beng Mealea (admission US$5), was built by Suryavarman II to the same floor plan as Angkor Wat, is the Titanic of temples and utterly subsumed by jungle. Nature has well and truly run riot here. Jumbled stones lie like forgotten jewels swathed in lichen, and the galleries are strangled by ivy and vines.
Beng Mealea is about 65km northeast of Siem Reap on a sealed toll road.

Koh Ker HINDU TEMPLE

(admission US$10) Abandoned to the jungles of the north, Koh Ker, capital of the Angkorian empire from AD 928 to AD 944, is within day-trip distance of Siem Reap. Most of the travellers begin at Prasat Krahom, where impressive stone carvings grace lintels, doorposts and slender window columns. The principal monument is Mayan-looking Prasat Thom, a 55m-wide, 40m-high sandstone-faced pyramid whose seven tiers offer spectacular views across the forest. However, access to the top of Prasat Thom is currently prohibited for safety reasons.

Koh Ker is 127km northeast of Siem Reap (car hire is around US$90, 2½ hours).

HEARTBEAT OF CAMBODIA

The largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, Tonlé Sap, an incredible natural phenomenon that provides fish and irrigation water for half of Cambodia’s population.
The lake is linked to the Mekong at Phnom Penh by a 100km-long channel, the Tonlé Sap River. From mid-May to early October (the wet season), rains raise the level of the Mekong, backing up the Tonlé Sap River and causing it to flow northwest into the Tonlé Sap Lake. During this period, the lake swells from 2500 sq km to 13,000 sq km or more, its maximum depth increasing from about 2.2m to more than 10m. Around the start of October, when the water level of the Mekong starts to fall, the Tonlé Sap River reverses its flow, draining the waters of the lake back into the Mekong.
This extraordinary process makes the Tonlé Sap one of the world’s richest sources of freshwater fish and an ideal habitat for water birds.

Around Angkor Thom (Part 1)

Landscape 

Ta Prohm BUDDHIST TEMPLE

The ultimate Indiana Jones fantasy, Ta Prohm is cloaked in dappled shade , its decomposing towers and walls locked in the slow , strong clinch of large root systems. If Angkor Wat, the Bayon and other temples are evidence to the brilliance of the ancient Khmers, Ta Prohm reminds us equally of the excellent prolificacy and power of the forest . We have a poetic cycle to this honored , with humanity original conquering natural world to speedily create, and Mother Nature once again conquering humanity to gradually ruin .
Constructed from 1186 and initially known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), Ta Prohm was a Buddhist temple devoted to the mother of Jayavarman VII. Ta Prohm is a temple of towers, close courtyards and narrow corridors. Ancient trees tower overhead, their leaves filtering the daylight and casting a greenish pall over the whole view . It is the closest most of us should get to feeling the charm of the explorers of old.

Phnom Bakheng HINDU TEMPLE

Around 400m south of Angkor Thom, that hill’s primary draw is the sunset view of Angkor Wat, even though this has turned into something of a festival , with hundreds of visitors jockeying for space. The temple, built by Yasovarman I (r 889–910), has five tiers with seven levels.

Preah Khan BUDDHIST TEMPLE

(Sacred Sword) The temple of Preah Khan (Sacred Sword) is one of the greatest complexes at Angkor, a maze of vaulted corridors, fine carvings and lichen-clad stonework. Constructed by Jayavarman VII, it covers a very large area, but the temple itself is within a rectangular wall of nearly 700m by 800m. Preah Khan is a genuine fusion temple, the eastern entrance dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism, with equal-sized doors, and the other cardinal directions dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, with successively smaller doors, emphasising the unequal nature of Hinduism.

Preah Neak Poan BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Another late-12th-century work of – no surprises here – Jayavarman VII, this small temple just east of Preah Khan has a big square pool surrounded by four smaller square pools, with a circular ‘island’ in the middle. Water once flowed from the central pond into the four peripheral pools via four ornamental spouts, in the form of an elephant’s head, a horse’s head, a lion’s head and a human head.

Roluos Group HINDU TEMPLE

The monuments of Roluos, which served as the capital for Indravarman I (r 877–89), are among the earliest large permanent temples constructed by the Khmers and mark the dawn of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko, dedicated to Shiva, has elaborate inscriptions in Sanskrit on the doorposts of each tower and some of the best surviving examples of Angkorian plasterwork. The city’s central temple, Bakong, with its five-tier central pyramid of sandstone, is a representation of Mt Meru. Roluos is 13km southeast of Siem Reap along NH6.

Mekong Delta tour from Ho Chi Minh

Mekong River Tour Vietnam sincerely introduce you the Mekong Delta tour from Ho Chi Minh as follows:

Take a handed paddles boat along the canals under the water coconut palm trees, taste seasonal fresh fruit in the orchards, see the lively floating markets in Can Tho, experience the “Monkey Bridge” in the Delta, Spend the night in the village with the local farmers. Visit the Bird Sanctuary in Tra Su, Visit the Sam Mountain and the caved pagoda, Contemplate the sunset over the Vietnamese – Cambodian Frontier, cruise up the Tonle Sap river through Vinh Xuong newly – opened border

Day 1:  Ho Chi Minh – My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho (L) 

• At 08.00am, depart for Mekong Delta.  Enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields. On arrival at My Tho, visit Vinh Trang pagoda, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet


• Have lunch in the orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shade of water coconut trees along natural canals. Have a short cycling tour (applied for private tour/if time permitted) then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, performed by the locals. Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantations and villages. Proceed to Can Tho.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Can Tho.

Day 2:  Cai Rang  Floating market – Chau Doc – Tra Su Sanctuary (B)

• Take a leisurely boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river (Bassac River), then proceed to Cai Rang floating markets (& Phong Dien is optional), which are the liveliest in the whole religion.


• Have you ever tasted Vietnamese vermicelli soup? Well, now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people and experience how to pass a “Monkey bridge” which is built by only one stem of bamboo. Visit the orchard garden.


• Stop for lunch. Proceed to Chau Doc, continue the tour to visit Tra Su, getting to the wild birds Sanctuary, cruising smoothly with small boats to discover the arrays of splendid canals deep into the forest, watching storks, cranes and other tropical birds, back to the Town, hotel check in.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Chau Doc.

Day 3: Chau Doc – Phnom Penh (B) 

• After breakfast. Transfer to the ferry for boarding the speed boat to PhnomPenh.


• Arrive in Phnom Penh around 2.00 pm at the Sisowath tourist dock.


• End of your Mekong Delta Tour from Ho Chi Minh.

Include:

• A/c bus for transfer & sightseeing as per program.


• Boat trip in the Mekong delta.


• Express boat ticket Chaudoc – Phnompenh


• English speaking tour guide


• All entrance fees, fresh fruit and honey tea


• Meals as indicated in the program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)


• Accommodation based on Twin/Double room share basis

Exclude:

• Travel insurance


• Cambodia entry visa (US$22/person)


• Other meals not mentioned in the program


• Personal expenses.

Note:

• Private tour is available on request. We highly recommend you do private tour for more privacy as well as more convenience.

Thank you for visiting our Mekong Delta Tour from Ho Chi Minh. We are looking forward to serving you.

See more:

Mekong Delta 1 day tour My Tho – Ben Tre: price 17$

Mekong Delta Tour 2 days – Cai Rang floating market: price 39$

Mekong Delta 3 days tour and exit to Phnom Penh: price 90$

Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay

Mekong River Tour Vietnam sincerely introduce you the Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay as follows:

Trying a new experience at homestay with famer house in the original Mekong Deltal. Seeing the floating market. Sight-seeing  lively activities along river as fishing, water transferring. Wandering into the village for seeing local people make sleep mats, make bricks in handy, tasting a delicious coconut in orchard garden. Trying a new experience on “ tuk tuk” or “ xe loi” on shady paths, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on really life and find out about tropical culture from Peasants.

Itinerary details:

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh – Ben Tre – Ham Luong (L/D)

• At 08.00am, pick up at your hotel and leave Ho Chi Minh city for visiting Mekong Delta. On arrival in Hàm Luông Pier (Bến Tre town). Take a boat on Bến Tre river – one of tributaries of Mekong river, sight-seeing  lively activities along river as fishing, water transfering… Stop at brickwork to see how to make bricks in handy traditional style by printing and baking. Visit one of plenty of coconut processing workshops located along canal. Turn on natural scissors creeks where they look smaller and smaller to go to village. Take a walk to family workshop making sleepmats and enjoying some fruits and tea.


• Take a motor cart (xe lôi) or cycle riding under tree shades, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on realy life and find out  about tropical culture from Peasants.


• Lunch at Hai Hồ family.  Check in  accommodation.


• Time for taking a rest.


• In the afternoon - riding to Mr. Sau khanh’s house – seeing ancient porcelains collecting set. Help peasents planting, harvesting in the field.


• Joining cooking together with family, have dinner.


• Overnight in farmer house.

Day 2: Ham Luong – Cai Be floating market – Ho Chi Minh (B/L/_)

• Having breakfast at farmer house. Going to local market and seeing local temple on the way. Check out take a rowing - boat along water palm creek and boating along Cái Cối creek. Back to Pier. Meeting your driver and proceed to Cai Be.


• On arrival to Cai Be, set off by motor boat to visit the Cai Be floating market and watch the locals trading fruit and many other commodities on board their vessels. Visit a small family business to see how coconut candy and crispy rice popcorn are made. Then wander into the small villages to visit the orchard and fruit plantation, accompanied by traditional southern Vietnamese folk music.


• Keep cruising to a series of small canals to experience the charms of the Upper Mekong Delta. Arrive in Tan Phong island. Trekking around the village path with fruit orchards and bonsai garden. Meet the local islanders to learn more about the local daily life in the Mekong delta.


• 14h00. Return to Ho Chi Minh city.


• The tour ends at your hotel around 16.30.

Group size	2 pax	3 - 5  pax	6 - 8 pax	9 - 11 pax	12 – 15 pax
Cost in US$ per person	183	147	104	89	79

Tour price includes: 

• Private van for pick up, transfer & sightseeing as per program


• Cold mineral water on van (2 bottles/ pax/ day)


• English speaking tour guide


• Private boat trips in the Mekong Delta


• All entrance fees


• Tuk tuk or xe loi


• Home stay arrangement


• Meals as indicated in the tour program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)

Tour price excludes:

• Travel insurance


• Personal expenses.


• Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program

Thank you for visiting our Original Mekong Eco tour 2 days overnight at homestay. We are looking forward to serving you.

Mekong delta tour from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh

Mekong delta tour from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh

Taking a handed paddles ride along the canals under water coconut palm trees, taste seasonal fresh fruit in the orchards, see the lively floating markets in Can Tho, experience the “Monkey Bridge” in the Delta, Spend the night in the village with the local farmers.. Visit the Bird Sanctuary in Tra Su, Visit the Sam Mountain and the caved pagoda, Contemplate the sunset over the Vietnamese – Cambodian Frontier, cruise up the Tonle Sap river through Vinh Xuong newly – opened border

Mekong River Tour Vietnam sincerely introduce you the Mekong delta tour from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh as follows:

Itinerary detail:

Day 1:  Ho Chi Minh – My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho (L) 

• At 08.00 am, depart for Mekong Delta.  Enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields. On arrival at My Tho, visit Vinh Trang pagoda, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet


• Have lunch in the orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shade of water coconut trees along natural canals. Have a short cycling tour (applied for private tour/if time permitted) then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, performed by the locals. Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantations and villages.


• Proceed to Can Tho.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Can Tho.

Day 2:  Cai Rang  Floating market – Chau Doc – Tra Su Sanctuary (B/L)

• Having breakfast at the hotel. At 06.30 am, take a leisurely boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river (Bassac River), then proceed to Cai Rang floating markets (Phong Dien is optional), which are the liveliest in the whole religion.


• Have you ever tasted Vietnamese vermicelli soup? Well, now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people and experience how to pass a “Monkey bridge” which is built by only one stem of bamboo. Visit the orchard garden.


• Stop for lunch. Proceed to Chau Doc, continue the tour to visit Tra Su, getting to the wild birds Sanctuary, cruising smoothly with small boats to discover the arrays of splendid canals deep into the forest, watching storks, cranes and other tropical birds, back to the Town, hotel check in.


• Dinner on guest’s account.


• Overnight at your proposed hotel in Chau Doc.

Day 3: Chau Doc – Phnom Penh (B) 

• After breakfast. Transfer to the ferry for boarding the speed boat to PhnomPenh.


• Arrive in Phnom Penh around 2.00 pm at the Sisowath tourist dock.


• End of your Mekong delta tour from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh.

Hotel grade	Cost in US$ per person
	2 pax	3- 4 pax	5- 8 pax	9 - 11 pax	12 – 15 pax	Single supplement
Two stars	286	243	182	144	130	27
Three stars	297	254	193	155	141	38
Four stars	378	334	274	236	221	119

Tour price includes:

• Private car  for transfer & sightseeing as per program.


• Private boat trip in the Mekong delta.


• Express boat ticket Chaudoc – Phnompenh


• English speaking tour guide


• All entrance fees, fresh fruit and honey tea


• Meals as indicated in the program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)


• Accommodation based on Twin/Double room share basis (homestay arrangement on request)

Tour price excludes:

• Travel insurance


• Cambodia entry visa (US$22/person)


• Other meals not mentioned in the program


• Personal expenses.

JOINING TOUR: US$69 / person

Thank you for visiting our Mekong delta tour from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh. We are looking forward to serving you.

Original Mekong Eco tour 1 day

Original Mekong Eco tour 1 day

Sight-seeing lively activities along river as fishing, water transferring. Wandering into the village for seeing local people make sleep mats, make bricks in handy, tasting a delicious coconut in orchard garden. Trying a new experience on “ tuk tuk” or “ xe loi” on shady paths, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on really life and find out  about tropical culture from Peasants.

Mekong River Tour Vietnam sincerely introduce you the Original Mekong Eco tour 1 day as follows:

Itinerary detail:

• At 8.00 am, pick you up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh city. After two hours driving through the Highway, we arrive to Hàm Luông Pier (Bến Tre town).


• Take a boat on Bến Tre river – one of tributaries of Mekong river, Sight-seeing lively activities along river as fishing, water transferring……. Stop at brickwork to see how to make bricks in handy traditional style by printing and baking. Visit one of plenty of coconut processing workshops located along canal. Turn on natural scissors creeks where they look smaller and smaller to go to village. Take a walk to family workshop making sleep mats and enjoying some fruits and tea.


• Take a motor cart (xe lôi) or bike on shady paths, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on realy life and find out  about tropical culture from Peasants.


• Lunch at restaurant riverside.


• Afternoon -  Take rowing-boat along water palm creek and  boat back to Hùng Vương Pier.


• Proceed to Ho Chi Minh city.


• The tour ends at your hotel at 5.00pm.

Group size	1 pax	2 pax	3 – 5 pax	6 – 8 pax	9 – 11 pax
Cost in US$ per person	170	89	65	44	34

Tour price includes: 

• Private car for pick up, transfer & sightseeing as per program


• Cold mineral water on car (2 bottles/ person/ day)


• English speaking tour guide


• Private boat trips in the Mekong Delta


• Private sampan for sightseeing along the canals


• All entrance fees


• Fruits, coconut water


• Lunch at Riverside restaurant.

Tour price excludes:

• Travel insurance


• Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program


• Personal expenses.

 Thank you for visiting our Original Mekong Eco tour 1 day. We are looking forward to serving you.