Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Touring in the Mekong Delta region

The HCMC-based Ben Thanh Tourist is promoting a series of tours to the ecological tourist area of the Mekong Delta region. The six-day and five-night tour to the region will give foreign travelers a comprehensive understanding of the impressive region.(A view of the Phong Dien market in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.)
The tour will visit the center city of Can Tho as well as the Cai Rang floating market, where the locals shop for everyday food and vegetables and other consumer goods. Since the unique market opens early in the morning, a visit will be scheduled at 4:00 am, to see the locals living their daily life and conducting business on the floating market.
These kinds of markets are very popular on the waters of the rural region, and during their time there the tourists will visit similar markets in the region.
In the city, the tour includes Bang Lang stork garden and the crocodile farm, among other tourist sites. Visitors to the southern region will not miss a chance to hear the special traditional music, known as don ca tai tu (the southern amateur opera). The tourists will float on the Hau River to enjoy the music.
Another sight on the list is the Cong Tu Bac Lieu (Bac Lieu Dandy) hotel in Bac Lieu. The hotel was the home of Tran Trinh Huy also called Cong Tu Bac Lieu, a wealthy landowner known in the southern region for his lavish lifestyle in the early 20th century.
The house was built in 1919 based on a French architect’s blueprint. The building materials, including steel, marble floor tiles and decorated iron frames, were custom-made in France. Inside the Western architecture-styled house, which locals called Nha Lon (big house), the owner displayed his collection of precious wood furniture, pottery and bronze objects.
Next stop will be Ca Mau Province, home of the Ca Mau tip. The strip of land projecting into the sea is located at Mui Commune in Ngoc Hien District, some 100 kilometers from Ca Mau City. Each year, the west of the tip advances some 50 meters more into the sea so that people often compare the cape to a huge prow going out to sea.
The local agency has built a high tower on the tip to afford an overall picture of the Ca Mau tip, the mangrove forest, and the sea from afar.
Other sights included in the tour of the Mekong Delta are Rach Gia City, Ha Tien Town and Chau Doc.For further information about the tour, contact Ben Thanh Tourist on tel: (08) 3 520 2020 or (08) 3 821 8989.
(Source: SGT)

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