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Sightseeing by sampan

Sampan interior copy For travellers who want to explore the sprawling Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) by boat, one of the best launching points is Cai Be Town in Tien Giang Province, some 100 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City. Here you can also travel the delta’s seemingly endless waterways on a sampan.
Earlier this year, Ha Noi-based Luxury Travel Company started tours of the delta on large sampan boats — a more charming option than the metal boats used by most tour operators in the area.
Traditional sampans are small Asian flat-bottomed boats, propelled by oars or a rear-mounted oar. The sampans used for the Mekong tours are larger, luxury versions of the traditional vessels. These 22-metre-long and four-metre-wide wooden boats have two bedrooms and a living room, offering a relaxing cruise.
Pham Manh Ha, director of Luxury Travel Company, says the tours let visitors see local life on the water and on land. The tour lasts two days, and takes visitors through the provinces of Tien Giang, Dong Thap and to Can Tho City. “Visitors can join locals on the banks of the river, feast on local cuisine in lush tropical gardens, visit handicraft villages and travel down the tributaries of the Mekong Delta,” says Ha.
Each boat carries a maximum of four tourists along with the crew. The sampan also tows a smaller junk, which is used to penetrate the delta’s many narrow canals.
The first stop is at a coconut-candy maker in Cai Be Town.
“The town is famous for its coconut products and visitors will see how they are made—it’s something that foreign tourists have never seen in their homeland,” says Hung.
After a bellyful of coconut treats, the boat heads for Cai Be floating market, cruising among local barges that are stocked with fruit and vegetables, before cruising upstream on the Tien River and heading to Vinh Long and Sa Dec.
Sa Dec, a town in Dong Thap province, has a long history. “The village has changed a lot during the last decade,” says Hung. “Houses with roofs made from coconut fronds now increasingly have roofs made from sheet metal. But the local people still keep their lifestyle and tradition of hospitality.”
Lunch is served at a house dating from 1890, and includes dishes made from fresh vegetables and fish caught in the river by local fishermen. With the sampan anchored nearby, tourists have two hours to walk around and explore the pagodas and houses in the area.
Sa Dec is like a small, Asian-style Venice, with numerous narrow canals criss-crossing the land. There’s a local market, which is a lively centre of town. The town’s narrow streets still have many beautiful French houses and Chinese temples, built in the 19th century.

After exploring the town on foot, dinner is served late in the evening at a local house. Then, it’s time to get back on board to cruise to Can Tho City.
At night, the crew anchors the vessel in a peaceful part of the river.
The boat’s bedrooms, with their timber furnishings, are cosy and romantic. Blankets are provided to keep travellers warm, as the Mekong’s breezes can be cool. But with the boat gently rocking on the water, a good night’s sleep is almost guaranteed.
The second day starts early. Breakfast is served on board while approaching Cai Rang floating market–the largest in the Mekong Delta.
“Visitors can bargain with the locals, but they will not overcharge you as most trading here is wholesale,” says the director of Luxury Travel.
The cruise ends around 10 a.m., when the boat stops at Ninh Kieu Wharf. Tourists have lunch in Can Tho, cycle around town, and return by bus to Ho Chi Minh City.