See here My Tho, Tien Giang Province
[VIETNAM Ho Chi Mihn] My Tho, Tien Giang Province
Read first strange but true (vietnam 2)
We pulled up at a jetty come souveneir shop awaiting the next destination. My Tho, about two-hour drive from busy Ho Chi Minh City is the capital of Tien Giang Province, is an inland port in the Mekong River Delta. This place carries an interesting historical background. Read more about it here.
We boarded a boat that took us to one of the four My Tho islands . Actually a short 20 minutes boat ride but could be as long as 20 hours to those who do not like boat rides! The islands are locally known as the ‘Coconut Islands’ due to the huge concentration of coconut trees cultivated here, but their single names are Con Lan (Unicorn Island), Con Long (Dragon Island), Con Phung (Phoenix Island) and Con Qui (Turtle Island).
Ian and friend, Noddy enjoying the view
We visited a coconut candy making place
Photo Credit: Zain Azrai
and tasted the best honey tea, as claimed by the stall vendors, indeed tasted yummy-licious!
Photo Credit: Daria Joseph
Then, we saw the bags and shirts and … so many of them and soon lost control! The next thing we knew, we were bargaining and buying!
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Ian loved this part – travelling down the Mekong in a sampan rowing boat (small wooden canoe). It’s a massive brown river with a green “jungle” that sits along side it.
sampan ride
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The tour guide mentioned about a farm that raises snakes for the strong healing powers of their flesh and gall. Ian would have loved this place – he seems to like animals, insects and the like. This kind of attraction it seems is found only in My Tho. Missed it!
He bought what looked like rattle snake, a cobra and a scorpion in small bottles filled with transparent rice wine liquor. Snake and scorpion wines are known as a natural medicine used to treat different health problems such as back pain, rheumatism and other health conditions. These kinds of wine are rather common is Asia.
Read more about these wines.