Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [98]
Phuong Hoang 2r Hung Vuong 070/382 2156. Just twenty metres south of its almost-namesake, this place has slightly less fancy rooms at marginally cheaper prices. US$10 and under–20
Van Tram Boarding House 4, 1 Thang 5 070/382 3820. Just five rooms here, but all are a good size and well equipped with TVs, fridges, hot water and a/c. Add in its prime location and cheap prices, and the result is great value. US$11–20
The Mekong Delta | Vinh Long |
The Town
Vinh Long has few specific sights, though the Vinh Long Museum (Tues–Thurs 8–11am & 1.30–4.30pm, Fri & Sat 6–9pm; free), facing the waterfront on Phan Boi Chau, is worth a look if you haven’t already visited war museums elsewhere. Displays in various buildings include historical finds from the region, farming implements and musical instruments, as well as a gruesome photographic catalogue of the province’s pummelling during the American War. In the gardens around are tanks, a helicopter and planes from the war. Further west, on Le Van Tam, look out for the impressive French colonial building, Cau Lac Bo Huu Tri. This oddly shaped mansion, with its red-tiled roof and shuttered windows topped by mouldings of garlands, recalls the ghosts of French colons and rice merchants.
Thereafter, you’ll have to journey 2km down the bumpy road that runs parallel to the Rach Long Canal and southeast of town, to the Van Thanh Mieu Temple (daily 5–11am & 1–7pm), in search of diversion. If you wander into the tiny lanes that back onto the river along the way, you can watch tiles and coffins being made in the simplest of surroundings, and you might even be invited to take a tea with the friendly locals. The temple itself is dedicated to Confucius – unusually for southern Vietnam – and a heavily bearded portrait of him watches over proceedings. Another temple at the front of the compound honours local mandarin Phan Thanh Gian (see "Phan Thanh Gian"), who is pictured in red robes, flanked by slender storks. Fronting the temple are two cannons that rained fire on the French in 1860. Unfortunately, both temples are often kept locked, though the gardener or caretaker may be able to open them for you.
The Mekong Delta | Vinh Long |
Boat trips from Vinh Long
The cheapest and simplest way to see the river is to hop on the An Binh Ferry on Phan Boi Chau, and cross the Co Chien River (5min; 3000đ) to reach AN BINH ISLAND. Sometimes called Minh Island, it’s a jigsaw of bite-sized pockets of land, skeined by a fine web of channels and gullies, eventually merging, to the east, with the province of Ben Tre. This idyllic landscape is criss-crossed by a network of dirt paths, making it ideal for a morning’s rambling, though you’ll need to take your own refreshments.
However, most people fork out for a day or half-day boat trip to see several aspects of delta life, organized either through Cuu Long Tourist or Mekong Travel (see "Arrival and information"), or through local boatmen always on the look-out for customers near the tourist jetty. These tours often include the option of overnighting in a home-stay(see "Home-stays in the delta") in a totally rural environment, though as they increase in popularity, some start to resemble guest houses rather than home-stays, with visitors put up in custom-built bamboo huts separated from the family home.
Most tour itineraries head upriver to the floating market at CAI BE(see "Cai Be Floating Market"), stopping to visit fruit orchards, rice-paper making and candy factories en route; some tours also stop for a fish lunch at a rural outpost. Watching the river traffic, from the tiny rowing boats to huge sampans loaded with rice husks (fuel for the nearby brick kilns), is fascinating, and stepping ashore from time to time reveals insights into the lifestyles of the locals.
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The Mekong Delta | Vinh Long | Boat trips from Vinh Long |
Phan Thanh Gian
Born in Vinh Long Province in 1796, the mandarin diplomat Phan Thanh Gian was destined to be involved in a chain of events that was to shape