Cycle Mekong Delta Day 5 My Tho Ben Tre and Tra Vinh

After a good sleep, recharged and ready to continue the journey we checked out from the hotel around 7.30am with a plan to visit a famous temple  before we leave My Tho.

We were continuously blessed with good weather the temple is not too far from the place we were staying and breakfast can come later.

A cable bridge so near yet so far to cross, we will be come back for you.

After less than 3km we could see sign of Vinh Trang Temple with a huge standing Buddha statue and an ornamented gateway.

Vĩnh Tràng Chùa is a Buddhist temple near Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is one of the best-known temples in the region. Location at GPS : 10.362038, 106.373553

Statue of the Buddha Amitābha of Vĩnh Tràng Chùa.

Budai (Bố Đại) statue, God of Happiness

Bicycles are prohibited to enter the compound.

Coconut ice cream seller on two wheels.

Within a stone throw away we patronised a eatery shop for an indulgence of more soup noodle.

I enjoyed this clear noodle with slices of lean meat.

Of course my kaw kaw (concentrated) Vietnamese coffee without sugar nor milk. The ice cubes will slowly melt and dilute the concentration to suit oneself. 

A toilet visit at another temple nearby.

The bridge crossing Bảo Định canal which is connected to Mekong River and in the vicinity of the Mekong Delta.

The busy part of My Tho as we were leaving the town.

We stopped by this scenic river side along 

Hoàng Sa to take some photos.

Some of the boats seen at 

Hoàng Sa (kind of a boulevard) with a cable bridge at the back ground.

Rạch Miễu Bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Rạch Miễu) is a cable-stayed bridge in the Mekong Delta. The bridge connects Tiền Giang Province (Mỹ Tho) with Bến Tre Province, over the Mekong.

As viewed from the bridge before we roll down towards Ben Tre.

One of the many stalls selling dried stuff like coconut candies.

Joe lost and found a new shade from this man.

 Ham Luong Bridge over Ham Luong River - Ben Tre GPS : 10.235555, 106.334917

Here comes the rain but our ride continued as it was not that threatening. 

Though it was wet but a cooling day to cycle.

Fenn was gamed for a durian and I was equally anxious on the taste of a Vietnamese durian. I like the taste but nothing like our Malaysian durian.

The eating stall that we stopped by, had a durian, a good lunch and rest. Again the many hammocks in the many eatery stalls which allow the customers to lay and rest. GPS : 10.153754, 106.330368

Another venture into the local delicacies and also the famous coffee.

We took a detour to a road called Công Lý filled with coconut production activities and this route is running along a river. The GPS location is 10.124751, 106.323491.

The coconut husk fibre or also known as coir extracted from the coconut husk and used to made floormated, mattresses, brushes and sometimes used for burning.

Local ladies dehusking coconut under a shade next to the river and many barges carrying fresh coconuts busy ferrying in the river.

The road seems very interior and I started to get worry whether we were on course.

We were lucky that we could proceed pedalling and continue our ride without any U-turn.

River activities are the main characteristic of Mekong Delta whether it is on the main river or the many canals.

Another narrow bridge crossing at our KM44 and was glad that the journey continued seeing interesting rural scene of Mekong.

A sign of civilisation with more live and activities ahead of us. 

A small commercial community with a few shops and a flooded road which we had to go through.

Most of us dismounted and pushed through the obstacle. 

Another narrow bridge over a stream at our KM 52.

One of the two motobikes ferrying a pig in a cage trailer heading our opposite direction. 

The route that we were cycling actually runs in the vicinity of a river known as Cổ Chiên River which flow through for 82 kilometres through Bến Tre Province, Trà Vinh Province and Vĩnh Long.

Suddenly the road was muddy road and stretches a long way, cycling and balancing of one's bike has to be be very skillful. Sometime the surfaces could slippery with slimy laterite mud.

Sometime a long moment of silent with no live along the track.

Somewhere at our KM 58 we came across a hut with people enjoying their drinks, they waved to us and were friendly.

What a relief when we have reach a ferry terminal the road remain of gravel without any distinguish jetty structure.

The ferry awaiting for its passengers to board.

I found out later the name of this crossing is known as Vam Don Ferry Terminal.

Payment for the ferry ride was made only after the crossing at a small toll house.

We could feel the closeness to a town with the traffic volume increasing and more buildings encountered.

5,000 dong for a quick bike wash as we were approaching Tra Vinh town. All satisfied with our clean bicycles and no more mud sticking on the bikes.

We found out that the hotel marked on our GPS devices was fully booked, we had to search for alternative. Fortunately the staff gave us a recommendation. We checked into another hotel near by for the night.

We went through 70km from My Tho via Ben Tre to Tra Vinh and one of the toughest road conditions ever done during the tour.