TUYEN LINH TEMPLE

Tuyen Linh Temple was built from bamboo in 1861 near the Tan Huong channel in Minh Duc, Mo Cay, Ben Tre. The temple was firstly named Tien Linh, and led by Abbot Khanh Phong. In 1907, a monk name Le Khanh Hoa, an expert in Buddhism, was appointed to lead the temple and then in 1930, he renamed the temple “Tuyen Linh” with the term “Tuyen” referring to propaganda. This place is famous not only because of the uniqueness of its design, but the historic events that happened here. The temple became a national historic site in 1994 and on May 19th of every year, there is a festival held here to celebrate the birth of Uncle Ho.    

Tuyen Linh Temple has been visited several times by Deputy Nguyen Sinh Sac, father of Uncle Ho. When staying here, Nguyen Sinh Sac opened classes to teach children, cure the residents’ diseases and discuss national affairs with Abbot Le Khanh Hoa. This was also the place that Nguyen Sinh Sac met Tran Van An, Huynh Khac Man and Le Van Phat, some of the first members of Ben Tre’s Communist Party. During the two wars of resistance, the temple also hid and fed many members of the Communist Party, so that it was bombarded many times and badly damaged.  However, it has also been recovered many times and in 1999 was reconstructed on the original site.  In the future, a museum will be built at this temple to honor its remarkable history.

PHUNG ISLET

Phung Islet is located on Tien River in Tan Thach, Chau Thanh. It is just only 12km far from the center of Ben Tre. Phung Islet is famous not only for its lush array of fruits, especially the coconuts, but also for the delicious dishes of south eastern Vietnam. Tourists are able to reach the islet by boat. After taking time on the islet, we can continue to ride along the river, visiting the handicraft and coconut factories and then disembark to catch a coach ride to tropical gardens. Here they can rest under a canopy of coconut leaves, sip tea with fresh honey and blueberries while listening to the beautiful melodies of traditional music.

Phung Islet is also known for holding the Relic of the Coconut Religion, which once spread over 1,500 km2 of Ben Tre. The Coconut Religion was created in the 1940s by Nguyen Thanh Nam. The main policy of this belief was to combine the essences of different religions such as Buddhism and Christianity, and pray for the good of all peoples and nations. Fortunately, the relic remains intact on the 9 Dragon Grounds, where cardinals would give speeches. There is also an enigmatic tower made from the pieces of broken plates, bowls and cups of the followers.

Another special point about Phung Islet is that the daily lives of residents are centered on making handicrafts from the coconut trees. Also, tourists can witness the process of making coconut candies, other souvenirs and pick something to take home as a present. If tourists feel hungry, they can eat with local residents who will serve their everyday meal of simple but delicious foods. Weary tourists may also have a nap under the shadow of garden trees or take path in exciting activities like photographing ostriches or crocodile fishing.

The Handicraft Villages

BEE-KEEPING VILLAGES

Favoured by good climate, with low rate of whirlwind and tropical typhoons, and all-year-round orchards, Ben Tre is considered quite appropriate to bee-keeping. Going on village paths in Chau Thanh, Giong Trom, Mo Cay and Cho Lach Districts, visitors can witness interesting scenes of honey vendors bustling and jostling along the way to invite visitors to buy or just taste their honey. This is a precious and meaningful gift that visitors can bring home to their friends and relatives after an interesting trip to Ben Tre.

COCONUT HANDICRAFT VILLAGES 

Making fine handicraft products is one of the characteristics of Ben Tre, because this is the home land of coconut, which is used as the only materials for this kind of handicraft products. In the hands of the dexterous worker-artists here, any single piece of coconut materials may turn into fine items with great charm and fantasy, such as animal statuettes, human face statuettes, etc.

Coconut candy is another kind of Ben Tre speciality and a traditional product, which is sold both in domestic stores and exported to many countries around the world. Visitors can find these products mostly in Chau Thanh (Con Phung, Con Quy, An Hoa) and Giong Trom Districts. For coconut candy, visitors can go straight to buy directly from the makers on Dong Khoi Boulevard in the Township downtown. 

RICE PAPER CAKE VILLAGES 

For the moment, the banh trang, banh phong (rice paper cakes) in My Long and Son Doc, Giong Trom District, are still best known for their fine taste. Though the main materials to make these cakes are husked rice and sticky rice, the makers of the cakes seem to hold their know-how in secret and are very resolute to keep them from being leaked to outsiders. They are also keen to renovate such know-how secrets to produce finer and finer cakes to serve up to modern consumers. By this way, they not only sell the stuffs but also help spread their local identity out to other regions and the world.

Ben Tre Homestay 2d/1n

Only got 1 night to spend in the Delta? Then take our most popular tour, the Mekong Short Break. Designed to give you the full Mekong experience in just 2 days, it's ideal for travellers whose time is tight. Our tour takes place in Ben Tre province, just 2 hours from Saigon yet hardly touched by mass tourism. As one of our previous customers put it, "It was great to discover that there are still some places that offer the genuine experience"

Day 1: Saigon-Ben Tre
Depart from Saigon around 8 am and head south to Ben Tre province, famous for its coconut production and quiet, peaceful waterways.

On arrival, take a xe loi ride through the local village of Huu Dinh to enjoy the green fields and gardens. Continue with a short walk to Huu Phuoc bridge where you will start your boat trip through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery. On board the boat, enjoy a welcome drink (mango cocktail) and tropical fruits while cruising.

The cruise will stop first at a brickworks where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to make the bricks by hand. Then go back to your boat to cross the  An Hoa river, where you will take a sampan trip through narrow canals and enjoy the peacefulness of the region. The sampan will take you to visit one of our friends Mrs Huong who lives with her 3 children and grandson – they live on fishing, shrimp and fruit orchards. Enjoy fresh fruits and tea before heading to visit a rice noodles factory which produces Hu Tieu noodles, one of most popular breakfast dishes in the region.

Then switch to bicycle and ride on village roads past green gardens and local houses, and stop at another local house where they live on their traditional family business, sampan boat building. Then continue your cycling trip to My Long to visit Mr Sau Tuong, a former Vietcong soldier who survived two years fighting the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh. Now he and his wife live on making rice paper which is the most famous speciality of My Long village. Have a chat with him and enjoy the crispy rice paper made by his wife, and see how it is made.

Then return to the village road to carry on the bike ride to a local restaurant by the river side. Time for you to relax and enjoy a 5-course lunch of local specialities. Relax and walk around the garden after lunch, and then visit the nearby house of Mr Hung who is a famous sticky rice maker in the village. You can also feed his stock of catfish and walk through his fruit garden.

Walk back the local house to catch fish in the pond & pick your own vegetables, and then in the early evening prepare to join the cooking demonstration with the family.
Overnight in family homestay.

Day 2: Giong Trom-Saigon

DELUXE HOMESTAY:
Breakfast will be served at the homestay, then take a boat trip to Tai Phu canal and stop to visit a coconut processing workshop before taking a bicycle to the busy local market of My Long. After that cycle to Cau Hoa to visit the local Phuoc Long Tu temple and war memorials.
Then cycle to Phong Nam village and your boat will take you to Ben Tre city where your car will drive you to My Tho town. Have lunch at Bach Tung Vien restaurant and visit Vinh Trang pagoda before heading back to Saigon.

STANDARD HOMESTAY:

08:00 Pick up and cycle to temple and market in Phu Nhuan, mat weaving house, where straw mats are woven using a hand loom – you can even have a go at weaving yourself!

Then you will then hop onto a bicycle for a fun ride through the forest to Mr Khanh’s house. He is a passionate antiques collector and his house is jam packed full of fascinating artefacts from Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia. He also has some fascinating family albums dating back to French colonial times.

Back to homestay to check out. Your boat will take you to Ben Tre city where your car will drive you to My Tho town. Have lunch at Bach Tung Vien restaurant and visit Vinh Trang pagoda before heading back to Saigon. 

From US$240 per person for deluxe homestay, US$225 per person for standard homestay (low season price based on 2 people travelling)

Includes:
Private car and tourguide through out
All boat trips and activities as mentioned
Bike ride and xe loi ride
5 course lunch:
Chicken  Rice noodle soup with pineapple and tomato
Deep fried elephant ear fish
Steamed prawn with coconut juice
Chicken curry
Stewed pork in clay pot
Steamed rice
Dessert

5 course dinner:
Green papaya salad with shrimp
Grilled chicken with lemon leaves
Sautéed shrimps with garlic
Stewed fish in clay pot
Stir fried beef with lemon grass
Steamed rice
Dessert

5 course lunch day 2:
Spring rolls
Sauteed fish with tomato sauce
Mixed vegetable soup
Sautéed shrimp with tamarind sauce
Stir fried  green vegetables with garlic.
Dessert

Tuyen Linh Pagoda, Ben Tre

Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary, Ben Tre

Holy Land of Coconut Religion, Ben Tre