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Published: March 2nd 2015
We had been hoping we could find a way to drop into see our friend Susan in Can Tho, Vietnam, to check out how her tour business was going. So, when we made plans to visit Europe again we decided we would fly via Ho Chi Minh City and stop over for a few days. We have been in contact with Susan for a while via social media helping with ideas when she was setting up her personalised tours around Can Tho. It was great that we would finally get the chance to experience “Can Tho Touring” for ourselves. We made our plans and Susan gave us all the info we needed about bus connections from HCMC to Can Tho, plus recommended some hotels that were close to the bus station. With our bookings complete we spent many excited weeks waiting for our departure date.
There were some more bonuses to the stop over as well. Rob’s niece lives in HCMC and her birthday was coming up, plus some friends from Laos decided to come and join us as well.
A reunion with Tanya Tanya and her Mum, Keo, fly into HCMC from Vientiane the day before we
did. Susan organised a day tour of HCMC for them and they had a busy day looking around the city. They were a bit nervous about visiting such a busy place for the first time but said they really enjoyed it. On our arrival in HCMC we grabbed a taxi from the airport and managed to go to the wrong hotel, Rob forgot there was a Huy Loc Hotel #1 and #2. We had booked Tanya and Keo in #2, and they were patiently awaiting our arrival. We had a minor panic attack when the hotel reception told us we had no booking and “No, your friends do not stay at our hotel”. Lorenza noticed the sign, which clearly stated Huy Loc #1, we found another taxi and drove around the block to the correct hotel.
It was great to catch up with Tanya and Keo. We originally became friends with Tanya and her sister, Khaek when we visited Laos in 2012. We have stayed in contact and feel like we are all part of an extended family now. While Keo cannot speak any English, we had fun trying to communicate in very bad Lao language. Tanya would help
us out when we got stuck. Our most common question to Keo was “ok bor?”. This was her first trip outside Laos (except for border hopping to Thai towns not far from Vientiane) and we wanted to make sure she was having a good time.
We had dinner together that night, together with the tour guide who had showed Tanya and Keo around. We detailed our plan for the next few days in Can Tho. We had to be up early next morning to walk to get out tickets, take a mini bus, to the big bus station and then take the big bus to Can Tho. Rob checked with the hotel reception how we could get to the mini bus station and buy our tickets. The fellow there told Rob in broken English that it would be no problem, he would be on duty next morning and could take Rob to buy the tickets, while Lorenza, Tanya and Keo had breakfast at the hotel. Seemed easy.
Can Tho Touring Next morning Rob found the reception guy had no memory of the previous nights arrangements, he drew Rob a rough map how to find the minibus station
and then informed him the hotel had no breakfast and in fact had no dining room at all.
So, a quick change plan and we all walked to the mini bus station and grabbed a baguette on the way for breakfast. The mini bus took us to the big bus station, the big bus then took three hours to get to Can Tho. Susan met us at the Can Tho bus station and got us to our hotel. We were very excited to meet Susan in person for the first time. Prior to this we had only chatted via FB and exchanged emails after being introduced by a mutual friend. She briefed us on her tour plan for us – check in, get some lunch, do a motorcycle tour around Can Tho and surrounding villages, including stops at a Khmer temple, a Mekong riverside nursery and then to a market to buy food to cook with her family at their farm.
The motorcycle tour was exciting, Susan had her brother, her father and some friends take us through town, over back roads into the countryside and down some very narrow paths along the Mekong River. They were careful
bike riders and we really enjoyed the motorcycle trip. The stop at the riverside nursery was interesting, we got to interact with the people there as they were planting vegetable seedlings and they were happy to show us the big variety of vegetables they were growing. The vegetable beds were grown on the banks of the river.
From the nursery we travelled to the temple, through an area populated by Khmer people who were originally from Cambodia. It was a Theravada Buddhist temple and we were surprised to find this style of temple in Vietnam. It looked like a slice of Cambodia, Thailand or Laos had been picked up and dropped into the countryside near Can Tho. The monks were busy doing building repairs, but they were pleased to take a short break to chat with us, some of them knew a little English and explained the building renovations they were doing. It was a peaceful place and we were happy to get the chance to see this historic temple and pay our respects to the Buddha.
It was a very humid day, so the next destination was very welcome. We stopped at a local market and had
some ice coffee and lemon juices before doing some food shopping. The market was a buzz of activity with plenty of fresh food to pick from. Susan led the way and picked out the ingredients needed for our cooking adventure back at her place.
With the motorbikes now loaded with our food shopping we headed back to Susan’s family home. The ride there was very nice, along winding paths which pedestrians, bicycle and motorbike riders could access but not wide enough for trucks or the like. Susan’s house is located among small farms and was a really a relaxing place to spend some time. Her Mum was in the kitchen, getting the fuel stove ready, her Grandma was ready to give us instructions and her father gave us a tour of their small farm. It is a great little farm with coconuts, ducks, plus lots of vegetables.
Susan, her Mum and Grandma soon had Keo, Lorenza and Tanya busy preparing dinner while Rob took some photos and pretended to prepare some food. Susan’s Dad got us all fresh coconuts to drink. Susan’s secret salad was fantastic; those black horned looking things in the photos were interesting to taste
(no idea what they were). We had a really good time at Susan’s place and her family were so warm and friendly. We got such a great insight into life around Can Tho we could not thank them enough. We hope we see them again soon.
Next morning Susan took us on a boat tour on the Mekong to the floating market, with stops at a rice paper making business and a brick factory. Ok, some people may think “a brick factory, what do I want to see that for”, well it was an interesting thing to see and gave some insight into business in the local area. Plus, the company made it interesting too. Susan’s descriptions and explanations of the floating market and other sites was really good, she is a very good tour guide, her English is good and she has a keen sense of humour.
We returned to Can Tho city via some small canals alongside the villages, which if you took a tour on a larger boat you would not get to see. At one stage our boat got stuck in some vines and stuff growing on the river and we all had to
at Susan's place
Susan, Keo, Tanya, Lorenza, Grandma & Dadhelp clear it to get through. On the small canals you got to see a lot of what life is like around the Mekong Delta and it is an amazingly productive area.
After the boat trip we had a late lunch in Can Tho city together and Susan told us more about her plans for her personalised tours. She has a lot of good ideas and with her enthusiasm and drive we know she will succeed. We really enjoyed the time we spent with her and the family. If you want a very insightful tour around the Can Tho area you can find Susan via her Facebook page
Can Tho Touring . Susan can custom make a tour for you and is a one person, positive, funny, dynamic, advertisement for the youth of Vietnam.
HCMC again Back in HCMC we spent a day looking around markets and trying some local food with Tanya and Keo. Their HCMC tour guide joined us and made sure we saw some less touristy areas. We had to say goodbye to Tanya and Keo early that afternoon. We wished we could have spent more time with them, it was a great opportunity to catch
up and also to get to know Keo a lot better. They were good travel companions and it gave Tanya a chance to brush up on her English and for Rob to try out his bad Lao language skills again. Keo found HCMC a bit too busy compared to Vientiane, she enjoyed Can Tho a lot but was happy to be going home to Laos.
After Tanya and Keo left for the airport, we met up with Rob’s niece and had some drinks at a café, and then some street food at one of his niece’s favourite food stalls. It was good to catch up with her, even though it was only for a few hours. She seems so happy with life in HCMC. It is wonderful that she is taking the opportunity to spend some time living in a completely different culture and you can tell it is helping her grow as a person. It was great to see her so happy, independent and full of adventure.
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