I am writing this having already completed this trip once before. The photos are from the most recent excursion into Ben Tre, but the first time was the real thrill. A friend of mine, Trung, lives close to where these "coconut boats depart. He's an older gentleman, a xe-om driver (motorcycle taxi), that has great english. Hes lived in Vietnam his whole life and experienced The War first hand. He's become a good friend of mine over the years by taking family and visitors on a tour of the city while I work. Trung invited a few friends and I onto the coconut boat for an adventure like no other. This is one of the few places you can go in Vietnam where you will encounter people who haven't seen a white person in the flesh in decades. This is not the "Ben Te" coconut tour you find at Sinh tourist , but a local adventure not for the faint-hearted. We loaded our scooters onto the boat, brought some food and beverages and cruised through he Mekong until the week hours of the morning. I have to admit, the first time was awful. We went about 5 miles per hour and arrived at our destination at 6 AM with a pounding headaches from the constant putter of the hand size propeller on the boat. The second time around was a bit more "luxurious" with hammocks, over head canopy and a quiet engine. We arrived about 1 am after 4 hours in route. From there, we had a coffee, a local breakfast, probably Hu Tieu, helped put coconuts onto the boat, and get on our way back to the city. Its an adventure to remember.
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