Now that the highway from Saigon is built, it only takes 2 hours instead of 4.5 to get to the start.
The cruise was very well organised throughout with great attention to detail. Started with a short drive on the back of a xe loi (motorbike with bench seating behind) past local farms to the boat.
Good seating on the boat with flushing loo, and life jackets, etc. and we were offered fruit and a coconut drink as well as cold towels to refresh ourselves.
A short trip up one of the tributaries of the Mekong to an old brick factory and coconut processing factory gave a good insight into how local people make a living.
After another short trip on the boat, we swapped to bicycles to ride past more farms to a rice noodle factory where we saw rice milk dried on bamboo in the sun and then sliced up to make noodles.
Then we visited Mrs. Huong who makes rice paper and, after a demo, got to try making them ourselves.
After a break for tea, we got in a sampan where we were rowed along narrow waterways with water bamboo each side back to the main boat which took us to Mango Home for a nice lunch.
Back on the boat to go back to Ben Tre city to end the cruise.
Overall this was a great half-day and we got to see things we never would have seen without the organised cruise and guide. A must-see if you are in the area.