BIKING 3days/2nights SAIGON to VINH LONG to CAN THO

Highlight: The difficulty of navigating the river has meant that it has divided, rather than united, the people who live near it. The earliest known settlements date to 2100 BCE, with Ban Chiang being an excellent example of that early Iron Age culture. The earliest recorded civilisation was the 1st century Indianised-Khmer culture of Funan, in the Mekong Delta. Excavations at Oc Eo, near modern An Giang, www.vietnambiketours.com have found coins from as far away as the Roman Empire. This was succeeded by the Khmer culture Chenla state by around the 5th century. The Khmer empire of Angkor was the last great Indianized state in the region. From around the time of the fall of the Khmer empire, the Mekong was the frontline between the emergent states of Siam and Tonkin (North Vietnam), with Laos and Cambodia, then situated on the coast, torn between their influence.

The first European to encounter the Mekong was the Portuguese Antonio de Faria in 1540; a European map of 1563 depicts the river, although even by then little was known of the river upstream of the delta. European interest was sporadic: the Spaniards and Portuguese mounted some missionary and trade expeditions, while the Dutch Gerrit van Wuysthoff led an expedition up the river as far as Vientiane in 1641–42.

The French took a serious interest in the region in the mid-19th century, capturing Saigon in 1861, and establishing a protectorate over Cambodia in 1863.

Brief Itinerary:

Day1: Ho Chi Minh City – Vinh Long (30km+ cycling) (L)

Drive from Saigon to Cai Lay and ride to Cai Be. From Cai Be, take a boat trip along the mighty Mekong River and its tributaries to view the daily lives of people who work and play on the waterways of the Mekong Delta.

The trip includes a visit to the unique "floating" market at Cai Be, and to a family-run business producing rice paper - a key ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. Lunch is on an island mid-river, in a local house set amongst fruit orchards and bonsai trees,

Then followed by a performance of traditional Vietnamese music. After lunch, continue riding on to An Binh island. (Seasonally, on the way to the Mekong Delta, we can enjoy the peaceful scenes of farmers seeding, ploughing, and harvesting the rice crop.) Overnight in Vinh Long

Day2: Vinh Long - Can Tho (50km+ cycling) (B,L)

In the morning, visit craft industries in VinhLong to see local residents make tofu, floor tiles, bricks, and rice farming. Ride to Can Tho and spend the afternoon at a fruit market. Overnight in Can Tho

Day3: Can Tho - Ho Chi Minh City (30km+ cycling) (B,L)