Vietnam travel destination 18: Ben Tre

Bến Tre is the capital city and municipality of Bến Tre Province, located in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam. It borders Tien Giang in the North, Vinh Long in the West and Southwest, Tra Vinh in the South and around 60km coast. It is around 85 km to the South of Ho Chi Minh City.

Ben Tre and My Tho separated by Tien River and passengers were used the ferries to pass the river until 2009 when the Rach Mieu Bridge was completed.
During the war, Ben Tre was known as the cradle of communist, a big part of people were been as guerillas.
The major economy of Ben Tre is agriculture. Other part of it is fishing due to its 60km along the coast. The coconut trees occupied a big part of its land. That also is the feature of Ben Tre.
In the daily life, local people used coconut tree trunk to built their houses , the leaves for cooking, the flesh of coconut for making oil….Nowadays, coconut tree is the main material to make special handicraft products . By the skin of coconut, they made nice carpets; by the coconut’s shells, people made a lot of handicraft stuffs. Ben Tre coconut’s candies are famous in domestic and were exported to many countries.
During the war, a part of them was destroyed by bombs. It was a while that many local people already replaced the coconut trees by others such as longan, madarin, orange, pomelo.. but they re-started to grow the coconut trees again.
The soils in Ben Tre are festive. Coconuts, sugar canes and cacao tree are the main industrial trees in Ben Tre. Besides, Ben Tre is famous with many kinds of nice fruits such as durians, bananas, mango, mangosteen, rambutan....
Most of people in Ben Tre are Kinh.
Along with My Tho, Ben Tre is one of the attractive destinations.
Tourist can take one day trip from Saigon to My Tho then Ben Tre. For tourist who loves nature and the countryside, Ben Tre will offer for staying and overnight at a homestay. Tourist will have chance to experience how the Southern people life is. Everything is very simple there.
Enjoy a boat trip on Tien River, sightseeing the floating fishing village, trying the horse –cart, learning how to make the coconut candy, rowing a small boat in a small branch of a river, admired the beautiful view in a countryside….that is a part of My Tho and Ben Tre Mekong tours.

TRY A TOUR HERE!

 Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary

Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary

Vam Ho is a submerged region in Ba Tri, Ben Tre, which is 52 km east of Ben Tre Borough and 120km south of Ho   This spectacular place contains many wild forests with a great variety of trees including water coconut, date, mangrove, reed and Avicenna.  This is a favorite destination of many animals, especially birds, to which the region is dedicated.  There are about 84 species of birds in 35 classes, including 500,000 storks.  From April to October is the best time to see the storks, as this is when they take refuge in Vam Ho to produce and raise their young.

The birds can be seen during the day, but early evening after 5pm is the most exciting time to watch them.  At sunset, great flocks of storks thousands of members strong, fly over the Ba Lai River to turn around under a glowing sky and land within the green forest.  The sound of thousands of birds mixing and playing, dancing and whooping becomes the enchanting song of the jungle.  In addition to the song of the storks are the varied rhythms and calls of other wind birds mixed with the sound of leaves, which makes a silent summer’s night shimmer with excitement.

Inside the Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary, visitors have a chance to travel around by boat, penetrate the submerged forest and step along narrow bamboo bridges to fill their chests with the purified air of a well-preserved wetland.  Also, travelers can rest under the shadow of the forest or visit relics of resistance from the Vietnamese – American War.   

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 on Tien River in Tan Thach, Chau Thanh, and only 12km from the center of Ben Tre City. The islet is famous for its lush array of fruits, especially the coconuts, but also for the delicious specialty dishes of south eastern Vietnam. Visitors can reach the islet by boat.  After taking their time on the islet, they can continue to ride along the river, visiting the handicraft and coconut candy factories, and 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 (or Moderate 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 Dragons Ground, 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 around making handicrafts from the coconut tree. Visitors who come here can witness the process of making coconut candies and other souvenirs, and pick something to take home as a present. Due to the high quality and specialty of coconut products on Phung Islet the prices are a bit higher than elsewhere, but this quality cannot be found anywhere else.  If travelers feel hungry, they can eat with local residents who will serve their everyday meal of simple but delicious foods. Weary travelers can also have a nap under the shadow of garden trees, or take part in exciting activities like photographing ostriches or crocodile fishing!

Try a tour to discover Vietnam attraction here!