Ask anyone what they know about the Mekong Delta in Vietnam's south, and you'll most likely hear descriptions of a vast waterlogged plain interspersed with villages and rice paddies, crisscrossed with canals and green with a wide variety of crops.
However, one prominent landmark defies every description. Sam Mountain, or Nui Sam (Mountain of the King Crab), is a 280-metre-high outcrop that dominates the landscape and affords sweeping views to the horizon in every direction.
While I have made numerous visits to the Mekong Delta during the last 20 years, this is my first visit to the sacred mountain as part of a shore excursion from CF Mekong's divine little boutique riverboat, the 38m 28-passenger Toum Tiou II.
 |
| View from Sam Mountain (R Eime) |
Accessed from Chau Doc, a port stop for every Mekong River cruise boat entering or leaving Vietnam, it's a short vehicle transfer to the Nui Sam Cable Car, which leapfrogs us up almost to the summit along its 900m track. Opened in 2022 after five years of construction and trials, it has 37 8-person gondolas and delivers fabulous views all the way to Cambodia.
The Chau Doc excursion is just one day on CF Mekong's new 9D/8N Discovery Tour from Siem Reap to Saigon, which runs in both directions and is conducted exclusively on Toum Tiou II.
We clamber out of the gondola and stroll the paths that meander past the ponds and pagodas to the peak, where I note a rough concrete pillbox that clearly denotes the strategic importance of this valuable high point, a role it fulfilled long before the incursion of European invaders.
Unsurprisingly, Sam Mountain is also a popular pilgrimage site for both Vietnamese locals and devout tourists. The mountain hosts many shrines, including the Ba Chua Xu Temple, Tay An Pagoda, and the Tomb of Thoai Ngoc Hau. The Ba Chua Xu Festival, which honours the holy lady Chua Xu, is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam.
 |
| Toum Tiou II (R Eime) |
After lunch back aboard Toum Tiou II, we're off to the Tra Su Forest for a punt around the canals and streams in this protected wetland, a rare sanctuary for many native birds such as herons, storks, and raptors.
Although it is described in some sources as a mangrove forest, the Tra Su Forest is actually home to about 140 plant species, with the dominant growth being cajeput trees. Cajeput is a type of myrtle (paper bark) tree found in Asia and Australia and very close genetically to our melaleuca, so it was quite a curious experience to be paddled around these backwaters embraced by trees found so commonly at home.
 |
| Tra Su Forest (R Eime) |
Conversely, every body of water, large and small, along the Mekong is infested with introduced water hyacinth, one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet. Brought to Indochina by the French early in the 20th century, it does redeem itself somewhat with uses ranging from rattan material to food, fertiliser, and stock feed.
Back aboard Toum Tiou II, we relax on the sheltered sundeck with a refreshing beverage before another delicious traditional meal served by chef and his team.
Expedition Cruising is travelling aboard Toum Tiou II as a guest of CF Mekong
No comments:
Post a Comment