Hà Tiên town - Hòn Tre island - Rạch Giá city

Xe lôi rickshaw in Hà Tiên town

---

This rickshaw can be seen in some towns of the Mekong Delta.

14 to 16 February 2013 - This is Part 1 of my 6-day solo trip in the Mekong Delta from 14 to 19 February 2013. On this trip I traveled by local bus and motorbike. I have been to the Mekong Delta many times in the past, however there were some new places I wished to see. After I celebrated the New Year’s Eve (Tết) with my family in Sài Gòn and made a short trip to Phnom Penh, I took a bus to Hà Tiên. This town is located 342km southwest of Sài Gòn and only 7km from the Vietnam – Cambodia international border crossing. It is also famous for beaches and beautiful landscape. I left my passport in Sài Gòn, so it was pity I couldn’t make a trip to Kep, Kampot and Sihanoukville, but I will do this route next time if I go back.

Clock tower in the center of Hà Tiên
 town
This tower has 4 sided clocks.
It's located in the center of the town
and close to the Hà Tiên market.

It took me 9 hours to travel 342km by bus and there was a ferry across the Mekong river. When the bus came along the coastline, a local girl sitting next to me pointed toward an island far away named “Hòn Tre” and she said she is living there. The island also has another name “Hải Tặc” which means “Pirates” because there were pirates in the old days. I decided that I would visit the island next day by local boat. Hà Tiên town is more touristy than I expected. Many southern Vietnamese tourists came to the town during the new year holiday. I also saw some western tourists who got there from Cambodia. There are a lot of street side restaurants around the market area, so it was a good chance to enjoy some local food.

Next day I got a local boat to Hòn Tre island. The boat was quite old but it could carry over one hundred people. The boat ride took one hour and five minutes. As there are no guesthouses, restaurants nor electricity on the island, I decided to make a short visit then go back to the mainland on the same day. Other people go there for swimming at a beach and fishing. During my short visit to the island, I hired a local motorbike taxi driver to show me around the place. We went along the only main road and saw everything for 15 minutes. It’s a small island where about 500 people are living.