Mekong Rest Stop is a restaurant with souvenir shops and nature-rich ambiance. Its guests can enjoy a pleasant view of its serene garden with a large pond full of water lilies. The shops around it wonderfully showcase the beauty of Vietnamese art and craftsmanship. From conical hats, figurines, traditional attires, paintings and manually woven cloths—simply looking for items to buy here will let you enjoy a cultural experience.
Arrival
We arrived at Mekong Rest Stop at 9:30 AM which was a 1-hour trip from our hotel in Ho Chi Minh. From the name itself, it’s a typical first stop when you go on a Mekong Delta group tour. This is where you can go to the washroom after a long ride and simply rest a bit before starting your tour. They have a restaurant where you can have a meal in case you missed breakfast or have lunch if your tour started late.
Exploring Mekong Rest Stop
Since we had our breakfast already, we decided to check out the green and relaxing part of the restaurant. The pond with ducks and lilies will simply brighten your mood after a trip from the loud streets of Ho Chi Minh. It would have been fun to cross the narrow wooden bridge at the center of the pond but fear got the best of us. We can’t afford to start our tour in wet clothes.
We then had a quick stroll in its garden and noticed that it has plenty of square cement path walks. Typical gardens would usually have a plain green grassy field and have a small section for the path walks but this one is unique. Perhaps it’s a large path walk that is meant to accommodate a surge of guests from tourist buses. What I like about this set up is that it allows me to walk at the center of a grassy area without feeling guilty of stepping on the grass.
Souvenir Shops
The shops at the Mekong Rest Stop is somehow like a small museum because most of their products are uniquely Vietnamese. The well-crafted figurines are mostly depicting the influence of Buddhism in their country while the paintings show their western influence. There were some sculptures that I’ve seen in the Water Puppet Theater. They seem to depict the mythical beings of Vietnam.
The other section of their shop is full of traditional Vietnamese clothes and linen fabrics. These are ideal for collectors or couples who want to have a prenup photo-op in Mekong Delta. It was nice to see a lady who was manually weaving cloth using a handloom. This made me realize that making just a small cloth is not an easy task.
There are plenty of stalls outside the restaurant as well. It was nice to see the vendors wearing traditional clothes because it makes your buying experience more cultural. We later decided to buy two conical hats. It’s a practical protection from the sun during our boating tour. The prices are definitely higher compared to Ben Thanh Market. But if your time is short, it’s worth getting some items for convenience.
Mekong Rest Stop Info
Address: KM 1964+ 300 Quốc lộ 1A, Huyện Châu Thành, Tien Giang, Vietnam
Phone: +84 273 3858 676
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