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Hello. This is my first time going to Vietnam. I have to go to this district and from what I have gathered from family I have never met, that this is the country and there is nothing to do there. Of course we have communication issues so I'm here to ask anyone that has ever traveled give me some insight on the area, suggestions on where to stay, eat, or do.

Edited by kkbangz
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Tra Vinh (town) has everything needed to support life, but is really a pretty quiet laid back place that few tourists ever go. Plenty of places to stay, but not that many of them have any online presence.

The countryside around is nice enough, but, apart from fishing, watching duck herders, visiting temples, and listening to the rice grow, there's not really a lot to do.

I'd start by finding out exactly where your relations stay and take it from there. Something like What 3 Words is much better than an address unless they're living somewhere with proper street names and numbers (and sometimes, even then).

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I really liked Tra Vinh. I think there are walks you can do and there was a boat on the river when I was there to some other towns. You can certainly get buses to places like Can Tho a few hours away. There was a great local market too. Visiting family you will see different things too. I did a bike tour with a local guy who spoke English who I found through my little hotel, so perhaps you can find someone who can translate for you.

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I have not been specifically to Tra Vinh, but most of the Mekong Delta on the whole, is just so different to anything you will have experienced in your own western country. When you say "What do I do there" - well just meeting local people, having a look at their day to day life, their houses , their jobs, how they produce their own food etc. It will be extremely interesting and hopefully you will love it.

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In response to #2

I really liked Tra Vinh. I think there are walks you can do and there was a boat on the river when I was there to some other towns. You can certainly get buses to places like Can Tho a few hours away. There was a great local market too. Visiting family you will see different things too. I did a bike tour with a local guy who spoke English who I found through my little hotel, so perhaps you can find someone who can translate for you.

Thank you. She lives in Phu Can village. If I did it correctly on the map, it appears that it is a 25 min drive from Tra Vinh. Do you know if the roads there are smooth? Bumpy?

We are flying into HCM and have to endure the fun ride of 4+ hours just to get to Tra Vinh. Would like to know the road conditions from HCM to TV too.

I really don't want to stay in any of the hotels that are closer to her village. I would prefer to stay in Tra Vinh. If it is just 25 mins from HCM and the ride daily isn't a pain, then I would definitely get a hotel in Tra Vinh.

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Thanks everyone for your inputs. I'm trying to plan my trip for November to make time to spend with them. Afterwards, we are heading back to HCM to relax and enjoy what they have to offer before we take off to Cambodia.

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Also would it be cheaper to buy my ticket from HCM to Phnom Penh while I am there? Or should I buy that ahead of time?

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And is it true that it is cheaper to book a hotel in person instead of doing it online in advance?

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I came into Tra Vinh on a bus from Can Tho and I remember that the bus was very slow, but I don'tnremember that the roads were particularly bad. There is so much development in the Mekong that things change very quickly. I don't know what the state of the roads is now or whatntransport is available. I think it's likely that there are no hotels in your relatives's village but how lucky you are to get the chance tomget so close to that way of life. I'd be inclined to stay the firat night at least in a hotel in Tra Vinh and see how it works. I don't thimk Imbooked ahead anyway, so perhaps you can play it by ear.

There are a lot of Khmer temples in and sround Tra Vinh because many Cambodians settled there. It would be interesting to near about your stay.

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