Lunar New Year, or Tet, which falls in the middle of next month, is a special holiday in Vietnam. People are already buying new clothes, shoes, food and other necessities, and are reuniting with their families.

While the Vietnamese are preparing for Tet, Ben Thanh Tourist, in collaboration with the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language for foreigners at HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities, is offering a culture tour for foreigners, especially foreign students studying in HCMC, to visit Vietnamese families in the Mekong Delta to learn about the local culture of Tet holiday.

The tour, which is named Explore and Enjoy Tet in the Mekong Delta, is comprised of many activities, including touring pagodas, visiting southern families to prepare special dishes for Tet, such as Banh Chung and Banh Tet (square and cylindrical glutinous rice cakes filled with green bean paste and fat pork), and enjoying some team games in the region.

The two-day trip takes in Vinh Trang pagoda, My Tho market in Tien Giang, and includes a spot of fishing in gardens and bathing in the Co Chien River. Visitors can jump into the shallow water and take their chances at catching fish, wearing an ao ba ba (a kind of shirt used by South Vietnamese people), and a khan ran (bandanna), or stay ashore and cheer on their comrades.

Before enjoying a romantic dinner with traditional music, don ca tai tu (amateur Southern opera) on river-boats, foreigners may play a game exploring Vietnamese Tet customs, with special prizes for individuals or teams.

One of the special activities of the tour is learning how to make glutinous rice cake, Banh Chung and Banh Tet. Guests not only have the chance to see Southerners make these kinds of cakes, but will also work together with farmers to prepare the ingredients, such as green peas, pork, banana leaf, and sticky rice.

Foreign students will also have a chance to interact with local students as they spend a sleepless night boiling Banh Chung and Banh Tet overnight.

Before returning to Ho Chi Minh City, tourists will enjoy the cakes they made with their own hands and continue their sightseeing on country lanes to learn more about the daily lives of the southern delta peoples, participating in more games and activities at Vinh Sang farm. .

The two-day tour costs US$44 per tourist (for a group of ten). Tourist can also book a day trip for US$39 per guest (for a group of ten).

(Source: SGT/ND)