Our 7th day on our CF Mekong by CroisiEurope cruise along the Mekong Delta. Today we visit one of the four islands of the Upper Mekong Delta called Unicorn Island or Thoi Son islet. There we get the chance to try tropical fruit, honey and watch a traditional show. Another highlight is a sampan boat ride under a canopy of water coconut trees!
Today's excursion starts off early at 7:30am which is early but there was no way I was missing out on Thoi Son island or Unicorn Island. My voice is still absent, nothing more than a whisper but thankfully everything that I need is apparently on this island. Not only is it full of fruit tastings but also a scenic sampan ride along the arroyos (shallow streams). Thoi Son island is one of the four islands of the upper Mekong. Each island is named after four creatures: Dragon (signifying power), Turtle (longevity), Phoenix (beauty) and lastly the Kirin/Qilin or Unicorn (fortune and luck).
Our guide Bang explains that the people here are generous because when they arrived here they were faced with abundance from the fertile, alluvial soil. Here they grow sweet longan, pomelo and coconut candy. A friendly woman sorting longans asks if I am Vietnamese and then offers me a milky fleshed longan. It's the sweetest longan I've ever tried. Longans are also called dragon's eyes as they have a similar appearance. We also help ourselves to dried ginger and pomelo rind.
We also try some crystallised ginger which is spicy hot and delicious as well as candied pomelo rind, a popular ingredients in Vietnamese che desserts.
Unicorn island has a population of just 2,000 people across 11 square kilometres/4.2 square miles. Fishing is also abundant here; around the edge of the island they plant water coconut trees and water hyacinth and fish around these for shrimp.
Our next stop is to try the locally grown fruit. There are plates of pineapple, dragonfruit, rambutans, papaya, jackfruit and longans, presented in order of sweetness. The surprise favourite for me (apart from longan and rambutans) is the jackfruit. We watch some local singers perform while we snack on the fruit.
We cut a path through the village and then we see a woman's store selling cacao powder from cacao pods grown on the island's cocoa farms. We buy a bag for 100,000VND (around $6AUD/$4USD) and a bag of Vietnamese coffee that I make into a Vietnamese coffee cheesecake once I get home.
After this, the group splits up between those that want to bike around the island and those you want to see it by tuk tuk. We pass a local shipyard where men are dismantling an old ship and by fish farms where fish like red tilapia grow for 8-10 months. The fish require between 60-200kgs/132-440lb of food a day but the farmers get leftovers and scraps from the local market and feed it to the fish.
We pass roosters that skedaddle out of the way of the tuk tuk. Dogs lie in the sun while farmers toil. Then we pass by a very interesting structure: a bird's nest house. These grey concrete buildings are conspicuous for their absence of windows. Instead they have small holes that the swiftlets enter after being lured by the chirping noise piped through large speakers. After the birds enter it takes 9 months for them to create their nests using bird saliva and it is then that they harvest the birds nests (provided no baby birds remain in the nests). Bird's nest is said to clear phlegm, ease chronic dry coughs and relieve fatigue as well as stimulate the appetite and aid in digestion. One kilo of bird's nest fetches around $120USD. And suddenly all I want is some bird's nest to clear my throat.
Once we've circumnavigated our way around the island, we meet up with the bike riders for a sampan boat ride. These small, flat bottomed boats fit 4 people plus a sampan driver who uses oars to gently steer our way along the arroyos. We climb into the sampan boats and don our Non La hats.
Our driver takes us through the curving streams - sun dappled thanks to the Nipa palms or water coconut trees that reach high and then droop over the waterways to provide a shady canopy for our passage. It's a beautiful ride.
Our last stop proves fortuitous for me. Here bee farmer and apiarist Tam has his sales pitch down pat. He mixes some of his bee farm's honey with cumquat juice and adds a sprinkle of bee pollen on top before topping it up with some jasmine tea. The honey grown here is longan tree honey and has a strong, sweet scent to it. I take a sip of the drink and it is wonderful - the sweet honey balanced with the tartness of cumquats.
The bees are very non aggressive and although they surround us while he is showing us the honey and royal jelly, they are gentle and only interested in the honey. These are a variety of eastern honey bee, Asiatic honey bee or Asian honey bee.
Then Tam gives us a sample of royal jelly. It is said to be good for diabetes, high blood pressure, massage, canker sores and sunburn. To use it, eat it as is and let it dissolve on the tongue (don't add to water to it). At $6USD for a jar it's a bargain especially compared to the price of royal jelly in Australia.
We are back on the ship by 10:30am so I do some work before lunch is ready at 12pm. We pass through the narrow Chao Gao Canal and emerge into a wider waterway.
I've been craving banh mi ever since the day before when the aroma of banh mi wafted past my nose. Today's lunch is anchored by a carving station with a leg of pork, gravy and mashed potato with stir fried seafood, rice as well as a range of salads.
I grab a baguette and fill it with pork, fresh chilli and salad and fashion myself a banh mi of sorts with a glass of iced coffee. It's the perfect lunch and satisfies my cravings. Dessert are crispy pineapple fritters with honey and fresh longans, jackfruit and guava.
Tonight's dinner is a smaller group as the French group have gone out by themselves. I'm excited that it is family style Asian food night tonight and it starts with a crunchy green papaya salad with dried shrimp to start with with plenty of sawtooth coriander.
This is followed by a river fish tom yum soup that I added some fresh chilli to. This is perfect for my sore throat.
The mains arrive and I start with my favourite of the mains. The green curry chicken has plenty of tender chicken and chunks of potato with a moreish flavour to it.
The stir fried beef is a bit chewy which is a surprise because since we've arrived in Vietnam, the beef has been more tender as they have different breeds of cattle.
I enjoy the stir fried tofu and the broccoli and cauliflower florets
Dessert is mango cubes with sago and coconut. It has a light level of sweetness to it.
And it suddenly dawns on us with a measure of sadness that we are nearing the end of this remarkable cruise.
So tell me Dear Reader, which tropical fruit would you reach for first: rambutan, jackfruit, or longan? Have you ever tried royal jelly or bird's nest before? What did you think?
NQN and Mr NQN were guests of CroisiEurope but all opinions remain her own.
CroisiEurope
To celebrate 25 years of cruising the Mekong, CF Mekong and CroisiEurope are offering a 25% discount code for tours departing October-December 2025 on a first come first booked basis.
25% discount prices begin at AUD$2,371 (US$1,559)
October 2025 Departures
Upper deck price per person in a shared cabin: USD$2,279 (25% discount USD$1,709)
Lower deck price per person in a shared cabin: USD$2,079 (25% discount USD$1,559)
November to December 2025 Departures
Upper deck price per person in a shared cabin: USD$2,569 (25% discount USD$1,926.80)
Lower deck price per person in a shared cabin: USD$2,369 (25% discount USD$1,776.80)
https://cfmekong.com/cruise-types/discovery-cruise/
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