Quoi An Tourist Park a coconut heaven

      Among dozens of ecotourism sites in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, Quoi An Tourist Park is definitely worth a visit.
Upon entering the park, you will set foot on a rock-paved path that meanders through a shady longan garden. After stepping through the spacious garden, you will encounter a small village of houses made from coconut wood.
One of the houses featured there is called bat dan. It is a southern-style house which usually has three rooms and a wide corridor in front. The central room, which houses the ancestral altar, is for receiving and entertaining guests. The house is made from 40 coconut trunks aged for 30 years. Nearly 200 handicrafts made from coconuts are displayed in its rooms.
The remaining houses are also used for displaying handicrafts and food specialties such as embroidery and confectioneries.
According to tourist guides at the site, Quoi An has the largest collection of coconut-based handicrafts in Ben Tre. Products on sale include cyclos, scooters, tea-sets, chopsticks, and animals, all made from coconuts.
At the park, you can go boating on the Tien River or camp in the longan garden. Live traditional southern music is performed upon request.
Before leaving, don’t forget to buy coconut handicrafts as souvenirs and gifts for your relatives and friends. The products are priced from VND20,000-90,000 (US$1.10-5.10). Those that are more labor-intensive may cost more, up to VND1 million ($57.50) an item.
To visit Quoi An from Ho Chi Minh City, take a car to My Tho Town in Tien Giang Province, then cross Rach Mieu Bridge or continue by boat down the Tien River. Overland the trip is about 80 kilometers and takes about three hours. If you go by boat from My Tho, you will save about half an hour.