The Ngo's Family Reunion - Ke Ga , Mui Ne / Binh Thuan - March 17th - 19th, 2026.

 Deja vu: just like the March 10th morning, van #1 stopped by Bong Sen Hotel to pick up the people who had stayed overnight in Saigon. We left the city early in the morning and met up with van #2 at a restaurant and rest stop outside of Saigon. 

We took the scenic, coastal "Ocean Road" from Saigon toward Mui Ne. For much of its length, this route hugged a deserted coastline. Inland, it frequently wound through cashew orchards, dragon fruit plantations, white salt flats, green rice fields, and quaint villages. While it is much longer than the direct route via Highway1, the Ocean Road offers more rewarding and picturesque journey. It took us over five hours to cover roughly the 250km from our meeting point to our hotel, the Silver Beach Resort in Ke Ga, South of Mui Ne. 

On the way, we visited Song Vinh Church in Phu My City (Ba Ria), Vung Tau Province. It's a popular landmark and stop for travelers driving between Saigon and Vung Tau.

Song Vinh Church, well-known for its striking classic European Gothic architecture.

Song Vinh Church.

The church ground.

The church sanctuary.

The church nave.

View from the "Ocean Road".

It was late afternoon when we arrived at the Silver Beach Resort in Ke Ga, our home for the next two nights. Ke Ga - a township, cape, bay- is a picturesque and peaceful coastal area in Binh Thuan Province. The Silver Beach Resort itself is beautiful, with long stretch of sandy beach and an excellent restaurant to serve hotel's guests. 

We spent the next day exploring Mui Ne, a coastal resort town of Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan Province. Mui Ne is an hour drive north of Ke Ga with Phan Thiet roughly at the halfway point. Main attractions include the visit to the Red Sand Dunes and the White San Dunes.

 

The Red Sand Dunes: an extraordinary natural wonder of southern Vietnam with reddish-orange sands, a beautiful desert landscape across the Vietnamese coastline. 

Having fun (climbing) up the dunes.

Happy to be (sliding) down.

The White Sand Dunes: About half-hour drive northeast of the Red Sand Dunes. The White Sand Dunes are a spectacular geological anomaly and one of the only true desert landscapes in Southeast Asia. Visitors can enjoy thrilling desert adventures here, including dune bashing with ATVs or quads and sand boarding down the slopes.

Where the pale yellow-white desert (The White Sand Dunes) meets the deep blue.

ATVs for dune bashing.

Camel farm.

Ostrich farm.

Visiting Mui Ne's Red and White Sand Dunes was our highlight of the day. On the way back to our hotel, I couldn't help but think about this being the final day of our reunion. All good things must come to an end!. We will say "good bye" in the morning. One group will return to Saigon, while others continue with their travels toward Nha Trang. 

Morning views from our hotel's room.

 Last day at Silver Beach Resort. Time to say "goodbyes".

On the morning of March 19, we said our goodbyes after breakfast at the hotel. The Silver Beach Resort was a wonderful host for our group's final stay. Traveling together for ten days was quite an adventure for all of us. Although we have returned to visit Vietnam many times in the past, this was the first and only time eight of ten siblings and our families were together for a reunion trip.

 We had a lot of fun, laughing, telling jokes, telling stories, and walking down memory lanes as we visited familiar places from our past. Through this journey, we have created even more fond memories to last a lifetime. We dedicate this reunion trip to Vietnam to our beloved parents, in honor of their love and memory. More importantly, this year (2026) marks our father's 100th birthday, and today - the date this blog is published (June 15, 2026)- marks the 14th anniversary of our mother's passing. 

Denver, Colorado - Our Parents' Resting Place.

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Acknowledgement: HUGE thanks to Bao for making our familly reunion trip unfogettable!!. Coordinating a big group is no easy task, but your patience, energy and local expertise made everything effortless for us. Thank you for the incredible memories!

We also want to extend a special thank you to Tan & Lieu, and Dien & Kim for your hard work in planning meals, coordinating transportation and handling all the behind-the-scenes details. 

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The Ngo's Family Reunion - Can Tho, Saigon - March 16th, 2026

Can Tho:...is the largest city in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, a region also known as the "rice basket of Vietnam". The city's bustling river life, fertile fruit orchards and floating markets - such as Cai Rang- are major attractions for visitors. For our trip, Can Tho was our last stop of the Mekong Delta before we returned to Saigon.

 Cai Rang Floating market: The market is located in Cai Rang district, about 5km from Can Tho city center. It is accessible by boat from Ninh Kieu Wharf or nearby canal homestays. Like most tourists, we look forward to experiencing the unique life along the Hau River. 

Waking up at 4:00am was a struggle, but we wanted to arrive by the time the market opened around 5:00 am. 

Ninh Kieu Wharf.

On the boat.

All set - ready to go to the market.

Quang Trung Bridge, first of the three bridges on Can Tho River.

Cai Rang Bridge, last of the three bridges crossing Can Tho River.

Merchant boats along the river.

"Pineapple" merchant.

"Coffee" vendor .

"Fruit" vendor.

Making "sales" .

Houses along the river.

On our way back - Crossing Hung Loi Bridge, the second bridge on Can Tho River.

Back to Ninh Kieu Wharf with our purchases.

We made it back to the hotel just in time for a scrumptious buffet breakfast. Charmant Suites was definitely a perfect choice for our Can Tho stay. Since our final destination for the day was Saigon - a pleasant three hour drive away- we had time to enjoy a few stops along the way.

Can Tho Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the Hau River, the largest distributary of the Mekong River.

A lunch stop at Bao's relatives' house before heading out of the delta.

Rice paddies encircle the house. 

Our last stop was our old home in Saigon, where I visited my childhood friend, Cuc, who still lives across the street from our old house.

Picture of our old house - 195 Co Giang Street - taken in June 2023.

195 Co Giang Street - March 2026.

Cuc - my childhood friend.

Saigon sunset.

We stayed overnight at various hotels in and around Saigon. Our reunion trip will resume in the morning for the final two days of our itinerary. We made sure to enjoy a fun evening out on Bui Vien Walking Street. 

Bui Vien Walking Street.

Pham Ngu Lao/Bui Vien Walking Street.

Thai Binh market, just a short walk from our old house.

Nguyen Cu Trinh Street, located a few blocks from our old house.

Although the Cai Rang floating market was a highlight of the day,  we truly cherished taking a stroll down memory lane on Co Giang street to visit a dear friend. Our reunion trip is winding down, but we are still excited for the next few days north of Saigon.

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The Ngo's Family Runion - Ca Mau, Bac Lieu - March 15th, 2026

 We had a long travel day from Chau Doc to Can Tho, our final destination, with about 6 hours of driving via Ca Mau and a lunch stop in Bac Lieu before reaching the city. 

Ca Mau: known as Ca Mau province, located in the Mekong Delta region of Southern Vietnam. It's the absolute Southernmost province in the country, forming a Peninsula that is bordered by the Gulf of Thailand to the West and South China Sea to the East and South.

Ca Mau Monument Roundabout.

Bac Lieu:  Lies on the Ca Mau Peninsula roughly 50km Northeast of Ca Mau and about 100km South of Can Tho. Bac Lieu is best known for having one of the largest offshore wind farms in Southeast Asia.

In Bac Lieu, we visited the Tac Say Church, also known as Father Diep's Church, and the extravagant historic mansion of the famous "Bac Lieu Prince".

Tac Say Church - Father Diep's Church.

Tac Say Church, a huge Pilgrimage site in the Mekong Delta. It's famous as the final resting place of Father Truong Buu Diep, a heroic Catholic priest revered for sacrificing his life to save his parishioners. Father Diep is scheduled to be beatified in July, 2026.

Tac Say Church in Bac Lieu.

Our next stop was the Bac Lieu Prince's House, located about 5 km from the city center.  As one of the city's main attractions, this mansion was built in 1919 and was once the largest residence in Bac Lieu. Designed by a French architect, it features building materials imported from France. Today, the house remains well- maintained, and the surrounding grounds are beautifully manicured. 

One of many cars that Bac Lieu Prince owned.

My favorite,  the Volkswagen Beetle - The house in the background.

And an airplane ...too.

New Year decoration around the property.

Before reaching Can Tho, we made a surprise stop at An Nghiep Industrial Park in Soc Trang province. Situated along National Highway, its strategic locaction supports the efficient transport of goods to major ports of Can Tho and the coastal regions of Bac Lieu and Ca Mau.
 
The main highligh of the park is visiting the "Tan Hue Vien" factory which is renowned for producing Banh Pia, a famous traditional Vietnamese pastry. 

Entrance to "Tan Hue Vien" Tourist stop.

One of beautiful garden and water sculptures in Tan Hue Vien.


 The massive " blooming lotus" sculpture or "Lotus Palace"  is the prominent cultural landmark in the Tan Hue Vien tourist stop.

                                    Fun place to hang out while shopping for Banh Pia.

Long lines of customers pack the shops.

We arrived in Can Tho late in the evening. It had been a long, busy day of covering plenty of ground and enjoying tourist attractions along the way.  

We stay at the Charmant Suites a Boutique Hotel, Can Tho, ideally located just steps from Ninh Kieu Wharf. Knowing we had an early 4:00am departure for our floating market tour in the morning, we grabbed a quick bite at a nearby restaurants before turning in for the night.

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