One piece of advice I wish we had been given before venturing to Ho Chi Minh City is to double check all attractions hours of operation. Maya had hopes of buying a few rosaries and attempted to visit the cathedral 4 times. Each time it was closed. I had really wanted to visit the Independence Palace or Reunification Palace, but it too had odd hours. With several epic fails under our belts, we boarded a bus and headed to Can Tho. The bus ride went smoothly except for the Dutchman almost not getting back on after a 15 minute break.
Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta and a great place to visit floating markets from. Having missed the Damnoen Saduak floating market outside of Bangkok, it was a definite priority to experience floating markets in Vietnam. A big difference between the Damnoen Saduak and Can Tho’s markets is their functionality. The ones here are for the locals while Damnoen Saduak is predominantly for tourists.
To make life a bit easier we decided to do a tour through our hotel, the Kim Lan Hotel (great value). After negotiating the price was 10 USD per person. We visited two floating markets, Cai Rang and Phong Dien. It was nice to see two very different markets back to back. Cai Rang is only 4 miles southwest of town and is a wholesale market. Large barges loaded with one or two specific goods stayed relatively stationary while small sampans floated up to them to negotiate large Costco size purchases. Each barge had a tall pole with whatever they were selling tied to it as an indicator to the buyers what they had for sale. We saw all sorts of fruit and vegetables. There were even floating restaurants that deliver hot meals to the barges. It is crucial to make this trip early in the morning. Many sellers are only there for a few hours around sunrise. From our small sampan we were able to catch glimpses into the barges bellies and see the living quarters of the shipmasters. Many had hammocks strung up, wives preparing breakfast in makeshift kitchens, and small children laying on the decks. Life on the river seemed social, but hard.
Another nine miles west, we came to Phong Dien. Phong Dien is a retail market meaning you are able to buy individual items instead of a boat load of potatoes. We purchased several pineapples and floated over to a café. We sat on the deck drinking coconut water from humungous fresh coconuts and observed women with conical hats hawk their goods from small sampans filled to the brim with vegetables and fruit.
After the markets our tour took us through some of the small waterways. We stopped to check out some rice paddies and a rice noodle factory. The highlight of the day for my brother involved my urgent need to empty my bladder. I told our tour guide, to his dismay, that I was just going to go in the bushes. He insisted I use the bathroom of one of the nearby houses. He approached an elderly woman and she gestured to the side of the house. There was no outhouse, just two slates of wood balanced over a canal. The family had hammered a foot high piece of sheet metal around the slates to provide a small degree of privacy. The best or worst part of it depending on whose perspective you take, was that this toilet set up was in full view of the pathway we were all walking along. I squatted and my brother documented my stream falling below the slates while in tears. He genuinely couldn’t believe his little sister had been willing to do such a thing. Well, life on the road changes a person…
Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta and a great place to visit floating markets from. Having missed the Damnoen Saduak floating market outside of Bangkok, it was a definite priority to experience floating markets in Vietnam. A big difference between the Damnoen Saduak and Can Tho’s markets is their functionality. The ones here are for the locals while Damnoen Saduak is predominantly for tourists.
To make life a bit easier we decided to do a tour through our hotel, the Kim Lan Hotel (great value). After negotiating the price was 10 USD per person. We visited two floating markets, Cai Rang and Phong Dien. It was nice to see two very different markets back to back. Cai Rang is only 4 miles southwest of town and is a wholesale market. Large barges loaded with one or two specific goods stayed relatively stationary while small sampans floated up to them to negotiate large Costco size purchases. Each barge had a tall pole with whatever they were selling tied to it as an indicator to the buyers what they had for sale. We saw all sorts of fruit and vegetables. There were even floating restaurants that deliver hot meals to the barges. It is crucial to make this trip early in the morning. Many sellers are only there for a few hours around sunrise. From our small sampan we were able to catch glimpses into the barges bellies and see the living quarters of the shipmasters. Many had hammocks strung up, wives preparing breakfast in makeshift kitchens, and small children laying on the decks. Life on the river seemed social, but hard.
Another nine miles west, we came to Phong Dien. Phong Dien is a retail market meaning you are able to buy individual items instead of a boat load of potatoes. We purchased several pineapples and floated over to a café. We sat on the deck drinking coconut water from humungous fresh coconuts and observed women with conical hats hawk their goods from small sampans filled to the brim with vegetables and fruit.
After the markets our tour took us through some of the small waterways. We stopped to check out some rice paddies and a rice noodle factory. The highlight of the day for my brother involved my urgent need to empty my bladder. I told our tour guide, to his dismay, that I was just going to go in the bushes. He insisted I use the bathroom of one of the nearby houses. He approached an elderly woman and she gestured to the side of the house. There was no outhouse, just two slates of wood balanced over a canal. The family had hammered a foot high piece of sheet metal around the slates to provide a small degree of privacy. The best or worst part of it depending on whose perspective you take, was that this toilet set up was in full view of the pathway we were all walking along. I squatted and my brother documented my stream falling below the slates while in tears. He genuinely couldn’t believe his little sister had been willing to do such a thing. Well, life on the road changes a person…