The Mekong Delta

South of Ho Chi Minh City lies the agricultural breadbasket of Vietnam where the terminus of the mighty Mekong River has created the perfect conditions for extensive pastoralism. It is within this web of waterways, canals and streams that a unique Southeast Asian tradition can be experienced.

Can Tho - The Gateway to the Mekong

Alright, the title here might be a bit misleading seeing as Can Tho is in the Mekong River Delta rather than the gateway but it is a good base for any experiences in the area even if a lot of commodified, rushed experiences can be booked from Saigon (nobody I talked to seemed to particularly enjoy these Mekong day-trips which is why I mention it).

Reaching Can Tho is straightforward enough with buses connecting it from Saigon every few minutes that take roughly 4 hours. The infrastructure here is good and developing fast with bridges spanning the Mekong’s many outlets with most of the drive being very flat but green.

The city itself is full of food which is the first thing I noticed. Like, most of Vietnam has food but it seemed like Can Tho had a higher-than-average amount especially with its relatively small tourism sector. There isn’t much in terms of conventional sightseeing besides some temples, namely the Ong Temple and some other in the Khmer style and the night market.

The Boat Ladies

The reason though to visit Vietnam’s fourth largest city is the Cai Rang Floating Market. This distant market can only be reached by way of boat and this can be done one of two ways: the boring but professionally organized tours that take throngs of passengers on a large barge or by negotiating a much more personal, cheaper and local experience yourself. As you can tell from the perspective I just gave, I opted for the latter.

The city’s docks known as Ninh Kieu have a sort of syndicate of an all-female workforce that have for decades offered their services to take tourists to the floating market. These are colloquially called “The Boat Ladies”. If you wander along the dockyards for long enough you will inevitably be greeted by at least one who will ask if you are interested in the trip. It took me probable about 2 minutes for this to happen.

Phoung

She introduced herself as Phuong; a short and squat woman, After a short bargain (~20USD), she told me to meet back with her at 5am and we traded phone numbers. It seemed very important for her that I see her boat and she guided me to it and pridefully smiled while showing it off. It was one of those Southeast Asian carved boats with a fishtail motor that anyone who has traveled to the region would recognize. And just like that, the trip was organized.

I wandered around the city for the rest of the day and enjoyed the night market which despite the humidity I found to be much more relaxed. I set my alarm up for 4:00am.

The Next Morning

The alarm never woke me up because I was already awake by 4:00am. I was disturbed by a call confirming details about a new job I was beginning as soon as I returned stateside from Vietnam but luckily this gave me another half an hour to prepare and slug along to the docks.

By the time I reached them, my eyes still hadn’t really put the scene into focus. Visitors all around me were loading into larger vessels with rows and rows of seating but few were stepping along the smaller wooden boats lined like lily pads amongst the docks. I didn’t immediately see Phuong but as soon as I whipped out and dialed her number I saw a had waving towards me: she had made it.



I was never doubting she would show up but rather I doubted my ability to think straight on the details we had worked out prior when it was 5:00 in the morning. Also I have to give her props for singling me out on the docks in the complete dark and amongst the crowd especially just remembering what I looked like but anyways, I stepped from boat to boat parked below before reaching the correct one with Phuong at the helm. Relatively few words were exchanged; perhaps she sensed the tiredness I was feeling at the tail-end of my intense north to south itinerary that was compounded by an even earlier than expected wake-up call. Once aboard I put a small lifejacket on but I’m assuming even though my boat had them, doesn’t guarantee all of them do.

Making My Way to Cai Rang

The deafening sound of boat motors - both long-tail and otherwise filled the early morning dawn. Don’t assume the floating market is in the city of Cai Rang, it is a 45-minute ride on the Mekong Delta’s outlet.

One fruit vendor would pass by then another and another as the density of boats linearly increased the closer to the heart of commerce we got.

The Floating Market

One of the most noticeable things about the ships that are selling fruits is the pole where they display what ever produce that they specialize in. Phoung explained to me in limited English how there are small boats that will buy in bulk from larger boats at the beginning by of the day so that whenever the larger ones run out of stock the small boats can upsell the goods for a produce. This is some of the ingenuity that the residents among the delta have developed that dates back all the way to Cai Rang’s inception.

The story I heard about the start of the market was that the vendors aimed to avoid paying taxes from landownership along the banks of the delta so they took to selling on the waters themselves. Phuong seemed to believe that since the Vietnamese economy has begun to boom, it makes less and less sense to continue this practice so the market has gotten smaller in recent years.

The market itself was a collection mostly of large produce barges and smaller boats preparing food and drinks for tourists and merchants alike. I’d inagine if not for the puttering of motors in the water the merchant hawking would be the definitive sound. Steam arose from vats of broth and kitchenware adding a misty element to the sunrise on the river. Tourists laughing, merchants yelling orders and all manners of interaction in between could be observed as the congregation of boats continued to expand.

Our first stop was for a cup of Vietnamese coffee served mixed and served out of a boat full of assorted refreshments. It looked like in addition through coffee there were sodas and freshly-squeezed fruit juices aboard. Let me put it this way, if back home I had to go to someone floating on a boat in the middle of a river instead of a local Starbucks or sterile coffee spot, well my outlook on the world would be much better.

And then came breakfast. Now I must emphasize that I found this bowl of noodle soup on a cool morning floating on the Mekong has to be THE prime culinary experience for Vietnam. While good food and even great food can be found all along the Vietnamese track, this was the most standout. Two types of noodles, meatballs and sausage with the accompanying broth and garnishes; this was the complete package.

Phuong and I had a bowl and then to my surprise she even climbed to the noodle boat and helped the vendor as a rush of tourists descended on the area - surprisingly mostly local tourists here. The other visitors would climb from boat to boat and land up on ours as it was the closest to the noodle boat but once the bowls had been distributed and returned and Phuong had beaten the breakfast rush, we paddled out of the area and kicked on the long-tail to continue through the waterways.

Side Canals

Even though I’ve explained how the personalized and more local experience are benefits of doing this trip with the boat ladies, the most specific example of this is how the small boats manned by them can manouver through small and less busy canals. Though these canals are not free of other tourists, they are much less trodden than the main riverway. People were amongst the banks in the terrace of stilted homes cleaning clothes, cooking and generally going about life in a manner much different than the other parts of Vietnam.

Phuong stopped off at an old fashioned noodle factory where rice paper was being steamed, dried and cut. This was a public factory with tourist activities that even meant with limited success I was able to participate in these activities. I must admit that I had limited success with the noodle cutting machine as I watched half of them fall into a basket below instead of catching them.

Returning Back

As the sun began to beat down and without the comfort of shade in the middle of a river, Phuong unfurled a tarp above that she had fashioned as a makeshift sunshade. Her pride shone through her zealousness as she rolled it out. It was only 8am but the August sun of southern Vietnam is no joke.

We zipped past the remainder of the floating market as most vendors had moved on to probably taking a nap after selling out, hence why the early start was so necessary. One final stop at a floating gas station which I thought was pretty unique and it was time for a final effort to Can Tho. Unfortunately a gust of wind blew a wad of cash out of Phuong’s pocket so I helped pick some of the bills out of the water and collectively we got about 70% before the rest sank or drifted too far away.

Out of the fear of being a bad guest I gave Phuong a generous tip before hugging and saying my goodbyes, documenting the moment with a final picture.

The rest of the morning in Can Tho I spent having some last-minute snacks like more coffee, a fried empanada-looking dumpling and a banh mi I packed for the road. I would be leaving Vietnam at the end of that day. Catching a bus then another bus to end at the airport in the evening. Putting a satisfying cap to my north to south trip.

Even though this was my end to the trip, it wouldn’t have to be yours. Though I didn’t have time, some backpackers I met much earlier on had went further to Tra Su forest which is the more nature-oriented part of the Mekong Delta that looks like a flooded forest that can be rowed through. Probably worth it. Also further on is Ha Tien from where you can continue to Cambodia or the tropical Phu Quoc island.