Mekong River Delta – Floating On Boats

Mekong River Delta has a diversity of tourism natural resources with an extensive canal system longer than 28.000 kilometres, a multiplicity of ecosystems from brine to fresh water, and most importantly the abundant cultural treasure of this place. Tourism in the Mekong Delta River has multiple types: ecological, resort, seaboard, MICE, culture – history, spiritual, society, and the most common and distinctive in Mekong Delta – orchard tourism.

All the advantages of ample resources combined with the essence of culture and history have made the Mekong Delta more and more popular in the tourism industry. Not only that, the generosity and affability of South people are some of the elements in making the cultural cuisine and souvenirs, making the Mekong Delta inclined to be remarkable in travellers’ minds.

Let’s explore the Mekong Delta River to see what you don’t want to miss when visiting this amazing destination.

Cai Rang Floating Market

Cai Rang floating market is the type of market that has been seen as unique in the Mekong Delta River and none of the other places in Vietnam will be as fascinating as it. This is the most significant, crowded and famous marketplace that represents the culture of this region. The Cai Rang floating market of Can Tho will bring about a second-to-none experience that allows you to admire the poetic scenery of the market during the dawn. Floating on a boat, immersing yourself in the bustle of commerce atmosphere early in the morning and having a crab paste vermicelli right on the junk is a wonderful experience.

Can Tho, where the market takes place, has two distinguishable seasons which are rainy and sunny. The rainy season starts from May to November, and the sunny season is from December to April of the following year. You can visit the floating market at any time of the year as you want. If you are keen on fruits, you should go in the sunny season (Summer) to buy and enjoy plentiful succulent kinds of fruits

Completely different from normal markets on the land, the Cai Rang floating land and other popular floating markets in this region always open up the market from daybreak, so 4am to 5am is the ideal time for paying a visit to the Cai Rang floating market. At this time of the day, multiple boats and dinghies racing to depart. When you come to the market early in the morning, you not only get the chance to immerse in the bustling atmosphere, crowded with buyers and sellers, but you can also enjoy the stunning picturesque floating market when the sun rises. At this place, people purchased and traded from boat to boat by juggling or passing from hand to hand their goods. You can also learn more about the local’s lives in their “mobile apartments” with TVs, small kitchens, and ornamental plants, just like any other house on the land. To serve the locals and also the visitors, many tiny boats are threading their way through each other on the river to sell breakfast dishes like porridge, rice with ribs, Hu Tieu (rice noodles), Vietnamese crab noodle soup, and also the beverage like tea, coffee, Siamese coconut juice, soymilk, and don’t be surprise if you catch a glimpse of a boozer on the river, it is just a normal thing in Mekong River Delta.

To visit any floating market, you have to charter a boat, you can choose between a private boat of your own or you can join a boat with other visitors like you. Especially, some of the boats include a guide presenting to you about the floating market.

Cai Be Floating Market

The famous Cai Be floating market – where the three provinces are contiguous, Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Vinh Long – is one of the three biggest wholesale markets of the Southwest. The Cai Be floating market is always merry and full of seafood, housewares, drinks, etc. Each dinghy and each ship has its disposal and is unique according to its type of goods, it helps the customer easily find their wanted goods and also represents the distinctive trading alternative of the orchard local.

Same with the Cai Rang floating market, coming to Cai Be, charter yourself a boat or a canoe to visit all the places you want to go on the river. If you want to directly observe the teeming of the marketplace, you should go early in the morning, when it’s sunrise to enjoy the view entirely. In the morning, people sell mostly produce from farming. But the market is closed at 8 a.m. so don’t be late or you will miss the market. For people who are interested in the peacefulness of this place, you should visit in the afternoon and perceive the daily life of people on their boats, one of the unique characteristics of the Southwest region. In the afternoon, you should go from 4 p.m., when it starts to be less sunny, and you will have an opportunity to enjoy the dawn on the river. This is the most beautiful time of the day in this floating market area.

Nowadays, because of the demand of many people, the Cai Be floating market in Tien Giang is not only for fruits, and agricultural products but they also sell food serving immediately. Tiny boats weave through the fruit boats to provide drinks and breakfast for the visitor: steamed thin rice pancake, Hu Tieu, pork organ congee, Vietnamese thick noodle soup, coffee, iced tea, etc. You will have a chance to experience a relaxing moment amidst the water and sipping a cup of coffee. Each boat is a restaurant on the river, ready to serve you the local country-style cuisine and feel the placid rhythm of life. Hundreds of boats flow back and forth rousing a part of the river, creating a realistic picture of the calm and rustic life of the locals.

Ba Duc Ancient House

The Ba Duc Ancient House is located in an area of 2 hectares and is one of the oldest houses in the Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village, taken care of by Mr Phan Van Duc. This is one of the 36 old houses aged from 80 to 200 years in Dong Hoa Hiep village that still be preserved throughout many ups and downs of history, maintaining various traditional values.

Ba Duc Ancient House is divided into two sections: the ground house and the upper house apart by an area called a skylight to provide the light and warmth for the house. From the outside, the house has Western architecture with round pillars, a curved dome and a delicately sculptured pattern. However, the interior design is completely based on the traditional architectural style of the Southwest using mostly wood. Four wooden pillars inside the house were carved in Han ideogram distiches to remind the descendants to keep their noble morality and keep being kind wholeheartedly. On the walls, there are nine European drawings hung up for decoration. Nine drawings representing nine distributaries of the Mekong River – the one that incident to the life of people in the Southwest area.

Besides that, this place also maintains the antiquities from the Nguyen dynasty and the French colonial period such as three narced altars from the 20th century, antithetical couplet, French lamps, etc. All the housewares are arranged according to the principle: the west is for disposing of local fruits: pomelo, king mandarin, longan, etc., and the east is for placing the pottery vases from the Nguyen dynasty with meticulous design. In the main space, there is a wooden trunk engraved with four sacred creatures in Vietnam: dragon, unicorn, turtle, and phoenix contains the conferment from the era of Minh Mang King, Thieu Tri King and Tu Duc King bestowing the Dong Hoa Hiep village.

Apart from the valuable antiquities, visitors are also attracted by the historical and cultural stories of the Southwest and the traditional lifestyles narrated by the family members. Concurrently, Ba Duc ancient house always serves local food like sour soup, braised fish, and giant gourami. Not only that, visitors also have a chance to process traditional food with the family in Ba Duc ancient house, and experience the hospitality and friendliness of the Southwest people.

Excluding the mentioned places above, the Mekong River Delta has many other fascinating destinations that travellers can visit like Sa Dec Flower Village, Plain of Reeds, Tra Su Mangroves, Sam Mountain, Tan Lap Floating Village, Tram Chim National Park and other ecotourism locations. Visiting the Mekong River Delta, you will be satisfied with the experience of immersing yourself in the romantic nature and enjoying the speciality food carefully processed and painstakingly seasoned, and meet the unsophisticated and adorable locals in this area.

Set sail on an unforgettable voyage through the enchanting wonders of the Mekong Delta. From verdant landscapes to bustling floating markets, each moment unveils a new facet of enchantment. Let the gentle flow of the river lead you as you delve into the vibrant culture and timeless allure of this mesmerizing region.