On to Can Tho

Arrived shortly after noon in bustling Can Tho, the bus station a muddy mess in the steady light rain.  We attempt to find out about connections to our next spot before heading off to the hotel we’ve selected on the river-front.  Somewhat confusing, but we at least surmise that there is a bus!  We are lucky to get a room with a riverview on the 7th floor, and it’s quite view.  Boats of all sizes and shapes move dizzyingly in all directions up what appear to be four major waterways that all connect on our left horizon, with a tremendous high-spired bridge in the background.

We’re here to make it to the early morning floating market, of which there are two—one classified as more “touristy”, presumably because it’s closer, and therefore more foreigners make it to that one, and the further away Phong Dien market.  The receptionist downstairs gives us the basic details and price, but suggests we check around.  Lazily we say we’ll take her deal, and then head out to find our what other information may be available.  The river front is edged with a nice park area, the standard—albeit gargantuan—statue of Ho, and we quickly gather that this is a place tourists must definitely come in numbers.  In the immediate surrounding area, chaos has taken a backseat to Vietnam civilized and tamed.  We come upon the covered market—which is now a nice open veranda restaurant, and the remainder of the structure hosts a set of very nicely appointed souvenir shops/stalls.  This used to be the city’s main market, but that has been banished further inland.  Interestingly, this small portion of downtown appears even more tourist oriented than the ritziest areas we saw of HCMC.

We settle into an extensive lunch which consists of small portions of at least six different dishes.  Highlights are the lemongrass and chili chicken and the vegetable curry, as well as the delicate pumpkin flower soup.  Rain continues, so we wander briefly under our umbrellas, and then head back to enjoy our view from the hotel and rest up for a 6am start the next morning.

After another stunning breakfast buffet, which we’re almost too tired to truly appreciate, we are spirited away by a woman in the reception who races down to the riverfront and deposits us in a small boat with an elderly woman driver.  We’re pushed off and head down the river.  It’s very early morning, but there is plenty of activity, both on shore and on the water.  We literally have a window into the private lives of any and everyone who lives on the river….honestly sometimes a bit more of a look than we’d like.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but beyond the market itself, which we reach after about an hour, the glaring third-worldness of the riverbank, the picturesque but dire filth and poverty is almost overwhelming.  Despite this people smile, wave, or blithely mind their own business as we float through their lives.  Five hours on the river is a lifetime of reminders on how lucky we are to have the lives we do.

		On the Can Tho River VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL