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Friday, August 25, 2017

Vietnam (Day 4) Mekong Delta: Floating Market, City Tour


Sunrise on the Mekong Delta! We met Jason at 5:20am (update to previous night: the kids woke at 2:30am and never went back to sleep) and walked to the river pier to board our private boat to the Cai Rang Floating Market (largest floating market in the Mekong Delta). 


It was already busy in the square with people doing Tai Chi in groups and individually. There was some really neat exercise standalone equipment along the river like fixed-bike pedaling, stair master, and other things I couldn't figure out. I would have taken more pics, but I became distracted cleaning my hand after a lady grabbed it and planted a slobbery kiss. She did the same thing to Rob too - hahahaha!


We boarded our boat and set out on our sunrise trip.  It was a gorgeous morning and we really hit the jackpot with this sunrise!








After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the entrance of the Cai Rang Floating Market.  Jason had already indicated that we would be taking two rounds through it stopping at several boats to try foods/drinks.  We were beyond excited!




The market area was very busy with lots of crowded tour boats and so many boats selling their wares. The noise level with all the boat motors picked up adding to the energy of the bustling traffic.  We were very happy to have a private boat as some of the boats were packed.

It was super cool looking at all the boats do their trade. You can tell what they sell from the long poles where they hang their particular ware. 


We started with delicious noodles and grilled bbq pork for breakfast. 






Next, it was a special treat to board the pineapple boat and watch the seller carve the sweetest pineapple I've ever had in my life. In the whole market just like the previous day, we didn't see anybody else get to board any of the seller boats, so that is another of many reasons that we were glad to have Jason as our guide.






Rob and I really enjoyed the coffee boat. 



Of course, it's wouldn't have been complete without a stop at the banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) boat. 






So impressive seeing the market boats loaded with everything needed to float such delicious food!  We really enjoyed our cruise through Cai Rang Floating Market.

After the floating market, Jason took us on a walking Can Tho city tour before bringing us back to the hotel for breakfast (yes, this was just after the floating market breakfast). 


You name it, it's for sale in the market. Tan An is a live fish market, but it also sold oldies, but goodies electronics.



Typewriter man.  He will type anything for you.






We toured 3 pagoda temples each very unique and different from the other. It's not as busy here as in Saigon as far as the traffic, but I still get nervous crossing the street. Rob has settled in comfortably and in fact, just starts walking across inadvertently leaving a couple of us stranded on the other side. 





















View of 2nd pagoda from the 3rd one.

Jason led us back to the hotel and we had a wonderful breakfast (included in the stay).  This wraps up our 2nd tour. It was a fantastic decision to experience the Mekong Delta with a private guide and I can't imagine getting a better experience not staying overnight in Can Tho. There were a lot of tourists at the floating market, but most only come for the day trip from Saigon. In fact, we saw no foreigners at all in the city market. A little pricey compared to other Mekong tours at $400 for everything over the 2 days (not including the hotel which was $55), but we feel it was well worth it for the personal attention and up close experiences off the touristy path.

While planning our itinerary, I discovered that there is an airport in Can Tho, so we avoided the drive back to Saigon to fly to our next destination - Hoi An. A surprise treat was transferring to this fancy accommodation Victoria Can Tho Resort. It would have been romantic, except we brought our kids. Somehow I managed to book the entire resort.  There was nobody else here.  It is just 10 minutes from the other centrally-located hotel where we just stayed, but there is a pool here!! And, they offer a free river boat shuttle from here to that area. We were too tired to venture off the resort, but Rob went out solo and said it was just as fast to walk it.

Just one night, but we really made the most of our time enjoying the amenities of the resort.  I guess the little bit of construction behind the pool drove some of the people to not book here, but it made it nice for us to get some relaxation and fun family time. 














Lovely complimentary gifts for the kids from Victoria Can Tho Resort















Easy transfer to the Can Tho airport. All checked in. Business class lounge. I was scolded for getting into the line at security. I didn't know bypassing it was a perk.  We used Vietjet for this flight and I was a little worried as I had heard negative things about the airline and also, there is only one flight out daily.  I worried for nothing!  This was one of the easiest airports of the whole trip.  The kids asked if we could always travel Business class or at least for the long-haul flights. Hahahahaha, nope - this will probably be the only time we find a flight where we can afford the expense.  I only booked this category because it included more carry-on allowance, but the extras were welcomed.  It sure was nice to try on the "good life"!

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