Our final destination
in Vietnam was the Mekong Delta. We were planning to stop for the night in the
Delta's main town Can Tho and visit a floating market first thing the next
morning. The bus ride from Saigon to Can Tho was a very comfortable one and
because it was leaving early in the morning, we managed to sleep all the way
through.
After we arrived to the bus station in Can Tho we took a cab to the hotel that we found in LP guide. The hotel was cheap and nice looking downstairs, however on the floors it had stinking old carpet and we almost decided to search for another one. Lucky for us, it turned out that the hotel had an extra floor recently build and fortunately the floors were tiled so we immediately asked if the rooms on that floor were available. There were only two rooms, one small for 2 people and one big for 4. To determine who will be getting the bigger room we decided to flip a coin for it. The girl at the reception wanted to participate as she found it very funny that we were letting the coin decide.
That day the luck was on our side. We've got a very nice room...
... with a very nice view of the downtown.
Can Tho turned out to be a small, not very interesting town and if it wasn't for the Mekong, I doubt any tourist would've came here.
After the bus ride everybody was very hungry and the girl at the reception pointed us towards the Mekong river bank, saying that we will find enough places there to eat. First restaurant we saw was okay, as we still had to consider Dima's determination not eat any Vietnamese food.
The most exciting dish of the day was the fish that one of us ordered. We are still unsure what it was, but it tasted absolutely great. The presentation alone was worth a photo shot. :-))
We took care of the next day trip to the floating market while we were still at the hotel. There was a local woman their trying to sell a trip to the Delta on her sister's boat to the guys, as they were waiting for us to find the suitable rooms. She started with 40$ for the tour and by the time we were done finding the rooms she was down to 20$. We would probably be able to get her to 15, but it wasn't worth the time, so we agreed. The tour had to happen very early in the morning, since the market only takes place from 6am to 8am. We agreed to meet at 5am outside the hotel the next day.
Because of the early start the next day, we wanted to take it slow and decided to just take a small walk along the river and through the streets of Can Tho's downtown.
It was a very hot "winter" day and just after 30-minute walk along the river we were despot for some shadows and for a nice cold drink. There were plenty of small cafe's along the river and we chose one with the most local people in it (mostly works as a sign for cheap and tasty beverages).
A walk back to the hotel was just as nice. Towards the evening, the air was getting cooler and the number of people on the street was growing. It was interesting to watch how everyone was busy with their little private business.
In the middle of the downtown's main street there was a statue of Ho Chi Minh, which looked a lot like every other statue of Lenin, to remind us all that we were in Vietnam...
... and the nice looking benches in the surrounding park to remind the tourists what town they were in. We were joking that the phone number was given for tourist emergencies :-))
We stopped at the market just a few streets down from our hotel to buy some fruit...
... to stare at some frogs...
... and to find the most unusual Limited Edition Christmas Trees made out of garlic. :-)
Life on the river begins very early in the morning.
Many are headed to the market, including tourists.
On the way we passed a floating gas station.
The floating market itself requires no comments and the photographs turned out to be awesome, thanks to the great light at sun rise.
The guys found the trip extremely interesting so far, you could easily tell by looking at their faces. :-)))
After the floating market our boat lady took us on a ride along the villages that are build on the banks of the Delta.
Most of the "houses" are built on wooden piles that are placed directly in the water. Our guess is they do it to avoid paying for land.
The sun was completely out by the time we got back.
Everyone was feeling sleepy, and after arranging the tickets to the bus that will take us to ChauDoc and from their to the border with Cambodia, we all went to sleep for a couple of hours. Last 3 hours in town were spent hanging around the restaurant we were eating at the day before waiting for the transfer to the bus station.
The bus station turned out to be a very proper one, with the waiting area and the working AC.
After getting some food for the ride...
... and a separate photograph of the street food seller upon his request...
... we were finally set to go.
Next: Chaudoc and the Cambodian border
After we arrived to the bus station in Can Tho we took a cab to the hotel that we found in LP guide. The hotel was cheap and nice looking downstairs, however on the floors it had stinking old carpet and we almost decided to search for another one. Lucky for us, it turned out that the hotel had an extra floor recently build and fortunately the floors were tiled so we immediately asked if the rooms on that floor were available. There were only two rooms, one small for 2 people and one big for 4. To determine who will be getting the bigger room we decided to flip a coin for it. The girl at the reception wanted to participate as she found it very funny that we were letting the coin decide.
That day the luck was on our side. We've got a very nice room...
... with a very nice view of the downtown.
Can Tho turned out to be a small, not very interesting town and if it wasn't for the Mekong, I doubt any tourist would've came here.
After the bus ride everybody was very hungry and the girl at the reception pointed us towards the Mekong river bank, saying that we will find enough places there to eat. First restaurant we saw was okay, as we still had to consider Dima's determination not eat any Vietnamese food.
The most exciting dish of the day was the fish that one of us ordered. We are still unsure what it was, but it tasted absolutely great. The presentation alone was worth a photo shot. :-))
We took care of the next day trip to the floating market while we were still at the hotel. There was a local woman their trying to sell a trip to the Delta on her sister's boat to the guys, as they were waiting for us to find the suitable rooms. She started with 40$ for the tour and by the time we were done finding the rooms she was down to 20$. We would probably be able to get her to 15, but it wasn't worth the time, so we agreed. The tour had to happen very early in the morning, since the market only takes place from 6am to 8am. We agreed to meet at 5am outside the hotel the next day.
Because of the early start the next day, we wanted to take it slow and decided to just take a small walk along the river and through the streets of Can Tho's downtown.
It was a very hot "winter" day and just after 30-minute walk along the river we were despot for some shadows and for a nice cold drink. There were plenty of small cafe's along the river and we chose one with the most local people in it (mostly works as a sign for cheap and tasty beverages).
A walk back to the hotel was just as nice. Towards the evening, the air was getting cooler and the number of people on the street was growing. It was interesting to watch how everyone was busy with their little private business.
In the middle of the downtown's main street there was a statue of Ho Chi Minh, which looked a lot like every other statue of Lenin, to remind us all that we were in Vietnam...
... and the nice looking benches in the surrounding park to remind the tourists what town they were in. We were joking that the phone number was given for tourist emergencies :-))
We stopped at the market just a few streets down from our hotel to buy some fruit...
... to stare at some frogs...
... and to find the most unusual Limited Edition Christmas Trees made out of garlic. :-)
Afterwards we went back to the hotel
to wake up and be ready to go to the floating market at 5am the next day.
Life on the river begins very early in the morning.
Many are headed to the market, including tourists.
On the way we passed a floating gas station.
The floating market itself requires no comments and the photographs turned out to be awesome, thanks to the great light at sun rise.
The guys found the trip extremely interesting so far, you could easily tell by looking at their faces. :-)))
After the floating market our boat lady took us on a ride along the villages that are build on the banks of the Delta.
Most of the "houses" are built on wooden piles that are placed directly in the water. Our guess is they do it to avoid paying for land.
The sun was completely out by the time we got back.
Everyone was feeling sleepy, and after arranging the tickets to the bus that will take us to ChauDoc and from their to the border with Cambodia, we all went to sleep for a couple of hours. Last 3 hours in town were spent hanging around the restaurant we were eating at the day before waiting for the transfer to the bus station.
The bus station turned out to be a very proper one, with the waiting area and the working AC.
After getting some food for the ride...
... and a separate photograph of the street food seller upon his request...
... we were finally set to go.
Next: Chaudoc and the Cambodian border
No comments:
Post a Comment