B (1)

JUNE (^2016) businesstraveller.asia
It opened in 1998, by far the most luxurious hotel
establishment to be found in the Mekong Delta region,
offering French cuisine of the finest quality, a large,
colonial bar with a pool table, spa facilities, tennis
court and swimming pool – nothing quite like it had
been seen in the Delta before. The Victoria group
certainly showed vision in predicting that this colourful,
fascinating region of southern Vietnam would become
a popular destination for upmarket travellers as well
as backpackers.
And why is Can Tho so popular? To find out, I book
an early morning trip on the converted rice barge
Lady Hau, 20 minutes of genteel sailing – coffee and
croissant in hand – up the river
to the famous Cai Rang Floating
Market. Before dawn every day,
large boats arrive from the Delta
hinterland to sell produce to
small-boat owners, who then
paddle up the myriad narrow
canals and waterways that form a
vast and intricate water network
around the main town, shouting
out their wares to canalside households as they go.
It’s a way of life that has changed little in thousands
of years – in a land where water is so all-pervading, the
seasons defined by the rise and fall of the Mekong’s
massive flow, the best way to visit friends and family,
transport goods, in fact to do anything, is by water.
At this time of year, the boats at the floating market
are full to the gunwales with sweet potatoes, cabbages,
carrots and spring onions, as well as pineapples,
dragonfruit, custard apples and passionfruit. It’s a
cornucopia of fresh fruit and vegetables, testament to
the fecundity of the alluvial soil that blankets the Delta,
68 ITime out in...Vietnam
replenished every year when the Mekong breaks its
banks and floods, leaving a new layer of rich silt
each time.
I transfer to a smaller longtail boat. Chugging through
the market mêlée, small boats with open kitchens pass
among the buyers and sellers, providing hot noodle
snacks and lunch for the industrious market-goers. The
larger boats’ engines emit deep staccato belches, like
The best way to visit
friends and family,
transport goods, in
fact to do anything,
is by water