MEKONG DELTA - THE FLOATING MARKET IN VIET NAM

MEKONG DELTA - THE FLOATING MARKET IN VIET NAM

Can Tho is a city in southern Vietnam and the fifth-largest city in the country. Can Tho is known for its vibrant floating market where local residents buy and sell goods from boats on the river. The Can Tho Floating Market is the largest of its kind in the Mekong river and provides a unique and colorful experience for visitors.

• Location:

Can Tho City is the largest city in the Mekong Delta and serves as the economic and cultural hub of the region. The city is known for its strategic location at the confluence of the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong River) and the Can Tho River.

• Operation:

The market is called a "floating market" because most of the buying and selling activities take place directly on boats.

Local farmers and traders use boats to transport and sell a variety of goods, including fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and other local products. Some boats serve as floating kitchens, where visitors can enjoy local Vietnamese dishes prepared right on the boat.

• Cultural Experience:

Visiting the Can Tho Floating Market offers a unique cultural experience for tourists. It provides insight into the traditional trading practices of the local people in the Mekong Delta.

Tourists can explore the market by taking boat tours, which allow them to witness the vibrant atmosphere and interact with the sellers.

• Best time to visit to Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho

Can Tho has two distinct rainy and sunny seasons. The rainy season starts from May to November, the dry season from December to April of the following year. You can go to the floating market in both seasons. If you like to eat fruit, you should go in the sunny season (summer) because this season when fruit is abundant in the West.

The best time to visit the Can Tho Floating Market is in the early morning when the market is at its busiest. It's a time when the river is bustling with boats, and the air is filled with the sounds and colors of the market.

• What time of day should you go to Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho?

Completely different from the market on the mainland, Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho and other floating markets in the Western provinces all open very early. From 4am - 5am is the appropriate time to go to Cai Rang Can Tho floating market.

Because at this time, boats began racing to the market. Coming to the market at this time, you will not only be able to immerse yourself in the bustling atmosphere of buyers and sellers, but also have the opportunity to admire the beautiful picture of the floating market when dawn breaks. Arrive at the market center around 6am, at this time you can have breakfast right on the boat and it's just beautiful.

• What's interesting about Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho?

During the journey down to Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho (with a tour time of about 4 hours), we will go through the following points and experience the following interesting activities:

- Learn about bustling trading activities at the floating market

- Have breakfast and enjoy delicious dishes right on the boat

- Eat fruit in the garden by the river

- Visit the Coconut Candy Factory in My Hometown

- Visit a traditional noodle oven

- Enjoy traditional music on the river

• Unique 4 hanging and "Bẹo tree" methods at Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho

Cai Rang Can Tho floating market sells a variety of items. Each boat sells a different item, from baskets of delicious Western fruits to stalls of essential household items for daily life.

Because the floating market space is large, the sound of waves crashing, and the sound of engines is loud, it is not possible to use advertising sounds like on the mainland, so the items for sale will be hung by the boat owner on a pole - people here call it "Bẹo tree" so that buyers can easily recognize the goods they need and approach to buy it.

• The "4 hanging" method here is:

Hang something, sell something: If the boat owner sells something, they will hang it on the tree (for example, if he wants to sell watermelon, they will hang the watermelon up on it)

Hanging but not selling: Those are the clothes of many households living on the boat. 

Not hanging but selling: just small boats serving items for market customers such as: vermicelli, noodles, vermicelli noodles, coffee, bread,...

Hang one thing up but sell another: When you see them hanging a roofing sheet, it can be implicitly understood that they are selling their boat .