Can Tho

I'd already decided to take one of the early morning cruises to see the floating market at Can Tho, and headed to the tourist information in town to see what was available.

As soon as I walked up to the desk, I had a piece of paper pushed into my hand and was asked if they could explain what was written on the paper. So I read it. At the top of the page it said: Never Argue With A Woman.

When I'd finished reading it (with a smile on my face), I looked up to find six expectant faces all looking at me intently.

So I set off trying to explain. At the end of my explanation, there was some talk in Vietnamese and then everyone fell about laughing. By this point there were about 10 people in the tourist information office, and the laughter is so loud, some people come in from the airline office next door.

After a few minutes, the laughter dies down, and there's a bit more Vietnamese. It goes really quiet, and then one of the girls says that they still don't understand.

So I explain in slightly more graphic detail - hoping no ones offended given that people in SE Asia are well known for generally being more conservative than Europeans.

I can see one of the guy's is starting to get the picture, so while everyone else is talking and trying to work it out, I explain again to him and one of the other girls. I see that there starting to understand the story, and explain to them the play on words, and how it's funny because of the "...having all the right equipment".

He explains to everyone in Vietnamese and everyone starts laughing again - this time because they get it.

It was one of the priceless moments - right place - right time.

In return, they gave me all the "inside info" on what to see, and how to get the best prices.

The next day, it was up at 4:30 am to meet the boat to go to the floating market. A quick cruise down the river as the sun was rising, and we got there just as the sun was coming up.

To be honest - it's a lot like Skipton market - except it's in boats. There are all these big boats moored up, with poles to which are tied the things they are selling. Then there are smaller boats driving around buying stuff, or selling things like coffee or food.

Here are some pics of the floating market:

Early in the morning, just as day is dawning...



Boats:



Sunrise:



The floating market:





Here's a couple of videos:





From there, it was down one of the small canals - which was one of the things I'd been told to make sure I saw by the guys at the Tourist Information.

Just like Skipton:



Unlike Skipton:



The boat then stopped at a fruit farm, where they grow all kinds of weird and wonderful fruit. Some that were familiar like: pineapple, coconut, and Mangoes. But there was a whole load of stuff I'd never seen before.

After having tried a bit of everything they grow there, the man who showed me around insisted that I try his home made rice wine. Which I did.

It was clearly very very strong, but tasted OK. Now, I've always been interested in the process of making alcoholic drinks - ever since I had alcoholic jam which had fermented on it's own. And so I started asking him about it.

He gets all excited and starts walking me through the process. The next thing I know, he's gone of to get this big jar which looks like this:



He proudly tells me that along with the cherries, there are ten snakes in the jar. I point at the thing floating on the top and ask him what it is:



"Cuckoo" he says, "ve' good for ri' wine. Cure all illness." He then fishes it out so I can take a picture.



After which he insists that I have another glass. Now this stuff is like the proverbial rocket fuel, and it's not unlike Tequila shots. Ten minutes after you've had two (large) straight shots of the stuff - BOOM - it hits you on the back of the head.

He wants me to have more, but I decline, and so he wanders off and returns with a sample of his home made fruit wine. Thankfully it's a smaller glass of the stuff - because it's even stronger. And despite repeated attempts to the contrary I decline to try any more.

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I got back to the hotel at 10:30 am, and decided on the spur of the moment to head for Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as it's more commonly known).

They told me it would take 5 hours in a minibus (I.e. the quick comfortable way) - Even though it's only around 100 miles between the two cities. And so, at 11:30am we set off. More than an hour later, we were still in Can Tho, waiting in the queue to get on the vehicle ferry to cross the river.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about the journey was the DVD they played (repeatedly) - which included songs from Miss Saigon. After The Sound Of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, West Side Story, Fiddler On The Roof, Annie, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The King and I, and Grease - this is my least favorite musical - so you can imagine how annoying it was...

At 16:30 we pulled into Mien Tay bus station. From there, it took almost an hour and a half to cover the 10km into the city center.

As it was a Saturday night, and Cambodia had been really quiet, I'd been thinking of going to one of the Backpacker bars in town and seeing if there was anyone who wanted to do a Saturday night out in Saigon. But with the early start, and the Miss Saigon torture technique, all I could manage was some food and an early night.