What to see in Mekong Delta Vietnam

Continuing the previous post, we would like to suggest you must-see destinations

There is no doubt that this region will never disappoint you whenever you come there. 

Let’s see.

Can Tho

A population of around a million makes Can Tho the delta’s biggest city, and losing yourself in its commercial thrum for a few days is the perfect antidote to time spent in the quiet backwaters of the delta. 

However, first impressions are rather less than encouraging: Can Tho is a hefty settlement but, once the oppressive urban sprawl encasing the town has been negotiated, its breezy waterfront comes as a pleasant surprise.

Every morning an armada of boats takes to the web of waterways spun across Can Tho Province and makes for one of its floating markets. Everything your average villager could ever need is on sale, from haircuts to coffins, though predictably fruit and vegetables make up most of what’s on offer. Each boat’s produce is identifiable by a sample hanging off a bamboo mast in its bow, but it’s difficult to get colourful pictures as the produce is stored below.

Most organized tours take you to Cai Rang or Phong Dien early in the morning, then make a leisurely return to the city, via the maze of picturesque canals and orchards that surround it, usually stopping to sample star fruit and sapodilla, longan and rambutan along the way. 

Ca Mau

Mui Ca Mau National Park 

This voyage to the end of the earth may not quite be a Jules Verne epic, but it’s a fun and satisfying way to pass a day, as you get to visit not only the southernmost point of Vietnam but also the end of mainland Southeast Asia. 

The speedboats that take you through the throng of life in the delta can get pretty crowded, but if you’re lucky you might get a window seat to look out on the houses, shacks and boats that line the river.

Once inside the national park, you can take a photo of yourself standing beside a boat-shaped monument marking the latitude (8 degrees north) and longitude (104 degrees east) of this remote location, then gaze out over the endless ocean and the mountainous Khoai Island just off the coast. There’s even a look-out tower from where you can get good views over the mangrove forests, and a restaurant on stilts over the water.

U Minh Forest and National Park

U Minh is famous for its cajeput forests. Lining the nearby canals are water palms, modest groves of cajeput and fish traps consisting of triangles of bamboo sticks driven into the riverbed. 

The slender white trunks of the cajeput thrive in U Minh’s marshy, coffee-coloured waters, and gliding through them in a boat would be a truly tranquil experience if it were not for the racket of the boat engine. Along the way, you may spot bright blue birds flitting over the water, or, depending on the season, apiarists collecting honeycombs from the trees, which attract bees in huge numbers when they are in flower.

Chau Doc 

There are several places of interest to visit in the area around Chau Doc, including a Cham community and the brooding Sam Mountain with its kitsch pagodas.

Further afield are a bird sanctuary, a battlefield from the American War and the scene of a Khmer Rouge massacre. If you’re making the journey up to Chau Doc from Long Xuyen on Highway 91, look out for the incense factories, where the sticks are spread out to dry along the roadside, often arranged in photogenic circles.

Chau Doc Floating Market

Since this floating market was only established recently, you have to wonder whether it’s more for the benefit of tourists than locals. Nevertheless, if you’ve managed to get this far through the delta without visiting any of the other floating markets along the way, it’s certainly worth a look. As usual, boats advertise their products by hanging a sample from a stick on the deck.

Sam Mountain

Arid, brooding Sam Mountain rises dramatically from an ocean of paddy fields. It’s known as Nui Sam to Vietnamese tourists, who flock here in their thousands to worship at its clutch of pagodas and shrines. Even if the temples don’t appeal, the journey up the hill is good fun. 

As you climb, you’ll pass massive boulders that seem embedded in the hillside, as well as some plaster statues of rhinos, elephants, zebras and a Tyrannosaurus rex near the top. From the top, the view of the surrounding, pancake-flat terrain is breathtaking, though the hill is, in fact, only 230m high. 

In the rainy season, the view is particularly spectacular, with lush paddy fields scored by hundreds of waterways, though in the dry season the barren landscape is hazy and less inspiring. There’s a tiny military outpost at the summit, from which you can gaze into Cambodia on one side, Chau Doc on the other.

We hope that after reading this post, you will have more options when coming to Mekong Delta. Visit our website to get further information about this region. Share this article with others if you find it helpful.