Name: Can Tho
Address: Ngô Hữu Hạnh, 28,, Can Tho

Carmen Pérez del Olmo Teira

First contact with Vietnamese people in Can Tho

Can Tho is the perfect place to set up "camp" to discover the Mekong Delta, an area with fishing villages and floating markets and one of the most interesting of Vietnam. If this city is your 1st first stop you will be surprised with communist flags hanging from every post, and the large number of bikes at all hours that causes traffic to collapse, not to mention those that are parked or "run" on the sidewalks.This is shocking, but soon you will realize that it is a feature of the country. Here children are born with 2 wheels under their arm! Can Tho is a big city, lively, and there is a big market where it is very fun and you can go bartering for goods like leaping frogs, a delicacy! A few meters from the market is the pier, where you can take a trip to the Cai Rang floating market, about 6 kilometers from the city, where every morning the locals buy and sell all kinds of products, mainly fruits and vegetables.

Staying in Can Tho is no problem: the offers are plenty and there are prices to suit all budgets. For reference, I paid 4 dollars for a double room (no single) with bathroom, television and perfectly clean. For lunch or dinner, we return to the river area. On the promenade that runs parallel to the Mekong's many venues for all budgets. If your intention is to buy rice with prawns to eat at your leisure at the foot of the great statue of Ho Chi Minh, you will find it in every corner, but if you prefer to dine in a restaurant, the possibilities are also multiple. Can Tho was my first contact with the Vietnamese people, and the truth is I was delighted. Personally notice much difference in treatment to the "tourist" in the north or in the south of the country, and I think Can Tho was where I felt most at home, only behind Sapa.