A population of around half 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 quiet backwater of the delta. However, first impressions are rather less than encouraging: Can Tho is a hefty settlement but, its breezy waterfront comes as a pleasant surprise.
At the confluence of the Can Tho and Hau Giang rivers, the city is a major mercantile centre and transport interchange. But Can Tho is no mere staging post. Some of the best restaurants in the delta are located here; what’s more, the abundant rice fields of Can Tho Province are never far away, and at the intersections of the canals and rivers that thread between them are some of the delta’s best- known floating markets. Can Tho was the last city to succumb to the North Vietnamese Army, a day after the fall of Saigon, no May1. 1975 – The date that has come to represent the reunification of the country.
What to Do ?The most interesting thing to do in Can Tho is take a boat ride through canals and visit Cai Rang Floating Market.
Outside of the town is the stork garden at Thot Not where hundreds of egrets, herons and cormorants gather in the treetops to roost late in the afternoon. Can Tho is usually combined with the trip to Chau Doc, a little town near Cambodian border.
When to go ?
Trips to Mekong Delta are suitable all year round but the best time is the monsoon from June to September.
Travel Tips
Bring along camera, hat, sunscreen and insect repellant. Should keep your camera in a plastic bag when it is not in use as it is easy to get splashed by the wake of motorized boats.