The Marvellous Mekong: Part Two.

Ben Tre had been pleasant, a nice place to break the journey. The people had been friendly, though the age-old problem of language had prevented more interaction than just smiles and waves. Having finished the tour, I moved on to Can Tho, taking the scenic route recommended by Mr Tam of Nam Bo Tours. Ninety-seven kilometres passed quickly, punctuated by a ferry trip just before Vinh Long.

Vinh Long seemed pleasant enough but there was little reason to stay; I'd seen the area around Ben Tre and had been led to believe by Mr Tam that the area around Vinh Long was no different. I simply stopped for a coffee, watching the ferries and tourist boats on the river in the afternoon sun. Vinh Long itself was bustling, especially around the market area, with people in the streets and even what appeared to be a funeral procession holding me up.

From Vinh Long, Can Tho was only thirty-seven kilometres, in the course of which the Mekong is crossed again on the recently-built cable-stayed bridge. The bridge was opened in 2010, no doubt to the chagrin of ferry operators, but is not without its problems. During the building process, the partially-built bridge collapsed, causing sixty-four casualties. The outcome was a year-long ban on the two Japanese companies involved by the Vietnamese government, which held the corporations responsible for the accident. The bridge itself is the largest of its kind in south-east Asia, comprising two bridges which join the river banks to an island in the river. It really is an impressive structure, and ought to be at a cost of VND4.8tn (US$342,600,000)!

Can Tho itself surprised me. I know that it is the capital of the Mekong Delta, but it was far bigger and busier than I had expected. In spite of this, it still had a provincial feel, with people smiling and waving in contrast to larger places such as Saigon, while the waterfront and nearby market again gave the provincial impression.

Canh chua, a local speciality.

The Kim Lan Hotel was home here, a smart place with very friendly, attentive staff. My intention had been to go to the floating markets, of which Cai Rang and Phong Dien are the closest. The chap at the hotel told me that Phong Dien would be too difficult to combine with Cai Rang, so I had to settle for the latter, accompanied by Andreas, a project manager for Deutsche Bahn from Munich.

Cai Rang requires an early start (05:30) in order to beat the large tourist boats, which don't set off until much later. Our guide was a young Vietnamese lady named Van and she was both eager and friendly, full of interesting information both on the area and Vietnam as a whole.

The market itself was fascinating, though different to what I'd expected. Perhaps it wasn't a busy day, or maybe Cai Rang is becoming more of a tourist show, for there weren't as many boats as I had imagined. The range of produce also seemed pretty narrow, though this could of course be purely down to the time of year. It really is a water world, though, with everything from floating restaurants to men selling coffee to traders from small motorboats. It was a fascinating experience and one made all the more fun by the lack of tourist traffic at that time of day.

After the market, our boatwoman took us on to a rice noodle factory (an interesting process) and a fruit plantation, where all manner of weird and wonderful fruits are grown, including jackfruit and dragon fruit. The tour was very good, included breakfast and refreshments and was guided excellently, so it's well worth the $25. The tour arrived back in Can Tho at around 10:30, so plenty of time remained for the ride to Chau Doc on the Cambodian border.