Phong Dien floating market is one of the most famous and long-standing in Can Tho, Vietnam. The rural products are the standard of this market. Some of the products are sold in there such as mangoes, guavas, plums or pineapples, cassavas, pumpkins. All of them are fresh and purchased from the hicks of farmers and then delivered to the floating market. Now, let’s discover Phong Dien through this blog.
How to go to Phong Dien floating market in Can Tho?
Where is Phong Dien floating market?
Nowadays, many tourists only know Cai Rang floating market because it is much bigger and more famous. Not many journalists mention Phong Dien floating market. But, this market still remains local activities and local beauty like that in the old time. So, where is Phong Dien floating market? It is located about 17 km from Can Tho center. Phong Dien is placed at the junction of rivers, but now it is moved to Nhon Ai, about 800m from the position before.
Address: 923, Nhon Loc hamlet, Nhon Ai village, Phong Dien district, Can Tho city, Vietnam.
How to get to Phong Dien floating market
Roadway: From Can Tho center, you can move on 30/4 street to the intersection and then turn left to 3/2 passing Cai Rang bridge. At this position, tourists will go straight on 923 street about 15km to Phong Dien floating market. It takes about 40 minutes to go there by taxi. You can stand on the bridge to see the floating market or rent a small boat of the local to get closer to the market
Waterway: It is easier when moving on the waterway. You can go to Ninh Kieu quay to rent the boat for traveling and then visiting Phong Dien floating market. It takes you about 2,5 hours to get there.
The ideal time to go to the floating market
Similar to other floating markets in the southwest of Vietnam, Phong Dien floating market opens quite early as the sunrise. The crowded time is around 5 to 7 .A.M. Differing from other floating markets, however, Phong Dien floating market finishes until the evening. In general, the market starts to prepare everything about from 3 to 4.am and finishes at about 9.am. Therefore, we should visit the floating market from 5:30 or 6:30 .am.
Which products are bought in Phong Dien floating market?
Located in the rural river regions of Me Kong Delta, Vietnam, Phong Dien floating market provides us with fruit sources, many agricultural products. From many kinds of fruits such as mango, guava, pump, banana to agricultural products such as pineapple, cassava, pumpkin, gourd. Tourists can content these products’s qualities because all of them are very fresh. Besides we can buy some fruits or goods in Cai Rang floating market to give our friends or relatives.
What to do in Phong Dien floating market
Check-in special pictures on the boat
It is omission if we travel in the floating market without taking some virtual albums about the crowded and busy here. So wonderful to start a new day with a new place, we can admire the sunrise on the Song Hau river. The sunshine in the early morning will help us take perfect pictures. At the floating market, when our boat is nipping in the big or small boats with fruits having full of colors, let’s take a lot of photos. It can be sure that we will have a great deal of unique and complete pictures with this scenery.
Having breakfast on the boats
Should we experience the feeling of enjoying foods on the floating boats if we have a chance to come. The boats delivering a lot of foods, cooking tools start to sell in the early morning. We only need to sit down and order any boats for the tasty breakfast with Western flavors of Vietnam.
Breakfast dishes on Cai Rang floating market help us enjoy the unforgettable taste of Western dishes. Moreover, we also come across the captivated advertisement about the goods by the woman in Tay Do region. This will be an extremely interesting and strange experience, giving us an unforgettable feeling.
Enjoy “floating coffee”
“The floating coffee” of Phong Dien will bring us a special taste. Let’s sit on the floating boats and enjoy a cup of coffee. And then we can see the floating market with the crowded and busy, so we will receive the speechless feeling.
The cost of coffee is inexpensive around 10.000 dongs. Furthermore, we can prepare our bottle to protect the environment because they use the plastic bottle here.
Enjoy fresh fruit on the boat
One of the markets selling a lot of agricultural products in Me Kong delta, so we need to eat fresh fruits on the boats of the shop owners. Moreover, we can take photos with them and their boats delivering many kinds of fruits full of colors. We are sure to try these activities as coming to Phong Dien!
Talking to the shop owners
Phong Dien floating market is one of the beautiful and famous markets in the western. Do not hesitate to talk to the shop owners here when we have a chance to visit. They will tell us the real stories about Cai Rang floating market than any others. Let’s wonder about everything we do not know, let’s ask the strange things that we have not known before. They will make us become interested in the culture of the western river with humor conversations. This is the great thing that you need to do in Phong Dien floating market.
Some notes as traveling Phong Dien floating market
– We need to ask carefully about the time, price, and venues when we book the renting boat services to visit the floating market.
– We should combine visiting Phong Dien market with the travel moving on the waterway such as the traditional rice noodle factory, My Khanh Travel Village, Truc Lam Phuong Nam Temple.
– When moving on the boats, we need to wear the life-jacket to ensure safety.
– We need to ask the cost of foods before ordering because Phong Dien floating market has a lot of shops.
The secrets about Phong Dien floating market
Why do the boats of Phong Dien floating market have two eyes?
This is the popular question of tourists. They are very interested in visiting the western. The reason for appearing two eyes on the head of the boats is to follow the ancient. People said that the boat also was the animal under the water, so it needed two eyes for seeing to avoid the watering monsters.
Besides, it is said that two eyes will help fishers to discover the areas having a lot of fishes or lucky omens. However, the boat’s eyes will be designed in different colors basing on each region. In Sai Gon – Gia Dinh, the boat’s eyes have black and white drawn on the red background. In Rach Gia – Phu Quoc, the boat’s eyes have black and red drawn on the blue background.
Unique bamboo offering pole advertising the goods
In the large place and the crowded boats, so the shop owners cannot use their voice to welcome all customers. Therefore, they often hang products on the long pole called “cay beo”. The boats are so narrow and stores many products, so the shop owners cannot hang out the washing. However, they have something to buy but cannot hang such as beverages. To appeal to tourists, the normal poles of the boats for foods or drinking are often changed into the sound poles. Someone presses the alarm by their hand while others use their foot (with the big alarm called “ken coc”). In this way, the owners can woo tourists effectively.
The daily life of Phong Dien floating market in Vietnam
We only need to come to Phong Dien one time, and we will see how people here welcome tourists. Despite floating on the water, they still live in the love of the western, so generous and comfortable. If we come here for the first time, we will be impressed because the wholesalers here rarely argue about scrambling for selling goods or compelling any prices. People here are still simple and helpful as neighbors.
Mekong floating market tour in Vietnam
Get in touch
- MEKONG SMILE TRAVEL TRADING JOINT STOCK COMPANY
- Address: 10 Hai Ba Trung Street, Tan An Ward, Ninh Kieu District., Can Tho City.
- WeChat/WhatsApp/Viber/Hotline: +84774839165.
- Email: [email protected]
Source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/
0 Comment