The cây bẹo poles
Samples hung above the boats.
Jean-Marc Astesana from Voisins le Bretonneux, France — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Isabell Schulz — CC BY-SA 2.0 · David at Dutch Wikipedia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
Cai Rang is the best known of the Mekong Delta's floating markets, a wholesale market for fruit and vegetables held on the Can Tho River near Cai Rang bridge, about seven kilometres from the city centre. Markets like it grew up when the rivers were almost the only roads, so trade gathered where waterways met, and Vietnam's culture ministry listed it as national intangible heritage in 2016. Trading starts around two or three in the morning and peaks between five and six. Big boats arrive loaded with pineapples, watermelons, cabbages and sweet potatoes, and instead of signs each one raises a tall pole hung with a sample of what it sells, known as a cây bẹo. Many of the boats are homes for families who have lived on the water for generations, with potted plants and laundry on deck, and small boats weave between them selling coffee, noodle soup and peeled fruit to visitors. Boats run to the market from Ninh Kieu wharf in about half an hour, so set off around five to arrive at the peak. The market has shrunk in recent years as trade moves to the roads, and it is far livelier early in the morning than later on.
Samples hung above the boats.
Pineapples and melons by the load.
Coffee and soup from small boats.
Can Tho River near Cai Rang bridge, about 7 km from the city centre
Leave Ninh Kieu wharf around 5 am to arrive at the peak between five and six; the market is much quieter after eight.
A small boat from Ninh Kieu wharf costs about 600,000-700,000 dong for up to six people on a two-hour trip; agree on the price and route before boarding.