Walking Tour around Can Tho by night

Route: Hostel near the bridge and traversing the Cai Rang river at the eastern side

Date: 1 July 2019

Mode: walking

Duration:  3 hours

Fare: none

Difficulty: keeping oneself safe from crime along the streets

Highlight: exploring the bank of the river where floating marketing is done

It was still early in the evening when I finally settled myself in my hostel so I decided to take an evening walk tour around.

I started from my hotel to the foot of the bridge then along the river bank going south. Then, I saw a path going to the river. I met some people and asked if I could see the floating river at night. They said that there are no sellers in the evening and that the busy hours are in the morning at around 5 or 6 am. When I asked how much the trip is and they opened at 250k dong. But I soon sensed that it can be negotiated. We ended up at 150k and they told me that I can make reservations. But I told them that I will just pay the whole amount in the morning before the trip since I can see that there are not much passengers. He then advised me to go back the following morning at 5:30 to 6:30 for the trip. We communicated through typing on screen from my cell phone and some staggered English communication with some teenagers around.

As I walked away, I saw more pathways going to the river and floating boats. I also saw few children playing along the streets. I then went to the bridge and walked northwards until I reached the marketplace at the river bank. I walked further and took photos of the place and of the bridge from below. I saw some small ferries passing by. I went back to the foot of the bridge and entered another street with some food stalls. I suddenly felt hungry so I ordered noodles with mixture of local veggies and boiled pork legs chopped and soup. The woman squeezed calamansi onto my bowl and put 1 teaspoon of bagoong-like sauce. It tasted so good! Again, there is that “nasabeng” – pungent aroma and I was beginning to like it. The soup is 25k dong.

I also saw some durian and I tried some. I fairness, their durians are sweet, smooth and milky. I bought 1.3 kilos for only 40k dong. I bargained for 35k and the woman seller agreed. The colour of the durian meat inside is yellowish. I felt that my food adventure was complete that night.

I still feel like roaming around but there are not many people around. Besides, it looks like there is no night life there so I went back to my apartment at 22:15. I browsed by cell phone first before finally sleeping at 23:45 to get enough rest for the floating market experience the following day!