Long Xuyen Floating Market.

After breakfast we boarded a sampan to visit the Long Xuyen Floating Market. This is a wholesale market and we firstly just cruised through the many floating 'shops'. Many of the boats on the river have eyes painted on the bow - this is to ward off evil spirits.

Each boat sells one type of produce and has to be bought in large amounts eg. 10 or 20 kgs. The boats advertise what they have by displaying it on a bamboo mast eg. if it has pineapples for sale, there will be a pineapple tied to that mast. They purchase the produce from the farmers and that could be a seven hour trip away.

Mostly the families live on the boats permanently. The government wants them to live in 'proper' housing but they prefer life on the boats. When tied up alongside each other that shows they are all members of the same family.

We then tied up alongside some. The first sold water melon and we could go aboard to see the inside of the boat. Once back on the sampan, we were given a slice of watermelon. Next stop was to purchase pineapples and then sweet potatoes at the next one - presumably for use on our ship.

Back on the ship at 11.00am it was time for a coconut oil making demo.

Every part of the coconut is used - nothing is wasted. The husk can be used to make activated charcoal, the fibre for string and rope and the meat for coconut 'milk' and oil…

Lunch at 12.00 and then a sampan ride to Tiger Island (Long Xuyen) at 2.30. We discussed whether to go or not because of the high temperature and exceedingly high humidity. We went.Read more