After an uneventfully straight forward bus and motorbike ride from Vihn Long I arrived at another riverside town in the Delta called Can Tho. The guidebook says it's the largest city in the Mekong Delta with a population of just over 330,000 - which still makes it a relaxing breath of fresh air after Saigon. Sitting smack dab in the middle of the watery labyrinth of rivers, canals, and channels that
make up the Mekong, Can Tho is unique due to its proximity to so many floating markets. Picture your regular fruit/vegetable/and everything else you can imagine market on dry land. Now put all the goods, vendors, and buyers on boats and add a river. That's a floating market. Almost immediately after arriving I was appraoched by a guy who said he could introduc
e me to a guy who would take me out on his small boat for some sightseeing, for a price, of course. After a little haggling, we had a deal. He said his friend would meet me at my guesthouse the following morning at 5:30am. After a short walk to the pier, he said we could be on the water in time for the sunrise. I'll admit, to my surprise, his buddy showed up right on time. After waking the front desk clerk who was passed out cold on the lobby floor, I got him to unlock the main gate and off we went. I hate to say it, but I never figured out "the buddy's" name because he didn't speak a word of English. Well ok, he spoke three words that I know of: "fish," "frog," and "banana." Throughout the trip, he enthusiastically pointed out these three things over and over. He was one cool dude. I'll call him Buddy.
So, I spent the better part of a 
day crusing the Mekong and its meandering side channels with Buddy on his small wooden boat (sort of a longtail design ala Thailand). We managed to visit a the Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets while they were in full swing. Buddy just pushed our small boat right into the thick of it. I sipped coffee (provided by an enterprising guy in a floating drink stand) and snapped photos while my skipper bullshitted with all of his friends - he seemed to know alot of people. At one point, we tied off to a big ba
rge that his friend was running and he motioned for me to climb up on top of the wheelhouse to get a better view of the activity around us. Like any good guide, safety be damned for a good photo op! By the early afternoon, I was getting a little saddle sore from the low wooden bench I was sitting on and near bursting with all the tropical fruit Buddy had me sample along the way. But instead of returning via the main river channel, Buddy took me home the back way - along small canals that run like back alleys behind homes and shops for a real behind the 
curtains tour. I cringed a bit whenever I saw someone swimming in the canals (not the cleanest water around) but had a blast watching surprised looks turn to smiles whenever we passed people just doing their thing. A great morning. Thanks Buddy!
day crusing the Mekong and its meandering side channels with Buddy on his small wooden boat (sort of a longtail design ala Thailand). We managed to visit a the Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets while they were in full swing. Buddy just pushed our small boat right into the thick of it. I sipped coffee (provided by an enterprising guy in a floating drink stand) and snapped photos while my skipper bullshitted with all of his friends - he seemed to know alot of people. At one point, we tied off to a big ba
rge that his friend was running and he motioned for me to climb up on top of the wheelhouse to get a better view of the activity around us. Like any good guide, safety be damned for a good photo op! By the early afternoon, I was getting a little saddle sore from the low wooden bench I was sitting on and near bursting with all the tropical fruit Buddy had me sample along the way. But instead of returning via the main river channel, Buddy took me home the back way - along small canals that run like back alleys behind homes and shops for a real behind the 
curtains tour. I cringed a bit whenever I saw someone swimming in the canals (not the cleanest water around) but had a blast watching surprised looks turn to smiles whenever we passed people just doing their thing. A great morning. Thanks Buddy!
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