TRAVEL | VIETNAM | ASIA

The Floating Market of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I was in love with the concept of this!

While writing my last travel article about Yangshuo in China, I came across a bunch of photos from the same trip that were taken in Vietnam. I was there in 2008 for three weeks and it was part of a larger 10-week trip that my then-husband and I were on that included Bali and China.

The photos really inspired me as I looked through them, and they reminded me of many fond memories that I have from visiting parts of Asia.

One such memory was the floating market on the Mekong River in Ho Chi Minh City.

Now, I would like to preface this article by explaining how it was inspired by other Medium writers.

First I was inspired to write my story about Yangshuo because Adrienne Beaumont had written hers about the same area. Through writing my story I was able to find all sorts of pictures from Vietnam that was part of the same trip which brought back many great memories.

Next, Gerald Sturgill commented on my Yangshuo article and told me that May is Asian Heritage Month and there had been a prompt in his publication Digital Global Traveler about it. I vowed then to write something about my travels in Vietnam.

While I was still pondering my article, I read one from Robert Knight about seeing the floating markets in Bangkok.

Finally, I knew what I wanted to write about, and I got busy! Thanks to the three of you for inspiring this piece:) I love reading other people's articles and they are a constant source of inspiration for my writing as well.

Okay, back to the story!

We were in a small tour group that was organized with our hostel at the time. These days I probably would just go down to the river myself and figure it out.

That is way more fun when you have the time.

However, on this day we all were driven to the river's edge, then picked up and taken out to the market in one boat.

I was immediately in love with the floating market. Longboats were loaded up with every sort of vegetable imaginable, and people were purchasing their items from boat to boat.

This was in 2008 and before seeing this with my own eyes, I could never have imagined that such a thing existed.

We certainly didn’t buy vegetables like this in Canada!

It was fascinating to navigate the narrow passages of water that were flanked by the houses at the edge. People truly were living as one with the water and the canals were their roads.

The drink boat pulled up and we ordered a coffee. How adorable was this lovely little barista?

We found the pineapple man and in short order, he carved one up for us and we took it to go.

We also saw some really cool boats!

We assumed that many of these are floating houses or houseboats. I’m sure Vietnam doesn’t have ludicrous laws about people living in their boats!

After we were finished with the floating market, we walked along the water's edge to some rice production facilities. There we learned about the different stages of rice and some interesting facts.

One that was of particular interest is that in Vietnam brown rice is considered lesser quality rice for poor people. I found this so interesting considering it is healthier and deemed better rice in Canada.

According to World Atlas, Vietnam is the 5th largest rice producer in the world and this region of Vietnam is where much of it is done.

Vietnam is one of the largest rice producers in the world. The crop is grown in the rich deltas of the Mekong and Red River in the north and south of the country. 80% of the people who live in the provinces around the Mekong Delta are involved in rice cultivation. Around 82% of Vietnam’s arable land is used to cultivate rice, and in 2018/19, Vietnam produced 27.77 million metric tons of rice and exported 6.6 million metric tons to the Philippines, China and some countries in Africa.

We also had the good fortune to watch them make rice paper which was surprisingly easy. I vowed that I would try it at home when I got back to Canada but never did.

I still remember how to do it though!

I couldn’t help but sneak this picture of a man with his child/grandchild. He has such a mischievous look and I felt that his features really captured the spirit of the Vietnamese people.

I really enjoyed our time in Vietnam back in 2008. Then, it had just really opened up to foreigners, so I’m sure it has changed a lot since. I am curious to go back and see it again, but I am also hesitant to do so.

Sometimes going back can erase the old memories, and I like my memories just the way they are!

However, I crave Pho like it’s nobody's business, and, as usual, I know that the best place to get it is the country of its origin. I’m sure I will find myself in South East Asia again one of these days.

Thanks so much for joining me on my Vietnamese experience. There is more to share and I’m sure I will get around to it at some point.

Happy Asian Heritage Month, and happy travels!

xo Jill

PS Thank you to Gerald Sturgill for publishing this in his publication Digital Global Traveler!

Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We have now been on the African continent for over 2 years!

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