We reconvened at the boat dock where we met our boat and boat driver for the day. It took about 40 minutes to reach the first of the floating markets, during which time we enjoyed a light breakfast (thoughtfully packed for us by our hotel) and the scenery along the way.
The Cai Rang floating market was a mass of boats of all shapes and sizes. This market is basically the wholesale market, with the big boats selling to smaller boats that then sell the products to small villages throughout the Mekong Delta.
You could tell what each boat had for sale by what was atop the stick at the front of the boat. Our favorite boats were loaded up with nothing but pineapples. These boats were selling everything from lettuce to carrots.
After the Cai Rang market, we stopped at a place that makes rice paper and noodles to see how the process works. First, one lady spreads a mixture of rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water on a hot stove and basically makes a rice paper crepe. Another lady pulls them off the stove after a short cooking period and lays them out on bamboo planks.
These sit in the sun to dry for several hours, and once they are dry they can be sliced thinly to make rice noodles. Yum!
After the rice paper place, we went on to a second floating market in Phong Dien. Unfortunately, the market was about over when we arrived, so there were more tourists than vendors.
From there, we headed off the main river and into smaller canals lined with homes and lots of trees.
At one point we got out our guide pointed out all kinds of different trees and plants as we walked for a bit. I love the bananas here--they are small but so much more flavorful than any bananas I've eaten in The States or Europe.
We came to this small pedestrian bridge and both boys tried it out. We were convinced at least one was going to go in the Mekong, but both made it over and back and stayed dry.
The scenery of the small canals was really peaceful and beautiful. We passed fishing nets....
We got out for a snack/drink stop and relaxed in hammocks....
....and, as we headed back to Can Tho at the end of our tour, we experienced another one of Vietnam's torrential downpours. It was actually kind of scary because there was lightning really close by, too. Our kind boat driver did everything he could to keep us dry, but tarps don't stand a chance against the Vietnam rainy season. The boys were bailing out the boat with our tour guide. We all were soaked by the time we got back to the Can Tho pier.
The rest of the day we just rested and hung out, since we'd already put in a full day of sightseeing by 1 PM!
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