Michael Batson

Cần Thơ is the capital of the Mekong Delta, a flat fertile plain the size of Denmark known in Vietnam as the "Rice Bowl" or “Sông Cửu Long”. In a few short years Cần Thơ has gone from being a river port town with a few bustling markets to the fourth largest city by population in Vietnam. It’s a regional center, a big university town, and a transport and primary production hub with a quiet buzz about it. The Mekong Delta is where the mighty Mekong River, the "River of the Nine Dragons", the longest river in Southeast Asia and the 12th longest in the world, splits into nine delta arms before merging with the South China Sea, an expanse of water called the East Sea by anyone in Vietnam.

The delta is the most prominent irrigated rice system in Vietnam where water, boats, houses, farms, markets, and their people have coexisted for centuries. Home to 19 million people, the delta is crisscrossed by waterways, a billiard table of greenery with canals and rivers, a saturated landscape barely keeping its head above water. This natural wonderland dubbed a "biological treasure trove” provides most of Vietnam’s fish and fruit, as well as half its rice – all from just 12% of its land area. While different regimes have come and gone, the natural delta has survived and thrived, but times could be changing.

Cần Thơ has over four million inhabitants. A big city by population but with a laid-back small-town feel. It sits on the Hậu River (Sông Hậu) which starts in Phnom Penh. There it’s called the Tonlé Bassac and is where the Mekong and Sap rivers intersect forming an “X” hence the nom de plume for Phnom Penh, the City of Four Faces. Once in Vietnam the Hậu River splits into different branches, one being the Tien River, as well as smaller rivers and canals as it makes its way across the delta forming boundaries between different communes before entering the East Sea about 80kms downriver from Cần Thơ.

Before Cần Thơ coming from Saigon you cross some impressive transport infrastructure. Firstly, there’s the Mỹ Thuận Bridge at Vinh Long across the Mekong River, the first cable-stayed bridge ever built in Vietnam. Since that was first built there’s now another, adjacent to this one, taking traffic back towards Saigon. Then there’s the Cần Thơ Bridge across the Hậu River. Opened in 2010 it took 6 years to build, is 2.75kms long, 175m high with a river clearance of almost 40m and so tall it can be seen above the treeline from cafes on the Ninh Kiều Wharf in central Cần Thơ. In all there are now seven bridges across the Hậu River the most northerly being the much smaller An Phu – Vin Truong Bridge, just north of Châu Đốc on the border with Cambodia where the riverboats run to Phnom Penh and back.

It takes about three hours by limousine bus, a flash van with about 12 seats and costing from as little as USD12, to reach Cần Thơ from Saigon along route CT01, a dual carriageway running southwest. From District One in the centre of Saigon (or Sài Gòn), it takes about an hour to escape the confines of Vietnam’s largest city and the country’s economic hub; a city generating one-third of Vietnam’s GDP from just one-ninth of its population. The traffic can be bumper-to-bumper and in places reduces to a crawl. There are traffic lights, roundabouts, intersections, and overpasses. It’s high density building all the way and even once outside the city’s confines there’s human habitation everywhere, even in the rice growing areas of the delta. But traffic in Vietnam is quite orderly when compared to neighbouring Cambodia which is much more of a lawless free-for-all and can be dangerous to boot.

Vietnam is undergoing an explosion in infrastructure with roads, bridges, airports, and maritime ports. Saigon, for example, a city due to double in population in the next few years, is getting a new airport as the existing one reached capacity long ago. The new airport in Dong Nai Province, about 40kms east of central Saigon, is due to begin operations in December, never mind the rail link from the city to the terminal hasn’t been built yet. Somehow in Vietnam, you just think it will get done, and probably faster than similar projects elsewhere. Everything is done at pace.

I’d always wanted to visit the Mekong Delta and to spend some time there. There are always signs at travel agents in the tourist areas of District 1 for day trips or overnight tours sometimes for 2-3 days displaying pictures of floating markets with boats full of Vietnamese in their nón lá (meaning "leaf hat") but those never appealed to me. It was explained to me that floating markets in Cần Thơ are working markets unlike those in Thailand which are often set up just for tourists. So, while you’re looking at the Cần Thơ version it’s worth remembering you’re also probably in the way of locals making a living.

I’d previously travelled by bus from Saigon to Châu Đốc and there to take a boat to Cambodia. My journey took me through Cần Thơ and on to the border town where ferries, both fast and slow, travel up the tributaries of the mighty Mekong River and then along the great river itself to the Cambodia capital. The only trouble was the ferry, one of the slow versions, for reasons that were never explained, dropped me and the other passengers in a field to continue the last portion of the trip by passenger van.

On another trip I’d travelled across the Mekong Delta from Hà Tiên to Saigon, a journey by the dreaded sleeper bus that took over 7 hours confined in a claustrophobic space too narrow to fit comfortably, not long enough to lie in, and impossible for sitting. It was slow torture, the first 5 hours of confined jolting took place without even a pit stop. We went through narrow back roads lined with shophouses, bouncing over small bridges and passing rice milling and packaging facilities everywhere you looked.

I’ve also flown over the Mekong Delta from Saigon to and from Phú Quốc (Koh Tral to the Cambodians), Vietnam’s largest island in the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. This treated me to a bird’s eye view of the geographic wonder of this place, and the impacts civilisations have had upon the land over 2500 years: Khmer, Vietnamese, French and Vietnamese again. The area was under Khmer rule in different forms from about the first century AD until the 1600s. The Vietnamese southward expansion from the 17th century defeated first the Indianised kingdom of Champa and then displacing the Khmers from the Mekong Delta. Under French colonial rule it was the colony of Cochinchina (1862-1945) confederal member of the Union of French Indochina. French rule in Vietnam ended in 1954 after which increasingly large US occupation forces adopted varying tactics to control the area. At Ben Tre east from Cần Thơ in Vinh Long province, one US officer delivered an absurd piece of military-speak, that they “had to destroy the town in order to save it!”

Following Vietnamese unification in 1975 trouble brewed with the new regime across the border in Cambodia. In the late 1970s the Khmers Rouges (yes, the proper form is plural) launched a series of increasingly deadly cross-border incursions designed to regain long-lost Khmer territories in southern Vietnam until Hanoi finally lost patience and invaded Cambodia in December 1978, removed the Khmer Rouge administration and installed a more pliant Cambodian administration in its place. Cambodians still refer to the Mekong Delta as Kampuchea Krom, or South Cambodia.

I was also going to Cần Thơ see a friend who had lived there for about 17 years teaching English. He had arrived in the city because of another friend of his. Unable to get work due to his age back in his home country a friend had recommended Vietnam for a teaching job so off he went. He’d initially arrived in Saigon where there were inductions with a bunch of other Westerners. Unimpressed with the prospect of spending his time in a bubble working and living near other foreigners in Saigon he chose Cần Thơ instead, mainly as it was the closest biggest centre to Saigon, far enough away but close enough also for travel to see friends in the big smoke.

Cần Thơ back then he explained was even sleepier than it is today. English he told me is taught in Vietnam so Vietnamese can talk to each other in the language, rather than speaking to foreigners who may or may not be native speakers. It’s not for business really or for education he said, but just to have for domestic reasons. I’ve certainly noticed over the years that English has become more widely spoken in Vietnam, but the levels of proficiency and coverage aren’t nearly at the levels they are in neighbouring Cambodia.

The downside to working visas in Vietnam is in the way you’re tied to your employer. You’re required for example, to notify them if you wish to travel anywhere, supply details of how long you’ll be gone and when you’re coming back. Not too dissimilar you might think to applying for annual leave in a job back home, but in Vietnam, it seems much more restrictive, almost as if you’re beholding to them and having to ask their permission. The authorities are supposed to be notified of your whereabouts as they don’t like people just wandering off. It seems to be something used to restrict movement. On the other hand, there’s no such thing as a long-term retirement visa yet in Vietnam, so if you want to stay then employment is one way of doing so, and marriage another. If you’re married to a Vietnamese, you’re no longer as beholding to an employer other than as your employer.

My stay was at Yluna Boutiquestay (one word) down Alley 105 off Ly Tu Trong Street and within walking distance of Ninh Kiều Wharf where there’s an old colonial era square and the former fish market, now selling souvenirs and next to an outdoor restaurant, with nice food but a bit pricey. The people at Yluna were very friendly and helpful. The location is good for the waterfront, but the hotel is down a small lane and is poorly signposted. Even the driver had trouble as do some of the Grab motorcycle taxi riders. This is not a hotel with a restaurant but more a restaurant with five rooms up two flights and through the mezzanine dining room. The first morning I tried leaving the premises at 8:30am to find the front gate locked and no one about. First time ever I've been locked in a hotel though I have found myself locked out a couple of times, also in Vietnam which is a place where night staff lock the doors at the witching hour and won’t open these for anyone, even paying guests. The second morning my Vietnamese neighbours began preparations to leave at 4am making all kinds of noise until they finally left at 6am. There is not much soundproofing between the rooms or between the rooms and the only corridor access.

The Muniransay Pagoda at 36 Hoà Bình Avenue in the Ninh Kiều District, not far from my hotel is worth a visit. The whole area is between there and the waterfront which includes among others; the Cần Thơ Museum, and Ong Pagoda. The pagoda is as wholly Khmer as you can get with style, colour, layout, language. It’s Cambodia transported to the Mekong Delta. Home to about 25 monks, it was originally built in the 1940s of bamboo it was added to in the 1950s, and in the 1960s the main prayer hall was added. Like many pagodas it’s tranquil, an oasis albeit one perched on a busy Cần Thơ thoroughfare. Trip Advisor will tell you it’s “Thai-style” which is odd given it’s as Cambodian as you’ll see and all the script is pure Khmer, hence its full name, Chua Khmer Muni-Ramsay.

Opposite is the Chua Phat Hoc, and unusual temple often hired out for ceremonies and weddings. Across from there is the wonderful Chua Bảo An, a temple which looks like a multi-layered cake. I went to nice bakery nearby, the Ania D’Or, and had coffee and cake. One of the young women working there was keen to let me know her English skills and wished me an “enjoyable stay”. A young wedding party was inside upstairs in all their finery and posing for photographs: young lives starting out. Nearby is Luu Huu Phuoc Park, a hub for kids playing football, families getting out of the house, and the odd wandering foreigner. I enjoyed breakfast Vietnamese-style in open air cafes. What I liked about it, apart from the food, was the atmosphere and the fact I could wander is without anyone really bothering to give me a second glance.

Next to the park on the Ninh Kiều riverside is the Mekong Café, a favourite haunt of my friend. One night we had two beers, a bottle of red Da Lat wine (a bit rough but passable), and five dishes, which all came to under USD20. While we sat there, tourists with families mainly, presumably on the tourist trips from Saigon wandered up and down. Some would come and view the menu, only to wander off and then come back again. Seeing other foreigners inside is also a drawcard for visitors, it providing that necessary degree of comfort to outsiders.

On the table next us two late middle-aged English guys were discussing their visa requirements for those engaged in long-term stay. There being no dedicated retirement visa for foreigners living in Vietnam means that unless you’re married to a Vietnamese, you must exit the country every three months; which can get costly, time-consuming, and after a time, downright inconvenient. Having big motorbikes, the two English guys could do visa runs to the border with Cambodia at Hà Tiên, Châu Đốc or maybe Mộc Bài, the busiest border crossing into Cambodia. Or, if so inclined, leave the country by air and head to Thailand or somewhere else in Southeast Asia for a few days and then come back with a freshly minted three-month visa to contemplate the entire process all over again within another 90 days. Fun and games.

Aside from the Mekong River being, relative to its size, one of the most fish-biodiverse rivers in the world, it hosts one of the planet’s largest animal migrations with roughly 5 billion individual fish traveling up and down the river annually. Much of the livelihood of the delta is about agricultural production, specifically rice growing. Rice feeds over 90% of Vietnam’s population. The country is the fifth largest producer of rice and is the second-largest exporter worldwide after Thailand. Rice in Vietnam is a staple of the national diet and is seen as a "gift from God" and the delta is like a giant paddy field dotted with towns, roads, waterways and factories all geared towards rice harvesting; massive harvests. Among all that human activity over 1000 animal species have been recorded with new species being found is less explored areas including one from an animal family thought extinct for 11 million years.

Rice production in Vietnam has increased markedly. In 2008 the harvest was about 20 million tons. In 2025, 43 million tons were produced nationally, 90,000 tons more than the year before that. What Vietnam doesn’t consume, which is most of it, is exported. Last year about 8 million tons were exported mainly to the Philippines but also to China and West Africa. Of the national total the Mekong Delta produces over half; 24 million tons. Twelve provinces constitute the Mekong Delta, and about 80% of its population are engaged in rice cultivation. Rice is a tyrant. Until recently much of cultivation and harvesting was done manually, gruelling work for farmers and their families. The harvesting cycle comprises: draining the fields, reaping, threshing, and drying; then there’s the processing: cleaning, hulling (dehusking), milling (polishing), sorting, and packaging which can include enrichment by adding vitamins for unlike brown rice white rice, which most people eat, has only about one-quarter of the nutritional value.

Everywhere in the delta is rice. There are rice fields as far as the eye can see. It’s carried on trucks, in vans and on motorbikes. You see rice in its various stages of production all around. Boats line the canals, queuing to be loaded from rice plants. Rice bags come down conveyor belts to fill one riverboat after another. Each riverboat with their flat hulls for negotiating shallow water have the distinctive eyes painted one each side of the bow, an ancient tradition to ward off crocodiles. The riverboats are loaded so full they sink to their gunwales.

Rice mills and factories are everywhere in the Mekong Delta. One of the largest rice plants constructed in Vietnam is the Hanh Phuc Rice Mill located in Long Xuyen City on the Hậu River, north of Cần Thơ and has 240,000 tonnes of storage capacity, producing up to 1,000 tonnes of milled rice per day. In Cần Thơ itself is the Hoang Giao Vietnam Rice Milling Factory processing up to 500 tons of rice per day (over 144,000 tons annually). Cần Thơ will soon be home to the Green CT Rice Processing Complex with construction due to begin in October 2026. When finished this large-scale complex will have an annual processing capacity of 500,000 tonnes.

But over time come problems. In 2016 the lower Mekong countries (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand) were hit by one of the worst droughts in living memory. The drought in Vietnam forced lots of farmers off the land and into urban areas like Saigon and Cần Thơ. Environmentalists put the drought down to a severe El Niño weather pattern, and the creeping effects of global climate change. But a crucial compounding factor was the years of man-made alterations to the river particularly upstream in China. To serve its economy China has dynamited sections of the waterway to open it up to trade and built a slew of large hydropower dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong, to power the industrialisation of southwestern China. China’s plans for the Mekong, in tandem with a host of planned dams in Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, amount to the largest alteration to a river in human history.

For centuries people of the lower Mekong have had a symbiotic relationship with the river and its resources. Between Yunnan and the delta some 66 million people depend on the river for their day-to-day existence. Environmentalists worry that if all the dams go ahead the river will effectively be divided into a series of lakes and canals. This will radically alter the river’s dynamic of becoming the world’s fourth largest river by volume during the monsoon when fields are irrigated and fish stocks replenish. The delta’s problems may have many causes – over-cultivation, excess groundwater extraction, and encroaching salinity due to climate change exacerbated by China’s upstream dams acting as a potent multiplier compounding and magnifying these various environmental problems. It is feared the Mekong Delta may disappear in future as the “beautiful floods” that replenish the delta’s nutrient-rich sediment disappear.

From the Yluna Boutiquestay back to the limousine bus office for my bus to Saigon was about a 20-minute ride on the back of a Grab motorcycle taxi. Vietnam is awash with these. Grab in their distinctive green are the largest operator but in Saigon you see other companies like BE Transport and Xanh SM. The Grab rider was middle-aged. He asked where I was from. I told him and he asked what the weather was like there now. I said it was winter so it would be much colder than in Vietnam. “Does it snow?” he asked, and I said yes, in some parts of the country. “I’d like to see that” he replied. It seemed a long way from the delta and everything I’d seen here. But then travel is all about embracing what you don’t know.