Can Tho, Vietnam - 2016

Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta. The city is nicknamed the "western capital" and famous for its floating markets and picturesque canals. It was generous of Nam and Nguyen to let us use their car and driver for our two day visit to this exciting city.  The traffic leaving Saigon was bumper to bumper because of the long holiday weekend. We went along with the flow.

Our first stop was Cai Be in the Mekong Delta where we took a boat tour.

House boats on the river.

Produce market.

Bananas and a coconut drink from one of the produce boats.

An apiary on the Mekong Delta

Fresh honey.

Going to the farm village.

Jack Fruit on the farm.

Papaya tree on the farm

Small boat exploring one of the canals.

Small boats waiting for passengers.

Rickety bridge over a canal. 

We spent the night in Can Tho.  The following morning, early before the sun was up we went to the floating market.  We were lucky to get a boat because of the holiday.  Most of the boats had been reserved.

Glad to see the floating market.

Dawn on the Mekong Delta.

Produce wholesaler.  

Watermelon boat.

Jack fruit for sale.

Breakfast boat.

Serving noodle soup and grilled sausages for breakfast. 

Banana boat.

Restaurant boat.

On the way back to Saigon, we stopped in My Tho to visit Vinh Trang Pagoda.  This is one of the best known pagodas in the delta.

Vinh Trang Pagoda 

Happy Buddha at Vinh Trang Pagoda

Reclining Buddha

We stopped for banh xeo at a popular restaurant.  The banh xeo was so big, one of them would have been enough for both of us.

Our favorite lunch. This is a special banh xeo. It had bamboo shoots, beansprouts, chicken, pork, shrimp and other various seafood.  

It was a nice two days in the Mekong Delta.  We were glad to have a private car for transportation.

Saigon, Vietnam - 2016

VietJet airline brought us back to Vietnam just in time for a big holiday in Vietnam. It was a four day holiday weekend of Reunification and May Day at the end of April. We stayed in Saigon a few days before our next trip. While taking it easy and recuperating from our Myanmar trip, we visited some of Saigon's downtown familiar landmarks.

Ben Thanh Market, seafood stalls

Street Food Market

A family on motorbike, city popular transportation

Independence Palace

Busy street in front of Independence Palace, ready for holiday celebration.

With Jacklyn, new friend we met in Myanma

One of Saigon's main boulevards

Central Post Office.

Central Cathedral 

Central Cathedral Plaza.

Opera House.

City Hall.

Continental Hotel.

We also visited other tourist attractions such as the Jade Temple, Vietnamese History Museum, and the Zoo area.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

Statue inside Jade Emperor Pagoda

 If you are hungry, there are many places to buy a banh mi, a popular sandwich for any meal.

A popular banh mi bistro, My Banh Mi.

Our favorite breakfast - banh mi street vendor.

A trendy vegetarian restaurant, Hum.  We had dinner here with Nam & Nguyen.

Our appetizers at Hum

Nam & Nguyen

Dinner with Nguyen at a Korean BBQ restaurant.

A river close to where we stayed.  We crossed this river most everyday.

Bridge crossing the river.

Saigon is a "foodie" city these days. In addition to traditional Vietnamese food, there are many choices of cuisines everywhere. 

This Pizza Hut was just around the corner from us.

                           

Even Texas Chicken available here. 

There are plenty of Starbucks 

And of course, there is always a McDonald's nearby.