A floating market inside a modern city

A floating market inside a modern city

When it comes to floating markets, people will immediately think of the peaceful Mekong Delta where southerners attach their rustic lives to boats and waterways.

But in a noisy and dynamic Saigon, there are still some floating markets existing along Binh Dong Wharf and Tran Van Kieu Wharf in District 8, and Lo Gom Wharf in District 6.

Similar to the Mekong Delta region, the products for sale at these markets are not delicacies and luxury items but everyday products. However, the boats at the city’s floating markets do not move around to find customers as at Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho City or Cai Be floating market in Tien Giang Province. They stay put to sell products transported from Mekong Delta provinces to city dealers and customers.

Among the city’s floating markets, the most bustling one is the fruit market at Tran Van Kieu Wharf. Dozens of boats gather at the wharf selling typical fruits of the delta such as banana, coconut, orange and pomelo.

Ba Le, a 56-year-old trader from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, says she has attached her life to the boat, which is also her home, for more than 10 years, and most traders at this floating market have done the job for almost half of their lives.

“This boat belongs to Tai and his wife. Coming from Vinh Long Province, the couple has spent almost 20 years at the fl oating market,” Le says, pointing at a boat full of coconuts sailing next to her boat.

Fruits sold at Tran Van Kieu floating market mostly come from farming households in the delta. Chien, another trader from Ben Tre Province, says he and his wife have been selling dried coconuts and bananas from Ben Tre for 17 years and mostly spending their time on board the boat.

Like many other floating market vendors, Chien equips his boat with a cassette/radio player, and a television set. Some even have motorbikes on board their boats so that they can use them to move around, he says.

Traders at Tran Van Kieu Wharf are mostly from Vinh Long, An Giang and Tien Giang, which have the largest fruit farms in the southern region.

They mostly supply their products for dealers at An Dong and Cho Lon markets, and small retailers. If buyers look for high-quality fruits at reasonable prices, this market can be a reliable source.

No one can tell how long these floating markets can last but at the moment, they still do good business and give a peaceful and rustic touch to the modern city.

Source: SGT

Bài viết liên quan

	Cultural events celebrate New Year Water puppetry and Dong Ho paintings are just two amongst Vietnam's many traditional arts selected to entertain locals and tourists alike during the Lunar New Year holiday season in Hanoi's Old Quarter. Detail >>

	Ba Ria - Vung Tau to open Tourism Festival 2015 Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ba Ria- Vung Tau province will hold the first Ba Ria- Vung Tau Tourism Festival in Vung Tau city from February 27 to March 2. Detail >>

	Exhibition on Vietnam-Russia friendship opens An exhibition highlighting the 65 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Russia kicked off at Ton Duc Thang Museum in Ho Chi Minh City on February 12. Detail >>

	Vietnam attends Iranian tourism fair for first time For the first time, Vietnamese tourism agencies are displaying their products at an international tourism fair in Tehran, Iran, which commenced on February 12. Detail >>

	Tourism sector expects to benefit from ASEAN The ASEAN Community, scheduled to establish in 2015, is expected to greatly benefit tourism sector as the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals (MRA-TP) among ASEAN members will take effect in all member countries Detail >>

	Vietnam - Australia cooperate in developing cave tourism The People’s Committee of Vietnam’s central province of Quang Binh and Australia’s Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association have signed an agreement to establish a symbiotic relationship between tourist caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and the Margaret River Region. Detail >>

	Food tours offer a taste of the capital's cuisine beyond pho It's Rafael Carneiro of Brazil's first time visiting Viet Nam. He has mostly eaten noodle soups since he arrived – which has given him the impression that all Vietnamese food is the same. But a street food tour he took in Ha Noi proved him entirely wrong. Detail >>

	Adventurers explore Son Doong Cave in increasing numbers Bookings by both domestic and international adventurers to explore the world's biggest cave, Son Doong in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province, have reached 267 since the tour launched early this month. Detail >>

	High numbers of travellers hosted around Vietnam during Tet Hundreds of thousands of local and international tourists flocked to renowned tourism sites across the country during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, which fell on February 19. Detail >>

	Tourism route from Quang Binh to Laos, Thailand opens A new tourism transport route connecting Viet Nam’s central Quang Binh and Laos’ Khammoune and Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon provinces became operational on February 28. Detail >>