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along the way. Can Tho Tourist (see "Arrival, information and city transport") charges between 150,000–250,000đ per person for such a tour, depending on the itinerary and type of boat. As usual, unofficial boat operators are cheaper, charging about 50,000đ per hour for a simple sampan: women prowl for customers along Hai Ba Trung, and some can be friendly and informative, but be on the lookout for scams. Phong Dien and Phung Hiep are more easily reached by hiring an xe om (about 80,000đ and 150,000đ return respectively), then renting a sampan for an hour’s rowing (about 50,000–60,000đ) among the buyers and sellers.

The Mekong Delta | Can Tho and around |

Around Can Tho: Binh Tuy Temple and The Duong Home

Just six kilometres north of Can Tho along the road to Long Xuyen (about 40,000đ return by xe om) is the Binh Tuy Temple (daily 7.30–10.30am & 1.30–5.30pm; free), which began life in the nineteenth century as a dinh, or communal house for travellers to rest in. The present building dates back to 1909, and immediately catches the eye with its green-tiled eaves framed by frangipani trees. Though it appears small from outside, the cool interior runs very deep, and the walls are decorated with images of Chinese gods and Vietnamese heroes. Between the sturdy wooden pillars are several altars, with some ghoulish characters guarding one of them with axes raised.

Down a side street opposite Binh Tuy Temple, at 26/1a Bui Huu Nghia, is the beautiful Duong Home, which was used in the 1992 filming of The Lover(see "A different perspective"). A classic example of French colonial architecture, its shuttered windows and elaborate stucco decorations conceal a spacious living room featuring period furnishings with mother-of-pearl inlay. The affable owner is often on hand to show visitors round, and the adjacent orchid garden contains what is thought to be the tallest cactus in the country.

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The Mekong Delta | Can Tho and around | Around Can Tho: Binh Tuy Temple and The Duong Home |

Moving on from Can Tho

Onward routes from Can Tho either veer up to Long Xuyen, Chau Doc and the Cambodian border, or follow Highway 1 to Soc Trang and on to Ca Mau. There’s a speedboat to Ca Mau (see "Ca Mau and around"), which departs from the jetty just below the Ho Chi Minh statue (4hr; about 100,000đ) with several departures each morning. Speedboats to Ho Chi Minh City (4hr; about 250,000đ) leave from the Ninh Kieu jetty at the northern end of Hai Ba Trung.

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The Mekong Delta |

Soc Trang

Straddled across an oily branch of the Mekong, SOC TRANG lacks the panache of other delta towns, though on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month (Nov–Dec) the town springs to life as thousands converge to see traditional Khmer boats (thuyen dua) racing each other during the Oc Om Boc festival.

Khmer pagodas are ten-a-penny in this region of the delta, with one of the most impressive, the Khleang Pagoda, located right in the middle of town on Nguyen Chi Thanh. It is surrounded by a two-tiered terrace, and the doors and windows are adorned with traditional Khmer motifs in greens, reds and golds. Inside is a wonderfully reposeful golden Sakyamuni statue, though unfortunately, the doors are often locked. Directly opposite the pagoda at 23 Nguyen Chi Thanh, the Khmer Museum (Mon–Sat 7–11am & 1–5pm; free), houses some low-key exhibits including stringed instruments made of snakeskin and coconut husks, and some wonderfully colourful food covers, shaped like conical hats, but with a stippled surface.

Soc Trang’s Khleang Pagoda

Head north from here along Mau Than 68 for a few minutes, and on the right you’ll see Dat Set Pagoda, aka Buu Son Tu Pagoda. Constructed almost entirely from clay, with a smart sheet-metal roof to keep the rain off, Dat Set makes a welcome change from the more numerous Khmer pagodas in this region of the delta. Chinese visitors flock here to see the pagoda’s impressive and highly colourful collection of clay statues; many are life-size, with animals and figures from Chinese mythology being the most popular