Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [107]
Located a short way south of the town centre, Mahatup Pagoda, aka Bat Pagoda, is famed for its vast community of golden-bodied fruit bats, which spectacularly take to the skies at dusk. Plan to get here around 5.30pm and as the drop in temperature wakes them you’ll see the bats spinning, preening and flapping their matt-black wings – some have a span of 1.5m. Khmer monks have worshipped at this site for four hundred years, though the present pagoda is only a hundred years old. Inside, bright murals bearing the names of the Khmer communities around the world that financed them recount the life of the Buddha. Outside, look out for the graves of four pigs behind the large hall to the right opposite the pagoda, each of which had five toenails (pigs usually have four). Since such animals are believed to bring bad luck, they are honoured with well-tended resting places to ward off any evil tendencies. The tombstones are painted with their likenesses and the dates of their passing on. To get to the pagoda, go 2km south of town along Le Hong Phong, then turn right at a fork beside a small market and continue another 800m. Cars are not allowed on the last few hundred metres, so you’ll have to walk or hop on one of many waiting xe om.
The Mekong Delta | Soc Trang |
Practicalities
The waterway running roughly west to east splits Soc Trang in two, with most of the town nestling on its south bank. The town’s spine is Hai Ba Trung, which runs across the water, before becoming Tran Hung Dao on the southern outskirts. The bus station is at the northern end of town on Nguyen Chi Thanh. Soc Trang Tourist, at 104 Le Loi (daily 7–11am & 1–5pm; 079/382 2024), can usually help with local information. The post office is in the centre of town at 1 Tran Hung Dao, and has internet access. There’s an ATM in front of the Khanh Hung Hotel.
If you have your own transport, the best place to stay is a few kilometres out of town at km2127 on Highway 1 – the Ngoc Suong (079/361 3108, www.ngocsuonghotel.com; US$21–50) has a range of comfortable rooms, with a pool and tennis court; the cheaper rooms at the back are particularly good value. At 89 Highway 1, just on the northern fringe of town, the Vinh Thong (079/326 2111; US$11–20) is a smart new, six-storey mini-hotel with wi-fi, cable TV and a top-floor café. In the centre of town, the Khanh Hung Hotel (079/382 1026; US$10 and under–20), at 15 Tran Hung Dao, has 55 rooms ranging from basic and cheap to carpeted suites that have seen better days. A block west, at 128 Nguyen Trung Truc, the Que Huong (079/361 6122; US$11–20) is a newer place with spacious, well-equipped rooms and wi-fi in the lobby.
Eating options are limited, as the town is not really geared up for independent travellers. One very popular place among locals is Hung, north of the river at 24 Hung Vuong (down a small lane), which serves various dishes with rice, although its speciality is steamboat. Alternatively, Hang Ky, at 67 Hung Vuong in the northwest corner of town, turns out tasty Vietnamese staple dishes on rice. For a snack, Lap Hung, at 134 Ly Thuong Kiet, serves the local speciality banh bia, a round cake with a filling made from sweetened beans or durian – something of an acquired taste.
The Mekong Delta |
Bac Lieu
Beyond Soc Trang the landscape becomes progressively more waterlogged and water palms hug the banks of the waterways that criss-cross it. A little over 40km southwest of Soc Trang, Highway 1 dips south towards the crown of BAC LIEU, before veering off west to Ca Mau. It may be the back end of nowhere, but Bac Lieu’s prosperity is evident in new shopping complexes and upmarket homes around the centre. The source of this prosperity is overseas Vietnamese, many of whom hail from this region. The town may not boast sights to set the pulse racing, but it’s got the only accommodation between Soc Trang and Ca Mau, and the Bac Lieu Bird