Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [112]
The main office of An Giang Tourist is at 17 Nguyen Van Cung (daily 7–11am & 1–5pm; 076/384 1036, angiangtour@hcm.vnn.vn), and the staff are helpful with local information. Vietnam Airlines’ office is located in the Dong Xuyen hotel, which also has an ATM. Vietinbank, just north of the Long Xuyen hotel on Luong Van Cu, can exchange money and also has an ATM. There is internet access at 81 Nguyen Hué, though the entrance is round the corner on Luong Van Cu. Long Xuyen’s post office (daily 6am–10pm) is at 106 Tran Hung Dao, to the north of the centre. The town’s hospital is also north of the centre on Le Loi.
The Mekong Delta | Long Xuyen and around | Practicalities |
Accommodation
The fanciest-looking place to stay is the Dong Xuyen (076/394 2260, dongxuyenag@hcm.vnn.vn; US$21–50), at 9a Luong Van Cu. It occupies almost an entire block and boasts sauna, jacuzzi and carpeted rooms with all facilities, though the service is rather sloppy. A reasonable alternative, at 5–9 Thi Sach, is the Kim Anh Hotel (076/394 2551, kimanh-hotel@hcm.vnn.vn; US$11–20), an eight-storey block with comfy rooms and a palatial suite on the top floor. There are cheaper, well-maintained rooms in the ageing Long Xuyen, 19 Nguyen Van Cung (076/384 1927, longxuyenhotel@hcm.vnn.vn; US$11–20), and even cheaper ones (some with fan) at the Thai Binh 2, 4–8 Nguyen Hué (076/384 1859, 076/384 6451; US$10 and under–20), but try not to get put near the karaoke rooms here.
The Mekong Delta | Long Xuyen and around | Practicalities |
Eating
The most reliable restaurant in town is at the Long Xuyen hotel, which serves specialities such as snake, turtle, pigeon and eel, as well as more familiar items like chicken and pork. On Nguyen Trai, Tien Com Huynh Loi, at no. 252/1, has delicious, cheap, rice dishes and bun bo Hué served in clean surroundings. Round the corner, at 242/4 Luong Van Cu, the smart Hong Phat has tasty Chinese and Vietnamese fish and meat dishes.
* * *
The Mekong Delta | Long Xuyen and around | Practicalities | Eating |
Oc Eo and the Funan Empire
Between the first and sixth centuries AD, the western side of the Mekong Delta, southern Cambodia and much of the Gulf of Siam’s seaboard came under the sway of the Indianized Funan Empire, an early forerunner of the great Angkor civilization. The heavily romanticized annals of contemporary Chinese diplomats describe how the Funan Empire was forged when an Indian Brahmin visiting the region married the daughter of a local serpent-god, and how the serpent rendered the region suitable for cultivation by drinking down the waters of the flood plains. Such fables are grounded in truth: Indian traders would have halted here to pick up victuals en route from India to China, and would have disseminated not only their Hindu beliefs, but also their advanced irrigation and wet-rice cultivation methods.
One of Funan’s major trading ports, Oc Eo, was located between Long Xuyen and Rach Gia. In common with other Funan cities, Oc Eo was ringed by a moat and consisted of wooden dwellings raised off the ground on piles. Given the discovery of Persian, Egyptian, Indian and Chinese artefacts (and even a gold coin depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius) at Oc Eo sites, the port must have played host to a fair number of traders from around the world. The ancient ruins of Oc Eo lie about 30km southwest of Long Xuyen, but there’s nothing left to see there: even the provincial tourist office advises against visiting the site, but if you are really determined, contact An Giang Tourist (see "Practicalities"). To view artefacts from the site, visit the museums at Long Xuyen and Rach Gia, or the Fine Arts Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (see "South of Ben Thanh").
The Funan Empire finally disappeared in the seventh century, when it was absorbed into the adjacent Chen La Empire (see "Some