Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 906

ACCOMMODATION
Chambres D'Hotes Mekong Logis 142 May Than
T 071 03834685, W mekonglogis.com. A hotel run by a
wonderfully helpful family; the parents speak French and
the daughter speaks English. They can help organize all
manne r of l ocal outings and the meals are delicious, too.
Double $15
Huy Hoang 35 Ngo Duc Ke T 071 03825833, W huyhoang
hotel.com. A pleasant small hotel with clean and bright
rooms, all w ith satellite TV, and helpful staff. Double
200,000VND
Kim Tho Hotel 1 Ngo Gia Tu T 071 03817517,
W kimlancantho.com.vn. This place is decorated in an
appealing contemporary style - all modern art and
bamboo furnishings. Some of the rooms lack windows but
are kept cool by a/ c and the showers are heated by solar
power. Double $20

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he town's lively produce market ,
roughly between Quang Trung,
Doc Phu hu, Tran Hung Dao and
Nguyen Van hoi, makes for a good
spectacle. A grand, four-tiered gateway
deep in the belly of the market
announces Quan Cong Temple ,
ornamented with two rooftop dragons
and some vivid murals.
Northwest up Tran Hung Dao, long
boardwalks lead to sizeable stilt-house
communities, and from here, at the
junction with huong Dang Le, you
can take a ferry across the Hau Giang
River to the stilt houses of Con Tien
Island . Cham-dominated Chau Giang
district lies across the Hau Giang River,
2km northeast of the town. Kampung-
style wooden houses, sarongs and white
prayer caps betray the influence of
Islam, as do the twin domes and
minaret of the Mubarak Mosque. Xe om
and xe dap loi will take you there and
back for about 40,000VND, including
waiting time, or else you can take in
Con Tien Island and the floating houses
on the river, with mini fish-farms
underneath each one, as part of a
morning boat tour.

11

EATING AND DRINKING
For a local dining experience, head to Nam Ky Khoi Nghia
where there are plenty of stalls serving barbecued fish,
pork, frog and snake (a local speciality).
Mekong Restaurant 38 Hai Ba Trung. This established
favourite is hard to top for its extensive menu of cheap,
flavoursome Vietnamese and Chinese meals; the fish
stewed in a clay pot (45,000VND) is recommended. Daily
8am-2pm & 4-10pm.
Nam Bo 50 Hai Ba Trung. Munch on snake curry as part of
a good-value set menu (“snake menu” 120,000VND), or go
for less exotic French-influenced dishes in colonial-style
elegant surroundings. Daily noon-2.30pm & 6.30-11pm.
Viva Green 26 Hai Ba Trung. Resembling a cavern for
hobbits, this riverfront bar is typically packed; perhaps it's
something to do with the two-for-one beer promotion
before 6pm. Daily 9am-11pm.

Sam Mountain
Arid, brooding Sam Mountain rises
dramatically from an ocean of paddy
fields 5km southwest of Chau Doc, and
Buddhist visitors flock here to worship
at its clutch of pagodas and shrines.
From town, a road runs straight to the
foot of the mountain, reached by xe dap
loi and xe lam , or easily covered by
bicycle. A winding, bumpy road leads
up the mountain for 1km in a clockwise
direction; the turn is on the right, just
after a large temple; if you don't fancy
walking, motorbikes can take you up
for around 25,000VND. From the
summit, you're rewarded with
spectacular 360-degree views of the
patchwork of fields below. Along the
straight road to the mountain, a large,
colourful temple on your left, sitting
around its own private lagoon, makes
for a photogenic stop.

CHAU DOC
Snuggled against the west bank of
the Hau Giang River, next to the
Cambodian border (see box, p.910),
CHAU DOC was under Cambodian rule
until the mid-eighteenth century and
still sustains a large Khmer community.
Forays by Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer
Rouge into this corner of the delta
led to the Vietnamese invasion of
Cambodia in 1978 and put an end
to Pol Pot's regime. Today Chau Doc
is a melting pot of Khmer, Cham,
Vietnamese and Chinese communities,
with a cluster of interesting sights in
and around town, to boot.