Another floating dimension to the Mekong Delta: Nga Nam Market

Located about 60 kilometers from Soc Trang Town, the Nga Nam floating market acquires its name from the convergence of five canals - Ca Mau, Vinh Quoi, Long My, Thanh Tri and Phung Hiep - in Nga Nam Commune.

Similar to the Cai Rang (Can Tho City), Nga Bay (Hau Giang Province) or Cai Be (Tien Giang Province) markets, Nga Nam in Soc Trang Province is another floating market gem in the Mekong Delta.

The market opens at around 4 a.m. and ends at around 8 a.m.

With new roads making traveling easier than it was before, businesses here and in other floating markets are dying out and not as crowded as it used to be.

Still, boats and traders keep coming to the Nga Nam floating market till today because it remains a transit point for locals from different provinces that the canals flow through.

Locals get their boats close to each other to make moving around and unloading goods easier.

The market welcomes all sellers, no matter where they are from or what they sell. Visitors to this floating market will be enchanted by daily life and commerce in such a setting.

A wide variety of goods are traded on the waterways, including vegetables, meat, salt, clothes and even lottery tickets. But fruit is one of the best-selling goods at the Nga Nam market since watermelon, coconut, banana, pineapple and many other fruits are the delta's main produce.

This place becomes even more animated during the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year Festival) when the market is packed with buyers and sellers coming in and out on different sizes of boats, loading, unloading, buying and selling numerous goods.

Each boat has a cay beo or a pole on which samples of what is being sold are hung. This way, sellers do not need to call out their wares.

The market also has many floating eateries serving regional foods with wide smiles.

A bowl of noodle soup costs around VND15,000 ($0.66).

Photos by Trieu Hon Vo