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From floating market to flower village, Mekong Delta resonates through the lens

By Huynh Phuong   February 16, 2020 | 05:11 am PT
Mekong Delta, Vietnam's seminal rice basket, offers sustenance for both body and soul, captured during a recent trip by photographers Huy Le, Le Tuan Anh and Tran Minh Luong.
A morning on Nga Nam floating market packed with buyers and sellers coming in and out on different sizes of boats, loading, unloading, buying and selling numerous goods.The market opens at around 4 a.m. and ends at around 8 a.m.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.

Nga Nam floating market opens at around 4 a.m. and closes by 8 a.m.

Located about 60 kilometers from Soc Trang Town's downtown in Soc Trang Province, the market acquired its name from the convergence of Ca Mau, Vinh Quoi, Long My, Thanh Tri and Phung Hiep canals in Nga Nam Commune.

The markets of Cai Rang (Can Tho City), Nga Bay (Hau Giang Province) or Cai Be (Tien Giang Province) are similarly gemlike and draw many visitors to the Mekong Delta.
A woman arranges goods on her boat. The market has become a transit point for locals from different provinces that the canals flow through.A wide variety of goods are traded on the waterways, including vegetables, meat, salt and clothes. 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 deltas main produce.

Nga Nam is a transit point for locals from different provinces through which the canals cut.

A wide variety of goods are traded along the waterways, including vegetables, meat, salt and clothes. Fruit is one of the best-sellers at the market with watermelon, coconut, banana, pineapple and many others produced across the delta.
A Sakyamuni Buddha statue at Som Rong Pagoda in Soc Trang Province is under construction. The statue is 63 m long and 22.5 m high and weighs 490 tons, which will be the largest reclining Shakyamuni Buddha in Vietnam.

This Sakyamuni Buddha, under construction at Som Rong Pagoda in Ton Duc Thang Street, Soc Trang Town, is 63 m long and 22.5 m high, weighing 490 tons. On completion, is will be the largest reclining Buddha in Vietnam.
The Som Rong pagoda was built 600 years ago with bamboo and wood which was covered with simple leaves. The pagoda has many Som Rong trees that grow on their own, so the pagoda took the name of Som Rong.

The pagoda, named after local Som Rong trees, was built 600 years ago from bamboo and wood, covered by simple leaves.
The pagoda is redolent of the ancient Khmer temple architecture with sophisticated sculpture.

The pagoda is redolent of ancient Khmer temple architecture, featuring sophisticated craftmanship.
[Caption]aaCountry market in Vi Thanh in Hau Giang Province is viewed from above. A special feature of the countryside market is located in the heart of the ttown. Traders at the market sit at a fixed location of 2 - 4 square meters.

Vendors at the "country market" in Vi Thanh Town of Hau Giang Province set up shop at fixed intervals of 2 - 4 square meters.
This arket is at its busiest at 2-3 a.m., selling products from fish such as basa, snakehead, perch to vegetables such as cabbage or carrots.

This market is busiest at 2-3 a.m, with fish like basa, snakehead, perch and vegetables trading fast.
Phong Dien floating market in Can Tho City at dawn. The market is usually busy at 4-5 a.m. and closes at 7-8 a.m. It sells a full range of agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables. Although not as bustling as before, this floating market still attracts many visitors, especially foreigners.

Phong Dien floating market in Can Tho City is at its most bustling at 4-5 a.m. before closing at 7-8 a.m. The market is a traditional trading spot of local people where mostly ordinary daily products are sold right on the boat.
Sa Dec flower village in Dong Thap Province is in full bloom during the recent Lunar New Year, or Tet holiday.The village is considered the floral capital of the Mekong Delta and the main supplier of flowers to provinces and cities across the country, with around 2,500 varieties grown on a total area of 600 hectares.Just a few weeks before Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival, local farmers work from dawn to dusk on their gardens to prepare their flower and bonsai plants for sale.Vietnamese people have a long tradition of using fresh flowers as offerings to deities and their ancestors to pray for luck and for house decoration during the countrys biggest festival.

Sa Dec flower village in Dong Thap Province is considered the floral capital of Mekong Delta with around 2,500 varieties grown on a total area of 600 hectares.

Just a few weeks before Tet, or Lunar New Year holiday, local farmers work from dawn to dusk to prepare flowers and bonsai plants for sale.

Vietnamese hold a long tradition of offering fresh flowers to deities and ancestors in prayer for luck, using some as home decorations during the country's biggest festival.
How beautiful aquatic flowers transform a Mekong Delta wetland
 
 

From floating market to flower village, Mekong Delta resonates through the lens

Photos by Huy Le, Le Tuan Anh, Tran Minh Luong

 
 
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