An Giang Province is a remote land of Vietnam, sharing its border with a neighboring country, and when it comes to this place, words used to describe it are peace, serenity, and calm. If you are the one who love history and culture, it should be set in your itinerary to explore Vietnam. And one of the specific destinations to uncover for a An Giang trip is Chau Doc Market, where to know about the locals’ daily life and many other interesting things.
People often think of shopping when mentioning a visit to a market, but Chau Doc Market is different a little bit. Not only do you go shopping for what you want or enjoy luscious specialties of the land, but you also obtain an understanding of its traditional market culture and history. Additionally, get yourself dipped into enthralling landscapes and admire special architecture of sites nearby.
Where is Chau Doc Market?
Approximately 1 kilometer to the west of the center of Chau Doc Town, Chau Doc Market is located on Bach Dang Street, Chau Phu A Ward and labeled as the world of fermented or salted fish in many different kinds. Hence, the market is also the Mekong Delta’s leading supplier of fermented fish and fried fish through the country. The other reason for the trip to this spot is that it’s the paradise of street food for gourmets. Opening hours are from 6:00 – 17:00 every day, and there is no entrance fee.
How to Get to Chau Doc Market from Ho Chi Minh City
Before searching for directions to Chau Doc Market, you need to take a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to the center of Chau Doc Town. Many bus lines to Chau Doc are found in Mien Tay Bus Station at 395 Kinh Duong Vuong Street, An Lac Ward, Binh Tan District. The bus fare falls into about VND 140,000/adult.
Upon arrival in the center of Chau Doc Town, you can ask the locals the way to Chau Doc Market. If you are staying at some hotel in Chau Doc, the receptionist will show you how to get there. Keep in mind that it’s right in the central area and next to the Chau Doc River.
It’s convenient to visit other destinations from Chau Doc Market, such as the Thoai Ngoc Hau tomb, the temple of the Lady of the Realm, the Cham village, and Ong Pagoda.
Shopping at Chau Doc Market
There is a wide selection of what to buy in Chau Doc Market. Roaming around, you’ll realize that the market is logically divided into different zones, comprising vegetables & fruits, fermented/salted fish, clothes & accessories, and food stalls. Therefore, it’s easy to find out what you would like to shop for. Some recommended things to get in the market are:
Fermented Fish
Chau Doc Market is also referred to as the “kingdom of fermented/salted fish”, so various luscious types of it are sold there, and you can smell it from a distance. Because it’s the best of specialties in Chau Doc, An Giang, it’s clear that you shouldn’t put it off your list of what to bring back from this trip. The fermented fish in the market costs about half as much as itself in other places.
Luscious eats at food stalls
Roaming in the market for a while, and you can spot various dishes tantalizing your sense, such as noodle soup of fermented fish, noodle soup of fresh fish, palmyra palm fruit, vermicelli with salads, and others. The noodle soup of fermented fish is surely the top of the top since it’s totally wonderful in both taste and texture. More interestingly, each bowl of soup is decorated with yellow cork flowers, making the whole dish absolutely perfect. Don’t forget that specialties like that soup at Chau Doc Market are yummy yet quite salty for some foreigners, so you should tell the vendor to season your dish with less salt.
Cakes and fermented fruits
It’s easy to see stalls lining up along small ways in the market are full of cakes and fermented fruits. Cakes are in various colors made from vegetables and very cheap. To enjoy most all type of cakes in the market just costs about VND 100,000 – USD5. Meanwhile, fermented fruits are not only eye-catching, but also taste special. Before deciding where to buy or not, you can sample a little bit in front of each stall. Those things prove that there is a rich diversity of cuisine in the market, which you can’t find out anywhere else.
Clothes and fabric
Although Chau Doc is not a wholesale market, clothes and fabric there are quite cheap. It’s awesome to get a tailored-made set if you have much time. Design of the clothes is not special, but it represents the simple life of the An Giang’s people. The most recommended thing to buy in this type is scarves with unique patterns which seemingly carry distinctive elements of the locals.
Must-visit Places Nearby
The temple of the Lady of the Realm
This site is at the foot of Sam Mountain, and near Chau Doc Market, so it should be included in the trip to Chau Doc, An Giang. The architecture of the temple is not the only attractive point, but mysterious exciting stories about the Lady of the Realm makes a visit there more deserving. That’s why the Vietnamese people from many places often come to worship at the temple.
Tay An Co Tu Pagoda
Situated next to the temple of the Lady of the Realm, Tay An Co Tu Pagoda is also one of the places to visit, followed by Chau Doc Market. The pagoda’s architecture is traditionally in the style of the Khmer people, so there are many unique corners which may be wonderful backgrounds for your photos. Perhaps, you will need a local guide who helps you understand more about the religious culture of the Khmer community there.
Tra Su Cajuput Forest
Tra Su Cajuput Forest is considered as a symbol of An Giang in particular and the Mekong Delta in general. Nobody can resist the natural charms inside the forest as it’s labeled as an ethereal wonderland on earth. To discovery its magnificence is by boat – just imagine how fantastic it is to leisurely move through waterways full of duckweed and peer down at species of small flora. It’s supposed to be the best idea for a visit to the forest at sunrise or sunset when you can admire a great wildlife prospect of birds flying to feed or flying back and other species of fauna growing every day in the serenity.
Palmyra Palm Field
Another prominent detail of Chau Doc, An Giang is fields of palmyra palm trees. If you search for the Vietnam’s best landscapes, it’s sure that the palmyra palm fields will appear in your results. It’s not so hard to find them out as they are along the path to different destinations of Chau Doc. Not only that, but paddy fields are other colors embellishing the palmyra palm fields while tiny houses of the Cham village dot this painting. Why can’t you refuse to take photos of those ravishing scene?
