The Real Nga Nam Floating Market - Soc Trang

Tra Vinh and Soc Trang are home to the Khmer Ethnic group in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Two provinces are divided by the Lower Mekong River, and two ferry boats take us to Soc Trang through Dung Island.

The routes from Tra Vinh to To Soc Trang are opened-air gravel and dirt lanes, venture out through this iconic landscape and discover the life of Khmer people. There are several colourful Theravada pagodas to stop and visit along the routes. See the daily life of the Khmer people in rural villages; working on farmlands with simple agricultural tools, bare feet, raising ducks on paddy fields, and using pushbikes and mopeds as the local transports. The morning ride is about 30km, and we hop on the support vehicle transfers to Cau Quan for lunch. After lunch, take ferries crossing the Lower Mekong River via Dung Island to Soc Trang's outskirts, where we continue biking.

In the afternoon, we ride across the rice paddies to Nga Nam. Take your time pedalling through rice paddies and quiet dense vegetation, and cycle along and across rivers and canals on the flat route, and they are complicated routes. We sometimes take pedalling along rivers, mostly along agriculture canals and rivers, and pass by many small markets, cajuput forests, Chinese pagodas and Khmer temples. It is a good time for an easy ride and to enjoy stunning rural settings in the afternoon when the sun gradually drops. Check in the homestay.

Get up early, taste coffee and tea, then pick up the bikes on smooth concrete paths alongside the river to Nga Nam (Nga 5) floating market. It's about 4km from the homestay. Take your ride easy and watch many small wooden sampans rushing to the floating market. Here is your opportunity for photo endless along the way to Nga Nam. As you reach floating markets, drop your bikes at the local coffee, get on a rowing boat, and paddle slowly through the bustling market. Nga Nam floating market is the only one in  Vietnam's Mekong Delta with small sampans and rowing boats coming for daily business. Then we get off the sampan boats for the land market by the river, taste some local snacks, fruit and cold drinks, and visit this market before we return to the homestay by support vehicles.

Have breakfast, check out and ride to Nga Bay. The routes to Nga Bay are incredible, smooth concrete, open air through fertile farmlands, then heading to winding paths by the rivers. Ride past several small markets by the rivers; the local transport in these removed villages is by boats. Cross the river by ferry, and ride to the former headquarters Viet Cong Base. Today is Can Tho Provincial Party Committee Base Relic. Your guide will tell you how Viet Cong's hard life during the war. Afterwards, we bike through rustic villages, passing many season fruit orchards. Continue biking to Nga Bay lunch en route. Lunch en route. Today's ride will end up at Nga Bay, and have a transfer to Can Tho city, check-in at the hotel, and spend the rest at the swimming pool.

Do check out for 1-hour transfer to Vinh Long City, jump back to the bikes, and have a ferry crossing to An Binh Island; experience local lives through the island Dong Phu where the second ferry takes us to the Cai Be township. Then we ride to Ba Kiet, the ancient house built in 1838, which is quite a beautiful traditional house. The house itself was made of wood and filled with antiques and belonged to landlords for more than 130 years- before 1975. Enjoy local speciality lunch cooked by the host, and taste Vietnamese coffee-cafe sữa da. Following lunch, we continue to bike to Cay Lay. Pedal alongside the river, passing many local businesses, primary schools and fruit orchards. Afterwards, get on a support vehicle for 2.5 hours driving back to Ho Chi Minh. Tour End!