Vinh Long

Located between 2 tributaries of the MeKong River in Vietnam, about 130km from Ho Chi Minh city to the south, Vinh Long with the typical history, culture, basic nature is regarded as the entrance to the provinces in The Mekong delta.

For most travellers, Vinh Long is the first place in the Mekong Delta where it’s possible to gain a reasonable experience of the area’s distinctive culture. Most head straight for a boat to cruise some of the Mekong's famous canals and channels. This is a pity, for the town itself is something of a backwater is thus worthy of attention by those wishing to escape the commercial side of tourism.

The town has interesting attractions, including some fine French buildings one of which is of singularly unusual design. From there, a 2km stroll will take you to the Temple of Literature. Although not on the scale of Hanoi's Van Mieu, it is nevertheless a good example of nineteenth century Vietnamese architecture. The temple is dedicated to Confucius.

The main targets for visitors to Vinh Long are the boat trips and floating markets, both of which are ‘must-see’ elements of an itinerary. However, those of a more independent disposition would probably enjoy taking a short ferry trip to An Binh Island (which is nothing of the sort – it’s a vaguely-defined collections of pocket handkerchiefs of land poking up from the mud). Apart from a good pagoda and a fish sauce factory, wandering past and trough the orchards and scrambling across the narrow monkey bridges that link the islets is a delight