Can Tho #2

It was so funny to feel this excited to get to Can Tho! The very first time we were here, a few years ago, we hadn't found the market, and we found a Baskin-Robbins and that seemed to tell us what we needed to know about Can Tho, and how wrong we were.

This time we were at the Victoria Can Tho, which is just a wonderful, beautiful, elegant hotel. As lovely as the hotel itself is, the service is just that great too. When we arrived and mentioned that we'd stayed there before, they said "Welcome home!" and proceeded to tell us what had changed since the last time we were there. They always called us by name, and greeted us with smiles and a sense of having all the time in the world. The pools were immaculate and always stocked with plenty of towels. The breakfast was the best of the Victoria breakfasts, our top-floor room was large and beautiful, with a terrace overlooking the pools and the river, and we just couldn't have enjoyed that part of our stay more.

So for us, the return to Can Tho meant three things, besides the hotel:

1. eating banh xeo for lunch at the little restaurant on the circle (which we did on our first trip, and twice on this trip) -- banh xeo with shrimp, and fresh spring rolls, and wait staff who seemed to be slightly amused by us;
2. eating again at our wonderful seafood restaurant (which again, we did twice), on which more in a sec, and
3. returning to the market

One notable change since our very first stay in Can Tho is the completion of a pedestrian bridge that allowed us to walk out of our hotel, along the riverfront, and over the bridge into the area we wanted to visit, which included the market. Last time we had to rely on the shuttle boat the Victoria operated every 10 minutes, from the hotel to the ferry on the other side, but now they only run it on the hour, and I guess that's only for people who want to ride the ferry. The bridge makes it so easy.

So many things to remember about this stay, in no particular order:

Dinner at the seafood restaurant was many things. The food was uniformly great, and the service was quick and friendly. The first night, our waiter and we could not communicate, so another young man, tall and slender with a shy smile, came over to help. He had a bit of English, and tried to make it all go smoothly, which it did. One funny thing is that the beer is served at room temperature and they put a gigantic ice cube in the mug to cool the beer. They also bring a case of beer to the table, typically, and set it on the ground next to the ubiquitous trash can. They are always bewildered that (a) the beer is for me, not Marc, and (b) that I only want one. So that tall slender man recognized us as we arrived the second night, and came hurrying over to say hello, and to note that we came back. He was so adorable -- they all are. The second night I order half a kilo of prawns, never dreaming that would mean THREE GIGANTIC SEA MONSTERS. Poor Marc, who had his own meal (a giant elephant fish fried in pork fat), had to decapitate and semi-peel them for me while I looked away. The darling young man who was waiting on us that second night said that he would like to go to New York but he has no money.

After breakfast that first morning, we walked over the pedestrian bridge and across the riverfront park to the market, and what do you know -- the same old woman who'd clutched my arm and smiled at me a few days earlier during our unexpected Can Tho visit spotted me again! She was walking toward me, and her face lit up and she pointed her finger at me, saying something as she walked quickly toward me. Again she grabbed my arm and smiled at me in the same way. I have no idea what it's about, but of all the wonderful, beautiful, memorable things about this trip, she may be the best one. The second morning I was torn about staying by the pool while Marc went to the market, or going with him; the only reason I'd go was for the chance to see her again, but I decided I probably wouldn't, so off he went, and back to the pool I went. We spent so much time in and beside pools that we're both very tanned/a little burned. Marc always turns brown, and quickly, but I don't usually color as much as I have this time.

And speaking of color, throughout Vietnam the women cover every part of their bodies so they don't get sun -- because they don't want to darken their skin, we've been told a couple of times. But it's so hot!! They don't just wear long-sleeved thin shirts, they wear sweatshirts, fleece hoodies, often gloves, and often face masks. They must find it so bewildering for very white women to come here and lie in the sun, uncovered, specifically to darken.

On our last night, as we approached the pedestrian bridge we saw that it was even more crowded than usual -- just thick with people. The riverfront was, too, and there was a giant red tour bus in front of one of the megalith, charmless hotels that are beginning to line the riverfront. It was so crowded and unpleasant that we just went back to our hotel. The same thing that's happening around Danang already appears to be cropping up in Can Tho, as giant horrible hotels are starting to accumulate, and gaudy, neon-lit dinner barges are lined up, and crowds of tourists are so thick you can hardly move.

Although we were both excited to get to Hanoi again, we were really sad to leave the Mekong, and to leave Can Tho, and also because our trip was winding down and it's been so wonderful. Our hearts felt heavy about the changes we see happening to Can Tho; we'd hoped that it would be restricted to the Danang/Hoi An area and leave the Delta alone, but Can Tho, at least, seems like it is falling.