Vessel: AmaWaterways AmaDara
Location: Cái Bè, Vietnam
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| Cái Bè 2011. The floating market is alive and well. (Roderick Eime) |
In my 25 years travelling to Vietnam and the Delta, I am continually amazed by the constant changes, and here in Cái Bè, the channel once thronging with aquatic commerce has all but vanished.
Our boat slows near the ornate tower of Cái Bè’s riverside church, but the famous floating market is nowhere to be seen. The broad brown water is almost empty, disturbed only by the occasional ferry, fishing boat and tourist launch.
There are no produce-laden sampans jostling for space, no traders calling between decks and none of the tall bamboo poles once used to advertise what each boat carried. A pineapple, pumpkin or bunch of bananas tied overhead allowed buyers to see the day’s merchandise from across the river.
For generations, Cái Bè was one of the great trading places of the upper Mekong Delta. Farmers brought fruit and vegetables from the surrounding orchards while wholesalers arrived in larger wooden boats to carry the produce elsewhere. During its peak in the 1990s, more than 100 vessels might gather here each day. Trading began before sunrise but often continued well into the afternoon.
The market did not disappear in a single dramatic moment. It was slowly made redundant.
Our boat slows near the ornate tower of Cái Bè’s riverside church, but the famous floating market is nowhere to be seen. The broad brown water is almost empty, disturbed only by the occasional ferry, fishing boat and tourist launch.
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| Cái Bè today. The waterborne vendors have vanished (Roderick Eime) |
There are no produce-laden sampans jostling for space, no traders calling between decks and none of the tall bamboo poles once used to advertise what each boat carried. A pineapple, pumpkin or bunch of bananas tied overhead allowed buyers to see the day’s merchandise from across the river.
For generations, Cái Bè was one of the great trading places of the upper Mekong Delta. Farmers brought fruit and vegetables from the surrounding orchards while wholesalers arrived in larger wooden boats to carry the produce elsewhere. During its peak in the 1990s, more than 100 vessels might gather here each day. Trading began before sunrise but often continued well into the afternoon.
The market did not disappear in a single dramatic moment. It was slowly made redundant.
"When the parents retire, they no longer want their children to live on the boats," Tung, our guide, tells us, "they have saved up and send their children to university and the city. They get a good job and don't come back to the Delta."
Further to that, as roads and bridges spread across the delta, trucks could reach orchards and farms directly. Wholesalers no longer needed to wait on the river for produce, while growers could negotiate with buyers by telephone and send their crops straight to markets, warehouses and supermarkets. Road transport was faster, more predictable and usually cheaper than maintaining a large wooden trading boat.
The decline became noticeable around 2015, when the number of vessels began to fall sharply. By the end of the decade, only a scattering of traders remained. COVID-19 then delivered the final blow. Tourism stopped, movement was restricted and the fragile remnants of the market dispersed. By 2021, Cái Bè had effectively ceased operating as a genuine commercial floating market.
Further to that, as roads and bridges spread across the delta, trucks could reach orchards and farms directly. Wholesalers no longer needed to wait on the river for produce, while growers could negotiate with buyers by telephone and send their crops straight to markets, warehouses and supermarkets. Road transport was faster, more predictable and usually cheaper than maintaining a large wooden trading boat.
The decline became noticeable around 2015, when the number of vessels began to fall sharply. By the end of the decade, only a scattering of traders remained. COVID-19 then delivered the final blow. Tourism stopped, movement was restricted and the fragile remnants of the market dispersed. By 2021, Cái Bè had effectively ceased operating as a genuine commercial floating market.
There have been attempts to revive it. In 2023, a privately supported version was established about two kilometres away at Tân Phong, with traditional boats, food, music and activities for visitors. Local festivals have also staged reconstructions of the old market. These projects may preserve its appearance and memory, but they cannot recreate the economic necessity that originally brought hundreds of people onto the river.
From our boat, the disappearance feels strangely poignant. The river itself has not changed. Houses still crowd its banks, palms lean over narrow canals and heavily laden barges continue downstream. What has vanished is a way of organising daily life.
Cái Bè’s empty water is not simply evidence of a failed tourist attraction. It is a sign of how quickly the Mekong Delta is moving ashore. The floating market disappeared because the world that needed it disappeared first.
Sailing with AmaWaterways
Reservations can be made through a preferred travel advisor or directly with AmaWaterways on 1800 867 126 (AU) or 0800 005 636 (NZ), or by visiting amawaterways.com/au or amawaterways.com/nz.
Reservations can be made through a preferred travel advisor or directly with AmaWaterways on 1800 867 126 (AU) or 0800 005 636 (NZ), or by visiting amawaterways.com/au or amawaterways.com/nz.
Expedition Cruising editor and publisher, Roderick Eime, is travelling as a guest of AmaWaterways
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