Get to know Cai Rang Floating Market

Together with Cai Be and Phung Hiep, Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho City is one of the three biggest in the Mekong Delta. The shops and stalls at the market are boats of different sizes.

One of the most interesting sights in the Delta are the floating markets and associated river life. Cai Rang Floating Market is open all day but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9am. The main items sold there are farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town, Chau Thanh District and neighboring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale are hung.

During the early morning market hours, larger sized boat anchor and create lanes that smaller boats weave in and out of. The waterway becomes a maze of hundreds of boats packed with mango, bananas, papaya, pineapple, and even smuggled goods like cigarettes. Sellers do not have to cry out about their goods because their goods can be seen in a distance and their cries would not be heard in the vastness of the river and the noise of boat engines. Small boats that sell beer, wine and soft drinks go among the other boats to serve market-goers and visitors. Sellers tie their goods to a tall pole so that buyers can see from a distance what they are selling.

Each boat is loaded with plenty of seasonal goods. Activities at the market are also an occasion for tourists to study the cultural aspects of southerners. You can see the market in the distance, it does not look like much, just a mass of boats. The boats all display their wares on a mast so you can see what they have available.

To visit Cai Rang Floating Market, visitors can join a tour of the Mekong Delta. On the way to Can Tho, visitors can stop to visit My Tho and take a boat trip to visit orchards, bee farms and coconut candy establishments in Ben Tre.

Many have agreed that visiting floating markets is among the can-not-miss experience in Southern Vietnam. There are a lot of travel agencies that offer a wide range of tours to Mekong delta with various tour duration and floating markets are included in most of them. Those without lots of time in their schedules are recommended to chose one Mekong delta day tour with floating market in its itinerary that best fit their time-frame.

Read more: Well-known destinations in Can Tho

Source vietnam-beauty

Explore the attractions in Shanghai, China

Shanghai is a vibrant high-paced city of bright lights from its colonial period, bustling markets, and creative energy.  As one of China’s largest cities, there are many things to explore here.

From iconic landmarks to floating towns, museums teaching the culture and history of Shanghai, beautiful green spaces and local hangouts, you will find something worth visiting around every corner of China’s biggest city.

The Bund

The Bund is Shanghai’s waterfront boulevard, lined in the heritage buildings that showcase the city’s pre-1949 past and across the river from the Pudong skyscrapers of its future. Along the Bund, Shanghai’s street life is in full force. It is bustling even at dawn, with local ballroom dancing, exercising, and practicing tai chi and qi gong. Day and night, Chinese tourists, foreigners, and Shanghai locals walk the Bund, snapping photos of each other backed by the skyscrapers. At night, the towers are lit with flashing neon lights reflected in the Huangpu River.

Oriental Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower is a Shanghai landmark as it towers over the Huangpu River in Pudong New Area. At 468 meters (1,535 feet) tall, it was the highest building in Shanghai when it was built in the early 1990s. Looking like a cross between the Eiffel Tower and Seattle’s Space Needle, the world’s sixth largest radio and TV tower has 15 observation decks with a revolving restaurant at the 264-meter (867-foot) level.

Eleven spheres are strung vertically through the tower, a scene that is suggestive of dragons playing with pearls. The glass floor of the outdoor viewing platform is probably one of the most thrilling attractions in Shanghai.

Yu Garden

While the area around Yu Garden is commercialized and the garden itself not as impressive as the classical gardens of Suzhou, it is one of the few old sights left in Shanghai, and a valuable piece of the city’s rapidly disappearing past. Commissioned in 1559 by Ming Dynasty official Pan Yunduan, the garden was built over nearly two decades by the renowned architect Zhang Nanyang.

After you walk around carp-filled ponds and through the rock gardens and bamboo groves, you can visit the small museum dedicated to the Society of Small Swords rebellion.

Fuxing Park

Once the largest park in Shanghai, Fuxing Park is the quintessential Chinese senior-hangout spot. Find sprightly adults dancing their favourite ballroom steps, playing cards or mahjong or writing ephemeral poetry with giant calligraphy brushes. Located in the French Concession, Fuxing Park is also a great escape from the city that surrounds it. Here, there is plenty of green space and vegetation to renew your body and soul.

Shanghai Museum

Paris has its Louvre, Amsterdam the Rijksmuseum and Shanghai has its own world-class museum in the Shanghai Museum. Located in a modern building on People’s Square, the Shanghai Museum has five floors containing the best in ancient Chinese history: old coins, priceless paintings and ceramics, intricately carved traditional lacquer furniture, and ancient bronze and jade artifacts. All told, the museum has more than 120,000 pieces divided among 11 galleries. Even the building itself is a work of art, with the round dome representing heaven and the square base, land. Best of all, the museum offers free admission to 8,000 people every day.

Read more: The best contemporary art museums you should visit in Shanghai

Source Internet

The various cuisines of Vietnam

Shaped like a giant ‘S’, Vietnam curls from the lush hills of the north and the capital Hanoi, down the central coast and historic Hoi An, to the southern curve surrounding Ho Chi Minh city.

Home to 63 provinces, Vietnam is bordered by China, Laos, and Cambodia, as well as the East Sea and the Pacific Ocean, creating a land of various climates and culinary inspirations. For an overview of this dynamic nation, read our guide to the various cuisines of Vietnam, from its Northern, Central, and Southern region.

THE CUISINE OF NORTHERN VIETNAM

Northern cuisine strikes a balance between salty, spicy, sweet, bitter, and sour. Essential flavourings include fish sauce and shrimp paste, and black pepper is used in place of chillies to produce ‘spicy’ flavours. Due to its cooler climate, Northern Vietnamese cuisine uses fewer herbs and vegetables than the southern regions, and preferred cooking techniques include stir-frying and slow-braising, to inject more warmth into the meal.

Signature dishes of Northern Vietnam include:

• Bun cha (rice noodle with grilled marinated pork)

• Pho ga (chicken rice noodle soup)

• Chả ca La Vong (rice noodle with grilled fish patty).
• Bun rieu cua (pork, crab and noodle soup)
• Banh cuon (handmade rice noodles filled with pork and wood ear mushrooms)
• Nem cua be (fried crab spring rolls)
• Squid patties

THE CUISINE OF VIETNAM’S CENTRAL REGION

The food in the Central region is characterised by its hot and spicy flavours. The former imperial capital of Vietnam, Hue boasts a culinary heritage that is steeped in the tradition of Vietnamese royal cuisine. Chillies, black peppercorns, and shrimp-based sauces are among the most widely used ingredients, and due to their intensity of flavour, dishes are served in small portions.

Signature dishes of Central Vietnam include:

• Bun bo Hue (spicy beef soup with rice noodles)
• Cao lau (udon-style noodles with pork and herbs)
• Com hen (tiny steamed clams with rice)
• Steamed pork with rice paper
• Banh Hue (savoury steamed cakes)
• Hoi An style chicken rice

THE CUISINE OF SOUTHERN VIETNAM

Southern cuisine has been significantly influenced by diverse food cultures from all directions and factors. Thanks to its warm weather and fertile soil, the south has a bountiful supply of fruits, vegetables, and livestock. Dishes in Southern Vietnam are often seasoned with garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs, and the locals prefer their dishes to have more sugar than in the other regions, which can be seen in the widespread use of coconut milk. Due to its proximity to the coast, seafood plays an indispensable role in Southern cuisine.

Signature dishes of Southern Vietnam include:

• Banh xeo (crispy pancake with pork and prawns)
• Goi cuon (rice paper rolls)
• Pho bo (beef noodle soup)
• Banh mi (Vietnamese baguette)
• Bo la lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves)
• Hu tieu muc (squid noodle soup)
• Com tam (broken rice)
• Caramelised fish in claypot

Read more: The various noodle dishes in Vietnamese cuisine

Source Asian inspirations