Marchés sur terre - The best markets on earth
Floating Market (Vietnam)
Directed by Bruno Boulianne, Yvonne Defour, Marie-France LavalS1 • E3 Jan 19, 2016
Navigating the floating Cai Rang market in Vietnam is not all fun and games. Countless barges - carrying wholesalers, retailers and tourists - glide past each other in an endless dance, as fruits and vegetables are traded and occasional shouts are heard in lieu of honking horns. The market is near the city of Can Tho, in southern Vietnam, about three hours from the capital, Ho Chi Minh City. Spread out over more than a kilometre of the Mekong River, it is the largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market in the region. The Mekong Delta produces more than 60% of Vietnam's fruit. It's crazy how much can be crammed onto a tiny boat. Some merchants' barges have full kitchens where they prepare hot meals while balancing delicately on the waves. Travelling snack bars deliver soup, tea, coffee, sweets and other supplies directly to their customers' boats. Small resellers row considerable distances from the market, through the region's many canals, to sell fruits and vegetables to people living on the riverbank. And they never leave their boats. The idea of living together in harmony is very powerful in this aquatic village, where you can see so many smiles. Two-story houses built right on boats sit alongside rough shacks assembled on small barges; they are incredibly close to each other, but people don't seem to mind. When your neighbour in the next boat plays his karaoke music full blast, you simply turn away and focus on the sound of the waves - It is clear that people here have a deep attachment to this market. Tradition, tourism and business all play a role.
