My Tho - Gateway to the Mekong delta

My Tho is the capital of the Tien Giang Province and the gateway to the Mekong delta. Although there is no floating market, it is often very busy, since the city is easily accessible as a day trip from Saigon. There is quite some tourist infrastructure for day-trippers, although the city has only a few sights compared to many other places in the delta.

My Tho was founded in the 17th Century and has been the capital for the trade with Cambodia for a long time. Even today it is still home to many distributors. Main sources are fish, rice and fruits.

The oldest pagoda in the delta, Chua Vinh Trang, which was built in 1849 and contains a collection of over 60 Buddha statues is well worth a visit. However, some areas inside the pagoda were disfigured slightly due to some renovations. The colorful Cao Dai temple can be visited as well.

A specialty of this area is Hu Tieu My Tho, a version of the typical South Vietnamese noodle soup with dried shrimp and pork. Around My Tho are numerous river islands, which can be visited by boat. The four largest islands are Con Tan Long - Dragon Island (the most densely populated and the closest), Con Lan - Unicorn Island (the largest, with a tropical garden), Con Qui - Turtle Island (the smallest) and Con Phung - Phoenix Island (Temple of the coconut monk).