5 Best Sights in My Tho, Mekong Delta

A 20-minute ferry ride from My Tho (and then a 10-minute xe om ride) is Ben Tre, considered the Mekong Delta's coconut capital. Many Mekong Delta day trips from Ho Chi Minh City stop at Ben Tre, which has many interesting waterways and river islands to explore, as well as several coconut candy factories.

Established in 1926 in the southern Vietnamese city of Tay Ninh, Caodaism is a monotheistic religion, in which Cao Dai is believed to be the creator of the universe. The temple in My Tho is a smaller offshoot of the main Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh (also called the Holy See Temple), and was built in the early 1970s. The colorful structure, which is done up in every shade of the rainbow and then some, has impressive wooden carvings of deities, immaculately painted iron grillwork, and handsome tiles.

About 2 km (1 mile) from My Tho, on the Mekong River, is Con Phung, or Phoenix Island, better known as the Island of the Coconut Monk. A religious sanctuary before the war, the island once had a garish, eclectic complex in a style similar to the Caodai Holy See in Tay Ninh. It was built in the 1940s by a French-educated engineer-turned-monk named Nguyen Thanh Nam, nicknamed the Coconut Monk by locals because he reputedly lived for some years on nothing but coconuts. The monk presided over a small community of followers, teaching a religion that combined elements of Buddhism and Christianity. He was imprisoned repeatedly, first by the Saigon regime and later by the Communists for antigovernment activities; he died in 1990. All that is left of the monk's utopian dreams are some dragons and gargoyles and columns with mythical creatures wrapped around them.

Phoenix Island is one of My Tho's four islands named after mythical beasts—Dragon (Con Tan Long), Tortoise (Con Qui), and Unicorn (Con Lan) are the other three. Tours from My Tho usually visit all four, stopping at tourist pavilions where coconut candy, local honey, rice wine, and local musicians await. Organizing a visit through a reputable travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City is recommended but if you do take a local tour, be sure to explore the islands beyond the tourist centers by strolling the narrow lanes to see the fruit orchards and get glimpses of local life. Boats leave from Trung Trac Street, next to Mekong tributary.

This large covered market is an interesting place to explore, especially if you haven't already wandered through a Vietnamese cho (market) before. Expect to see the usual Vietnamese wet market offerings of fresh fruit, vegetables, mounds of mysterious greens, meat, dried goods, clothes, shoes, and plastic paraphernalia. Do stop in for a bowl of the local specialty, hu tieu My Tho (pork-and-prawn noodle soup).

Delightfully fanciful, this pagoda built in 1849 features European and Asian design elements and is set within lovely ornamental gardens with bonsai and lotus ponds. Take some time to soak up the tranquil atmosphere of the pagoda, which was built in the shape of the Chinese character for nation, then tour the grounds to see the giant Buddha statues, including a very happy laughing Buddha.