Paris1972-Versailles2003

Well I have been around, last count was 81 countries which from where I started is an amazing number. I still do not believe it!!! I heard about this country in class during the Vietnam war and figure this is far away will never see it. Well, luck came by and did see it,not only that, but came several times from north to south. I like to bring back some older posts to life and show you My Tho and Vietnam!

First a bit about the town and area as history I like

Mỹ Tho is a city in southern Vietnam, capital of Tiền Giang province, in the Mekong Delta. It was founded in the 1680s by Chinese refugees who fled Taiwan when General Shi Lang of the Qing dynasty defeated the last southern Ming supporters in 1683. The region was then part of the Khmer Empire. and it was not annexed by Vietnam until the 18C. The capture of Mỹ Tho on April 12, 1861 was considered an important step in the establishment of French domination in Vietnam.

During WWIII, the Vichy collaborator government imprisoned foreigners in Mỹ Tho. In May 1945, the Japanese seized these camps for fear of an Allied attack. Foreigners remained prisoners until the end of the war. In October 1945, the city was reoccupied by French troops landed by the navy. During the Vietnam War, My Tho will be an important strategic center. It was in a nearby village that one of the first battles of a war that was not official at the time took place, the Battle of Ấp Bắc in 1963. This city was the national capital from 1802 to 1945!!  In July 20, 1885, Mỹ Tho became the terminus of Vietnam’s first railway line, which linked it to Saigon. My Tho is connected to the rest of the country by the national road 1A. One monument to see here is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The region was evangelized from the middle of the 17C with the foundation of the apostolic vicariate of Eastern Cochinchina and the arrival of the Foreign Missions from Paris. The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of My Tho, erected in 1960.

I came upon the lovely town of My Tho City in the Mékong Delta as we drove here from Ca Mau on the 1A road, nice picturesques towns passing by. This is a bigger city full of life ,good ambiance ,nice riverfront scene and good restaurants. As we entered the city at night, it was holding the government anniversary and all the Streets were brightly colored that at first thought it was the Tet Holiday but it was not…just the town local govn anniversary.

We arrive late and went to our hotel ,the Chuong Duong Hotel-Restaurant, which is a big nice complex with basic rooms and good breakfast. The river is right behind you for nice boat rides on the Tien river with floating markets and nice ones on land too. The spaciousness of the place is the plus in addition to be next to the river for boat rides, and a nice bountiful breakfast. The rooms are very basic with a single thin boxspring bed. However, it is close to the center of the city on foot to your left on the road. This info I found on the web about the hotel in English zenhotels : https://www.zenhotels.com/rooms/chuong_duong_hotel/?q=6178490&guests=2&sid=de6b9ce5-6f19-4fa2-943e-87d494b60a1f

I took the boat ride on the river very nice, huge looking river, and nice views , the ride on a motorboat was nice. I later came back for an on foot visit to the market inland, loaded along a narrow street with many merchants selling almost everything!   ::)

During the day, I went out to eat, and found with local friends the DC 194D restaurant; another complex made for events and weddings, all tuck into a canal ridden place with smaller huts spread out all over, really beautiful to be there and the food was great ,again more local fish and shrimps with the tiger beer. This restaurant is name after a Ho Chi Minh offensive during colonial period. It is open for special events and meetings, weddings etc. I was lucky to be in it as a special guest of some local folks. Therefore, cannot find any relation on the web.

As we left the city going back to Ho Chi Minh city, we needed dinner so we stop on the road at the La Ca restaurant , 118/15A Tran Van Kheo, P Cai Khe, Q Ninh Kieu, TP Can Tho city along the road 1A. Here we had pork ribs, cobia fish, and budweiser beers ! Foody Vietnam has something on it here: https://www.foody.vn/can-tho/suon-nuong-la-ca

The official Vietnam tourist office: https://vietnam.travel/

I have a French webpage Mekong Tourisme on info of My Tho: https://www.mekongtourisme.com/destination/detail/My_Tho_Vietnam_13.html

And a Dutch webpage Vietnam Site  in English on My Tho: https://www.vietnamsite.nl/mythoeng.htm

There now fully done as best possible as some of the sites are not available on this exotic trip to Vietnam. Hope you enjoy My Tho as I did.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!