Tales of a Professional Nomad: Floating Markets and Sky Bars- Part IV Asia

As we headed out of Can Tho we decided make a stop to experience the Cai Rang floating market which ended up to be one of the highlights of the trip for me. Every day locals gather on the Mekong River Delta to exchange goods and buy food for the week. In order to do this they must hop from boat to boat. They will know who is selling goods and who is looking to buy based on the pole they have raised. Families live on these boats and sell their food that has come directly from their farm. It is quite a fascinating tradition and something that was so cool to witness first hand.

Vietnamese woman selling melons

You can see they live in the back of the boat and sell from the front

We decided to hop off our boat and try some of the local fruits. I had the most delicious, fresh pineapple I had ever tasted and sampled some other exotic fruits- tried so many I forgot the names.

Heading off the boat

Vietnamese woman and her daughter carving out pineapples to sell

So juicy!

Exotic fruit boat

On our way out of the floating market

After the floating market it was time for our last and final long stretch of driving. After several hours we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam. Making our way into the city I noticed the tall skyscrapers and city lights along with the congested traffic and constant honking of horns- reminded me a bit of home. It was our last night out with the group so our CEO, Kinal, wanted to take us somewhere special. We ended up at the Skybar, a classy rooftop bar overlooking the entire city. As I stood there staring out at a beautiful city I thought to myself, wow, if I didn't know better I would think I was in NYC. I was halfway around the world in such a foreign land, yet at the same time, the city lights and smells felt so familiar after coming from such rural towns of Cambodia. I couldn't believe this was the last night, this group of people had become like family and I couldn't believe it was already time to say goodbye. It was an emotional night full of tears, but I felt so lucky to have had such a life changing experience and be walking away with 17 new friends. If any of you are reading this right now, despite how much time has passed, I still think about you and all of our Asia memories every single day. We all went back to the reality of our own lives but it feels like yesterday that we were bonding over fried tarantulas and jugs of sex on the beach. I hope all of you are well and know that one day our paths will cross again on our next adventures!