|
| |
|
CHAU DOC |
| |
|
|
| |
Snuggled against the west bank of the Hau Giang River, next to the
Cambodian border, CHAU DOC was under Cambodian rule until the mid-eighteenth
century and still sustains a large Khmer Community. Forays by Pol Pot's
genocidal Khmer Rouge into this corner of the delta led to the
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978, but today Chau Doc is a
bustling, friendly town that's worth visiting. First stop should be the
town's market , located roughly between Quang Trung, Doc Phu Thu, Tran
Hung Dao and Nguyen Van Thoi. A few colonial relics are on parade in
nearby Doc Phu Thu, some of whose grand shop-house terraces flaunt
arched upper-floor windows and decorous wrought-iron struts. A grand,
four-tiered gateway deep in the belly of the market announces Quan Cong
Temple , ornamented with two rooftop dragons and some vivid murals.
Inside, Quan Cong sports a green robe and bejewelled crown.
Northwest up Tran Hung Dao, long boardwalks lead to sizeable stilthouse
communities, and from here, at the junction with Thuong Dang Le, you can
get a ferry across the Hau Giang River to the stilthouses of Con Tien
Island . Opposite the GPO, downriver from the first jetty, a second
jetty runs boats out to Cham-dominated Chau Giang District . Turn right
when you dock, and you'll discover kampung-style wooden houses, sarongs
and white prayer caps that betray the influence of Islam, as do the twin
domes and minaret of the Mubarak Mosque. Just beyond the mosque, another
ferry delivers you back to the west bank, setting you down just below
the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel.
|
| |
|
