The first major urban conglomeration to rise from the edge of the verdant Mekong Delta, My Tho is a patchwork of crooked timber huts and tin-shack houses clinging precariously to the water’s edge.

Most travellers head in on day trips for a rustic escape from nearby Saigon. Accordingly, My Tho tourist guides will show them the clusters of fishing shacks and rural villages that pepper the banks of the Mekong to the east and west as they lose themselves in the water channels of the river. Nearby, the wondrous Tortuga, Dragon, Phoenix and Unicorn Islands reveal jungle-shrouded enclaves where rice liquor and honeyed teas flow beneath the papaya groves. These provide the perfect appetizer for My Tho’s frenetic bazaars, which burst forth from the riverside walks in a fray of steamy noodle stalls and hawker emporiums, laden with lances of grilled meat and skewers of boiled corn ears. Visitors looking for a cultural twist away from the everyday hustle can look to explore the Vinh Trung Pagoda on the outskirts of town