Skip to content The 2009 route
The Vietnam episode of Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey began on the Mekong at Chau Doc, near the Cambodian border, with floating villages and the market. It went on to Can Tho, the delta’s trading hub, then to Saigon, where he stayed at the Hotel Majestic and visited Ben Thanh Market. He then moved north to Hanoi and finished at Ha Long Bay. What we liked then still stands: it showed Vietnamese food as more than snake’s blood and shock.
Following it in 2026
The southern half is easy to repeat. Chau Doc, Can Tho and Saigon are all in our guides, and the Saigon night markets are a good place to eat. The Majestic sits on the Saigon river and has its own transfer page. For the north, see Hanoi.