Chau Doc is a city in An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The city is located by the Hau River (a branch of the Mekong River flowing through Vietnamese territory) and Vinh Te canal.
Chau Doc is situated 250 kilometres (160 mi) west of Ho Chi Minh City. It takes about six hours to travel by bus from Ho Chi Minh City.
Anyone who travels to and from Phnom Penh by boat will pass by the city. Aside from the colors, visitors will also captivated by the local people in this town, including the xe dap loi drivers, are nice and friendly.
Chau Doc History
Chau Doc became part of Vietnam in the middle of the 18th century as a gift, a reward for helping the Cambodian monarch to put down an insurrection. Unsurprisingly, it has a high proportion of ethnic Kh’mer people among the population here, easily identifiable by their darker skins and a chequered scarf instead of Vietnam’s ubiquitous conical hat.
There’s also a fair number of ethic Cham and Chinese people, and enough Christians to fill a local cathedral, making up a rare pot-pourri of cultures and religions.
How to get to Chau Doc?
To get to Chau Doc, one can go either by bus or boat. Local buses depart and arrive from the station a few kilometers north in Le Loi.
As for the boats, there are those which travel from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh and vice versa; these boats leave at 07:00 and they arrive at 16:30.
Chau Doc when to visit?
Chau Doc experiences two seasons: wet and dry. The wet season is from May until November; the dry season is from December until April.
The best time to visit this city is during the dry season, a time when tourists will not be inconvenienced by rainy weather.
What to explore in Chau Doc?
Sam Mountain
The main attraction in Chau Doc is the Sam Mountain, which is about seven kilometers north of town. The mountain is not really high (284m), it just seems that way because of the plains of Mekong.
This tourist destination is considered a local pilgrimage site because the mountain is home to many shrines and temples and there is a colorful temple at the base, and smaller places of worship on the way up the mountain. However, the most religiously significant is the Ba Chua Xu Temple, which has its own festival held between April and June.
Read more: Sam mountain
Tra Su Bird Sanctuary
Another attraction worth visiting in this area is the Tra Su Bird Sanctuary. It has a 23-metre high observation tower, enabling visitors to see over the reserve and the stunning countryside that surrounds it.
Read more: Tra Su bird sanctuary
Tuc Dup Hill
An attraction history lovers would surely appreciate is the Tuc Dup Hill. This is where the U.S. forces failed to stop the small-scale insurgencies in the Mekong Delta during the anti-American war (civil war). The hill was guarded and dominated by the Viet Cong during the U.S. assault, which lasted for four months. Near the hill, one will see graves and memorials.
Read more: Tuc Dup Hill
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