Bac Lieu is the capital of Bac Lieu Province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Judging by the lack of travel information online and the small choice of hotels on the booking sites, it’s fair to say that it doesn’t receive many visitors.
I was in Bac Lieu partly because it was on the way to my next transit destination. I flew to Ca Mau and then made my way to Soc Trang to get the ferry to Con Dao. Bac Lieu is about halfway between Ca Mau and Soc Trang, so it would have been rude to not make a visit. I was also there because I’m making a point of visiting provincial capitals while I am hiding out in Vietnam during the Great Pandemic.
Map of Bac Lieu
Places in Bac Lieu mentioned in this article.
[Map of Bac Lieu.]
Bac Lieu notes
From the little information I gleaned from the internet, the highlight of the city appeared to be the theatre at Hung Vuong Square, so that is where I began my exploration.
The Cao Van Lau Theater is three round buildings with conical hats for roofs. On paper that sounds like a cheesy idea, but to their credit, they made this work.
The theatre opened in 2014, and it is used as a theatre and convention space.
In the theater grounds is an aircraft on display from the war.
The city square features the Moon-Lute Statue, and it turns out that the city has a traditional music festival. Despite my initial thoughts of it being a city with few tourists, Bac Lieu has been proactive in promoting domestic tourism. This is something I’ve been thinking about while I have been visiting the provinces of Vietnam. I’ve been looking for a breakdown of tourism numbers by province, so if anyone knows let me know.
Hung Vuong Square is a big open space that is too hot to hang out in the daytime heat. At night though it comes alive with strollers, kids playing, and all kinds of vendors.
Near the square is a monument to the Tet Offensive of January 1968, carved in the socialist-modernist style.
Beyond Hung Vuong Square, the main area of interest is around the central market on the riverfront.
While the main market building isn’t as remarkable as Sa Dec or Long Xuyen, it’s the surrounding streets with the market activity that makes this area interesting.
There are many old shophouses around the market that suggest a more glorious past.
On the other side of the river there are some interesting temples, such as the Cao Dai temple.
Walking along the river I was struck by how many more nice old buildings there were, and that with a bit of love they could become a tourism attraction. The old Bac Lieu Hotel should be a famous place to stay in the Mekong Delta.
My idea of renovating these old buildings was not an original thought, as there was a plan to restore 21 French colonial homes on the banks of the Bac Lieu River. This report was from 2012, so it doesn’t appear that much progress has been made since then.
One of the old houses is the Bac Lieu Mandarin’s Son Museum, also known as Bac Lieu Dandy’s house. The Vietnam Tourism website describes him as the most famous dandy in the Southern province of Bac Lieu in early 20th century. There is something to be said for being a big fish in a small pond rather than another fish in a big pond. He would have just been an unknown dandy forgotten by time if he moved to Saigon.
Many of the buildings on the Dien Bien Phu riverfront are shophouses that are covered up by advertising or unsympathetic extensions. Once again I find myself wandering through a city in the Delta wondering what might have been if only they had kept a few streets of heritage architecture intact.
If the riverwalk was tidied up it would make this a great area to stay.
The Bac Lieu River connects to a canal that goes all the way to Ca Mau. This canal follows alongside the road between Ca Mau and Bac Lieu, which I noticed on the bus trip. This would be another good candidate for cargo boat tourism in the Delta.
The Bac Lieu Museum is also in a fine old building.
If you walk around Bac Lieu between the river and Hung Vuong Square you can see glimpses of the past, but most of the old buildings have gone.
[27 Ba Trieu.]
[15 Duong 30/4.]
Coffee
As I’ve noted in my previous provincial wanders, chain cafes are still few and far between outside the main cities of Vietnam. Not even the local chains have established themselves here yet.
I enjoyed an iced coffee at Apollo Coffee.
Food
I didn’t go anywhere that was recommendation-worthy, but I enjoyed this food court near the market on Hai Ba Trung. The road splits in two to form an island in the middle, and there are all kinds of Vietnamese food options here.
I had a good Banh Cuon here.
I stumbled into this duck curry place mainly on the strength of the smiling vendors, who found it amusing to see a random Australian wandering around.
Transport
I got a local bus from Ca Mau, and got a minivan for the bus station to Soc Trang.
There are direct bus services to Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City.
Another excellent travel report from a less explored southern area of Vietnam. Makes you want to see and experience it all for yourself.
Hope to visit soon. Thanks James.
Thanks Huw!
I agree with H.G.at 1.25pm on Bac Lieu.But I need 48 hours per day! I,almost, cry when I see the old buildings neglected.
It’s hard work watching these old buildings slowly crumbling away.
Love your work and stories. I went to Vietnam for the first time with my partner 3 years ago. Best holiday i had. My partner being vietnamese took me to places tourist dont see. Too be honest i wanted to see the real vietnam. Hopefully when the covid is finished with and the world has been vaccinated we all share our travel experiences once again. Once again you do a great job telling myself news from my seco
und home.
Regards
Andrew
Thanks Andrew, glad to have you following along!
My wife is from Bac Lieu and we spent some time there a couple of years ago. Everyone was so nice there, which is kind of the norm for Vietnam it seems. We stayed at Tran Vinh hotel and spent a lot of time at that little street market. There was such a sweet little old lady that would play with our kids there, I hope she is still doing well.
Sounds like the typical provincial experience, which I love here
I was an American army soldier stationed in BacLieu in 1963-1964 during the vietnam war I worked for army intelligence as a radio operator for advisers It’s been over 50 years sense my time in BacLieu. Your pictures of your stop in BacLieu Brought memories back to me. Noticed French 2 story house where we lived in along the river Now it’s a hotel. Thank u for brining back memories I hd of BacLieu. The Vietnamese people where so friendly and kind to the nine army solders who base camp in BacLieu
Hi John, thanks for posting about your experience there!
I did not go all the Way south to BAC LIEU, but rather far from the South I was held by a solid crowd of local visiteres to a Temple Ground off the Road. For the first time in 70 years they were allowed to visit the Ground in the local forest area. I had no Real idea of the location but joined as a foreigner, I was velcomed by the Many visitators.
I’m on my way to bac lieu tomorrow,for religious purposes this is a trip many Vietnamese people take. Roy. England.
I, Tom Tiller , a retired pediatrician from South Carolina lived in Bac Lieu for a year – December 1964 – December, 1965. I was an American civilian general practitioner there, working in the main hospital, named for Phan Dinh Phung. I had been “loaned” from the US Army to the State Department which, in turn, loaned me to the Vietnamese government which farmed me out to the hospital in Bac Lieu:
For me, it was a wonderful, adventurous year, full of fascinating clinical challenges working mainly with children and adults from the province. I made fast friends with my staff, my interpreter, the physicians there and came to know some folks in the community.
I look back on that year with the fondest memories., Thomas L, Tilller, M. D, Retired
Thanks Thomas, interesting to hear your story!