Guidebook You could be in Cambodia
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Overview

You could be in Cambodia

Tra Vinh is “one of the prettiest towns in the Mekong Delta,” says Daily Travel. With more than 140 Khmer pagodas dotting the province, it’s a “quiet place for exploring the Mekong’s little-touted Cambodian connection.” About 300,000 ethnic Khmer live in Tra Vinh province, but they may seem “an invisible minority” as they all speak fluent Vietnamese and there’s “nothing outwardly distinguishing about their clothing or lifestyle.” Dig a bit deeper, though, you’ll discover that “Khmer culture is alive and well in these parts of Vietnam.”  

“Dotted around the farmland are Khmer temples,” writes Vagabond Baker, “architectural legacies left over from the great Khmer empire that left behind a substantial ethnic Khmer population in the Mekong Delta that is still present today.” Cycling around the countryside, “you’d be forgiven for thinking you had suddenly been transported to Cambodia such is the proliferation of Khmer culture.” In addition to pagodas, notes Fodors, there's an “eerily beautiful square pond outside of town, another relic of the Khmer kingdom that once ruled this area.”

Overview
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