6 Best Sights in Soc Trang, Mekong Delta

Twelve kilometers (7½ miles) outside Soc Trang, in the village of Dai Tam, this is the largest Khmer temple and religious school for novice monks in the area. The original pagoda, built in 1815, was destroyed during the Vietnam War and was rebuilt in 1969, the facade completely adorned with mosaic of ceramic bowls and plates—hence the name (chen means bowl). The garden has several thatched huts in which pilgrims can meditate, and a lively market operates in front of the gates. It's well worth visiting during Khmer New Year, April 13--16, if you happen to be in the area.

This eye-poppingly vibrant Vietnamese temple was built more than 200 years ago by a Chinese family called Ngo. A descendant, Ngo Kim Tong, who died in 1970, spent 42 years fashioning the pagoda's brightly colored statues, dragons, and gargoyles. Inside are candles about 40 feet high—each  so big and so broad that two people extending their arms around it can barely reach each other—that have been burning continuously for more than 40 years.

Literally translated as "fresh water lake," the artificial lake has become the town centerpiece with swan-shape paddleboats, garden cafés, a children's playground, and green space. Ho Nuoc Ngot usually hosts the opening ceremony for the annual Ghe Ngo boat races, part of the moon and harvest festival Ok Om Bok, one of the most important celebrations for the southern Vietnamese Khmer community. The boat racing, which takes place on the adjacent Maspero River the 13th, 14th, and 15th days of the 10th lunar month (usually October/November), honors the half-snake water god Naga and symbolically see the rains off to the ocean at the end of the growing season.

Surrounded by graceful palms, the beautiful Khmer Theravada Buddhist temple includes a main ceremonial hall, monk's quarters, stupas, and sala. Originally constructed in the 16th century, when the area was part of the Khmer empire, it was rebuilt in the French-Khmer style at the turn of the 20th century. The exterior of the main hall is adorned in the Khmer tradition with gilded wood carvings, while inside the columns are painted with Chinese motifs of dragons and flowers in black and gold.

In a stucco French colonial-Khmer temple style building originally built in 1938 as a school to teach French, Khmer, and Vietnamese, the museum's small collection of cultural artifacts includes Khmer statues, clothing, antique pots, instruments, and two long, colorful racing boats.

Legend has it that about 400 years ago, Khmer monks constructed this pagoda 3 km (2 miles) from Soc Trang to honor the flying foxes (a type of bat) that live in the surrounding fruit trees. In Buddhism, bats are considered sacred and lucky. Unfortunately, the grounds are not maintained and litter is a problem. Also, now these are few bats compared to years past; the best time to see any is at dawn or dusk. Keep an eye out for the graves of five-hoofed pigs behind the temple; these creatures are believed to be bad luck so are given to the temple to be cared for until their death.