this was a pretty muted floating market at cai be, along the mekong delta that we visited while on our short two-day stay at the lodge – not the colourful women-in-hats-with-fruit-and-flowers-on-small-boats sort of scene we (and perhaps you) were expecting when you hear something as evocative as a floating market.
we were told by our guide that the small sampans or boats were banned a few years ago for being unsafe, which is why they switched to these larger vessels. admittedly, this probably makes not much difference to the locals – it’s something probably more revered and sought after by tourists, but this was a proper local market, with very few tourists (apart from the others at our lodge) and mostly residents plying and buying goods.
interestingly and rather sensibly, the boats advertise their goods and produce by way of either hanging them by the mast on the exterior of the boat, or by tying them atop a tall pole. it’s an idyllic scene, even if not as colourful as we’d initially thought – and it seemed like most people buy things at the local (land) market that we visited after this boat ride, but more on that in the next post!
more on the mekong lodge:
andmorefood 
Haha! The large vessels are probably much safer! I was on the other end of the Mekong River in Bangkok and my very small boat/sampan “capsized”. Thankfully, I didn’t fall into the river because I was on the side where the boat was lodged between the stilts of houses (angering the homeowner). But when I turned around, I saw the boatman climbing up into the boat! ;P
that was lucky! I don’t think I would have wanted to fall into the water :/ it was remarkably murky! was it pretty up on the thai side though?
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