Alright, so I gotta share this experience I had. Someone, I think it was my cousin Dave, mentioned “Can Tho Catfish Basketball.” Sounded pretty cool, right? Like some super local, intense team name. I was heading to Vietnam anyway, so I figured, why not try to catch a game, see what the local sports scene is like in the Mekong Delta.
So, I get to Can Tho. Nice place, very river-focused, as you’d expect. My first mission: find out about this Catfish Basketball. I started asking around. Hotel reception? Blank stares. Tried a few local spots, coffee shops, you know, places where people might chat. “Basketball?” Yes. “Catfish?” They’d point towards the river or the market. Not exactly helpful for finding a sports team.
This is where things got a bit weird.
I’m persistent, though. Dave made it sound like a big deal. “Oh, you gotta see the Catfish play!” he said. So I kept at it. Someone eventually motioned for me to head towards the big central market. Okay, maybe there’s a community board there? Or a ticket stall? I was picturing a small, dusty office, maybe some faded posters.
My Big “Discovery” at the Market
The market was… an experience. Loud, crowded, smells of everything from ripe fruit to fresh fish. And yes, so many catfish. Massive ones, swimming in shallow tubs, ready for sale. I’m walking around, still looking for any sign of basketball, feeling increasingly confused.
Then, I see this old woman watching me. I try my best broken Vietnamese and gestures for basketball. She grins, a big, toothy grin. She points to one of the biggest catfish flopping in a basin. Then, I swear, she mimes dribbling a basketball and taking a shot. And then she just laughs. Her friends around her started chuckling too.
It hit me. There was no “Can Tho Catfish Basketball” team. Or if there is, it’s so obscure that absolutely no one I met knew it as that, or Dave was pulling my leg, or it got totally lost in translation. I felt like a complete idiot. Standing in the middle of a fish market, asking about a basketball team named after the main product.
My “quest” for Catfish Basketball turned into an unintentional, very sweaty tour of the Can Tho fish market. I didn’t see a single basketball hoop. Not one. But I saw more catfish than I’ve ever seen in my life.
Honestly, it was pretty frustrating at the moment. I’d carved out an afternoon for this. You know how it is when you build something up in your head? And then it turns out to be… well, nothing. Or worse, you end up being the punchline for some market vendors.
Getting back to my guesthouse was another mini-adventure. Tried to get a ride-hailing bike, but the GPS kept sending the poor guy to the wrong side of a canal. Ended up walking way more than I wanted to in that heat, feeling a bit defeated and smelling vaguely of fish.
So, yeah. That was my experience with “Can Tho Catfish Basketball.” It wasn’t a game, it wasn’t a team. It was me, very confused, in a market. I guess the lesson is, maybe double-check what your cousin Dave tells you about obscure international sports teams. Or just enjoy the fish market for what it is.
Sometimes travel is like that. You go looking for one thing, and you find something completely different, and usually, way less glamorous. Still makes for a story, though. Just not the one I expected to tell.
