Rolling Down the River

Autumn, our guide, gives me a gift.  I think she's worried I'm going to get sunburned.

A few of the hundreds of boats with the bamboo poles advertising their produce.

Our last full day in Vietnam starts off early, with a trip to the Cai Rang Market on the river.  This is another floating market, made up of hundreds of boats.  The vertical bamboo poles at the front of the boat are used to advertise what they are selling - they simply hang the item at the top of it.

The 7-11 boat making its rounds to all the market boats.

It's near the end of the market time (we didn't want to interfere with people trying to do their daily business) but it's fun to see the last shoppers of the day...and the tourist long-tail boats circling around the market.  People live on their boats so you see their sleeping hammocks and other household goods.  No one seems to be getting rich from selling their items, but everyone has cell phones. My favorite thing to see is the "7-11" boat (my nickname for it) - it's the little boat going around to all the sellers of the market, with convenience store items (like sodas, snacks, batteries, etc).  There are also boats selling prepared foods (like fresh bread) because the market vendors can't leave or find time to make breakfast.

Taking a break from selling at the market

Very nice looking house

Our own boat travels along the river for a bit, and it's interesting to see the houses that line it.  Some are very nice, and wouldn't be out of place on the lakes around Seattle.  Other ones look like they have been made with whatever was scraped together from the trash heap.  Since they're open to the water, we see inside a lot of the residences, and even some of the corrugated tin ones have flat screen tvs and satellite dishes.

I hope the river doesn't flood...

Even several hours outside of Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) you see evidence of development.

Convention center and hotel in Can Tho

Interesting juxtaposition of the multi-story ornate building with the waterfront domiciles.

Inside the rice factory

We make a stop at a local rice factory.  Autumn explains how all the rice bits are used, so nothing goes to waste.  If it doesn't feed humans, it goes to animals.  It's very specific, too - certain pieces go to pigs, and others to chickens.

All the different kinds of rice that comes out of the factory.

We also see the machine that makes the glass noodles from tapioca sheets.  I'm very bad at grabbing all the strands as they come out of the machine, so I don't actually help to collect it to bag and sell.

Not a future career option for me.

While at the rice factory we cross a "real" monkey bridge. Good thing we practiced at the rest stop yesterday!  No one falls in the river.

I'd hate to do this in heels!

The owners of the rice factory live on site, and create their own garden plot over the river. 

Would this be considered free range vegetables?

They may have smart phones and tvs, but apparently washers and dryers are not appliances that are commonly found in the area.  I developed a dislike of laundry ever since I lived on the fourth floor of a college dorm and the washers/dryers were located on the basement floor, with no elevator.  This is harder though!

Very common clothing in Vietnam - matching fabric for shirt & pants.

How clean is this water??

And the dry cycle...

Once again we see a change in the cafe seating.  In Saigon it's a typical table and chairs, and in the countryside it's hammocks.  Here we see reclining lounge style chairs at all the cafes.  Interesting how seating changes regionally!

Sit back, relax, have a drink!

I wouldn't want to walk across them, let alone ride a vehicle!

We head back to the road so we can visit our final city in Vietnam, Chau Doc.  Along the way we see some very rickety wooden driveways.  I can't get a good picture, but they do not look safe!  I'm also able to get photographic evidence that a moped can carry much more than you ever thought possible.

How much does this stuff weigh??

Um, these didn't come from the canal we sailed down yesterday, did they?

Today's lunch break/rest stop also includes a crocodile farm.  At first I don't think some of them are real; they're sleeping with their heads up and mouths open.  Their throat looks completely blocked off, as if they were just a statue.  But if you wait long enough, they do move.  The onsite restaurant does serve crocodile, so I guess it would be considered a working farm...

pagoda selfie!

Once we reach Chau Doc we travel up Sam Mountain. Cars aren't allowed, and we're going to hike it, but there are moped drivers who will bring you up as a passenger.  So once again I'm stuck on the back of a bike, doing a lot of praying, but luckily they are good drivers and we arrive safely at the Cavern Pagoda (Phuoc Dien Tu).  It's worth the scary ride.  

female Buddhas, complete with lipstick

There are female Buddhas!  Who knew?  (I didn't.)  This temple is one that seems more associated with women due to a legend.  A woman was being abused by her husband's family in Saigon so she came to the mountain to pray.   Two cobras heard her chanting, and after listening to her they converted and led pious lives (I guess that means they stopped biting people).  When she died they disappeared, never to bother anyone again.  There are statues of the snakes here, too.

 

The pagoda is built into the mountain, so there are caves and grottos intertwined with the buildings.  Often you turn around and find another charming little nook. 

beautiful little side garden

I could have set up this picture better, but it's Autumn & Steve
through the doorway, with the Vietnamese landscape in the background.

The black stone of the mountain itself is included as part of the grounds.

You can see both Vietnam and Cambodia here.

The views are gorgeous, too.  It rained while we drove to the city, but it stopped while we were wandering around the pagoda.  It looks over both Vietnam and Cambodia, but battles have taken place between the two countries over the ownership of this section of land as recently as forty years ago.  We don't ask Autumn personal details, but she speaks as though she doesn't like Cambodians.

He looks like he should be reading Harry Potter.

My favorite part of the pagoda are the little baby Buddha statues that are displayed throughout.  It would be worth it to hunt through the pagoda to find all of them!  Several are located in the lotus pond.  Of course I like the "studious" Buddha...though my absolute favorite is the baby "Jedi" Buddha!

I wonder if this is where Star Wars got its inspiration?

See the satellite dish?

After another harrowing ride down the mountain, we go back to the river to visit another floating community, the Cham village.  They're the minority Muslim population in the region.  They are a recognized ethnic group in Vietnam, but they don't seem to be accepted by the population at large.  Once again we see a variety of houseboats, some looking like purchased manufactured homes (complete with white picket fences) and others cobbled together.  Again we see the flat screen tvs and satellite dishes.  Autumn tells us they run on generators.  They support themselves primarily through fishing.  We visit with some of the people, and they are polite and welcoming like everyone else we've met in Vietnam.  

Pet dogs are everywhere - even on the boats!

As we go back to our boat to head to our hotel, we're treated to a beautiful sunset for our concluding night in Vietnam.

Monkey bridge at sunset