FLOATING MARKETS AND OTHER STUFF

We have seen and done so much and with limited internet connectivity and when we were connected, it was so slow, I have not been able to do the blog as often as I would have liked.  So, in no particular order, I will tell of some of our adventures. 

We were out a few times on a sampan boat that carried all of us.  One adventure took us down a canal on the Mekong to see the floating market place.  It was not quite as I expected from pictures I had seen, but this one was for fruits and vegetables.  From a pole on the bow, they hang a sample of what they are selling so you can easily row your long boat up to make a purchase.  For instance in this picture I show some unknown Asian vegetables and I think that in the second photo you can see how crammed in everyone is. It was a busy place for sure. 

floating market

The sampan also took us to a village where they were making bricks.  I still find it very fascinating that there are specific villages for specific things.  We saw a village that wove cloth, a village that made silver articles, a village that wove straw mats and the brick village.  We visited a candy making place and a place that made rice crackery things.  We made purchases at most places, but not at the brick factory.

Along the Mekong we noticed that every boat has eyes.  As legend has it, the Mekong was full of crocodiles or alligators and other beasts and so to protect the people in the boats that were travelling along the waterways, eyes were painted on the bows to show these river monsters that the floating craft was a bigger beast than they were so they better beware and leave well enough alone!  The plan must have worked cause there aren't any crocodiles or alligators in there now.

We have visited temples of all kinds and one thing is perfectly clear to me - I hate the smell of incense - It is everywhere - but especially in the temples.  They light incense like some of us would light candles - to remember someone who has passed or also to accompany a prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

Trying to understand the traffic signals is nuts, but at least in Saigon, there are traffic lights.  They count down from when red will turn green and when green will turn red.  Drivers here anticipate the light turning green and are usually half way through the intersection before it actually happens.  People here drive with their horns all the time.  Most of the time it is to say, I am coming up behind you so be prepared.  They don't honk in anger.  Pedestrians do not have the right of way.  In fact the streets everywhere we have seen are a free for all with motorcycles, cars, trucks, bicycles, push carts and people walking.  We have only seen a couple of accidents and nothing serious which is amazing considering what the streets look like at any time.

Another interesting thing is that on the rice fields or farm land, family members who pass are buried on the family farm land.  There the spirits of the departed will watch over the farm and the family members.  We saw a lot of the tombs as we were driving from the boat into Saigon.

Well, I want to get this posted with pictures before it is time to go out for dinner.  We have a good internet connection now that we are in the hotel in Saigon.  Two nights here, 3 in Bangkok and then home - yes I am looking forward to home!