This morning we had our first chance to try the Tai Chi class on board the Jahan. There were a number of enthusiasts who participated.
After breakfast we boarded our sampans to visit the amazing town of Cai Be with its very busy shoreline businesses and scenic floating market. We passed by the prominent Roman Catholic church (nearly 10% of Vietnam is Roman Catholic) and made a stop which gave us an insight into the various uses of rice – it could be made into pop rice candy, rice paste to make “rice paper” used in salad rolls and of course, rice wine, which can be flavoured by herbs, fruits and a cobra or a scorpion, for medicinal purposes of course.
We had a pleasant 50 minute long cruise back to the Jahan, passing countless boats of all sizes loading and unloading their cargos from bags of rice and piles of rice husks to bricks and sand or silt dredged from the river bottom.
In the afternoon, we again embarked on our sampans to visit Binh Thanh Island. On the way, we passed hundreds of fish farms and were told of the production process and the costs involved. Binh Thanh Island, with a population of 3,000 inhabitants, was a popular place to live during the Vietnam War away from the turbulence and bombing. At the village community center which served as a temple dedicated to the local guardian spirit (perhaps the founder of the village), we meet two charming elders, both in their seventies, who shared with us details about their lives. The lady runs a sage grass mat wholesale operation, but in her spare time she is one of the caretakers of the temple. She moved with her family to the island when she was two and has lived there ever since. The man had an interesting story to tell as well. He intentionally damaged his eye so he wouldn’t have to become a soldier and was jailed for three years as a result.
The island has filled with excitable children. Most villagers, as far as we can see, were occupied with the weaving of sage grass mats, which involves two people. Sage grass has a very distinct fragrant smell.
Before dinner we are treated to an interesting lecture by our guide Mr. Nguyen Tri entitled “Xin Chao”. In the evening we enjoyed a Vietnam-style dinner.
