Now firmly in Vietnam our first stop of
the day was to a floating fish farm. The fish here is the Vietnamese
Bassa which everyone at home seems intent on not eating. The general
view is that the farming methods are not very good and the fish are
basically raised in near-raw sewage. That isn't the case here as the
water is that of the Mekong. Still not the most pristine of water
environments but certainly better than we have been led to believe.
Maybe the Bassa raised here on these family run farms is only
destined for the local market. I doubt we would get to see any of it
in Australia.
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| Sunrise |
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| Floating fish farm |
A short walk then took us through to a
mat weaving factory where we were shown how the ever-present rattan
mats were woven and coloured.
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| Rattan weaving |
Then, in the cruise company's
ever-expanding list of travel options, we were transported to a silk
factory by rickshaw. This is the area in Vietnam where they make the
famous black silk, made from raw silk dyed some 40-50 times using a
dye made from a locally grown fruit. Apparently this fruit only grows
in this local area and is rare and therefore very expensive.
Hollywood celebrities seem to love it.
Another rickshaw ride back to the boat
and lunch, and resting. Later in the afternoon our Vietnamese guide
gave us a talk about Vietnam and something about his life.
Information such as this is very informative though the fine detail
will probably be lost over time the general information goes into the
memory banks for use at some time down the track.
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