January 12, 2007
Rest Day in Can tho: Floating Market Trip
Our alarm clock wakes us just before 5am. At 5:30 our boat driver picks us up at the hotel and walks us to his boat moored at the river side. It is still dark as we set off downstream. There are many boats anchored in the river or moored in rows off the shore. We stop at a floating gas station and reach the first floating market at a wide bend in the river.
For about a kilometer large and small boats move around each other buying and selling mostly vegetables and fruit. Most boats are motorized, but there are also women paddling their boats standing up and into the chaos. We slowly move between the market boats, turn around and do it again. Then we travel further downstream and turn onto a canal to reach the Phong Dien floating market. It's smaller but more colorful and mostly paddle boats.
Boats are loaded high with produce, coconuts, sugarcane, melons, papaya and much more. Our driver turns off the engine and slowly poles us through the market. We don't see any other muzungus (reminding this is swahili for white person, our term for tourists) and the locals go about their business without being bothered by our presence and cameras. After the markets, we make our way through a long series of canals and rivers. We go down some very small waterways, the tide has gone down. At one point it's so narrow and shallow that our driver has to use his long bamboo pole to push us through the muddy stream.
At about noon time, we stop at our driver's house. His wife and two sons are there, together with about a half dozen other kids playing on and around the two billiard tables that are set out on the house wide covered concrete porch in front of the house. Next door live his parents and grand parents. We eat some fresh fruit and are taken on a little tour of the orchard and garden behind the house. He picks some fruit and we have a try. In the back of the orchard are several grave sites and monuments for family members.
Back at the house we are surprised by a full meal set out for us: fish, rice, cooked and raw vegetables, iced tea and a shot glass with strong home made rice wine that we share. We each have a small bowl with white rice and pick at the other food. It is very tasty. We are not sure if the meal was included in the trip, but we planned to tip our driver anyway.
The final ride back to town is a full boat, all the kids pile in as well. We get on the main river (the Basac) and head back for Cantho. A full day, the afternoon we rest and have an early dinner nearby.
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Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 4,037 km (2,507 miles)
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