Sampan Sailing / Island Exploring / Rickshaw Ride / Fish Farm
Yesterday evening we arrived at Tân Châu and anchored off shore. So this morning as we exited the Viking Saigon we boarded a traditional Vietnamese boat, a sampan. As we exited the ship we were offered a pancho as rain seemed imminent. We've been oh-so-lucky to this point as it's the rainy season and not a single day has seen our adventure interrupted or disrupted by the rain. When we were here eight years ago it was an every day event that there would be afternoon tropical thunderstorms. But it's only rained one day and we didn't have anything going on that afternoon. Not the case today. It began raining as we set sail and it continued to rain steadily until we returned to the ship. But to be honest, Kim..Valerie...and John all agreed with me that it added to the character of the day as we truly saw how every day life is in Vietnam. And at the end when we returned to the ship we all agreed that today had been an amazing day, one of the best "real life" experiences so far. The sampan sailed for a good twenty minutes up the river until we reached the "evergreen island" where we turned into the canal system. We crept along past fishing boats, small local homes, and fields of agriculture. We finally arrived at our "dock" and exited the boat - very carefully :) We walked for about a half mile (ponchos on and rain steadily coming down) as our program director and guide Bob pointed out the variety of crops and how the rural families lived their daily lives here. We arrived at our host family's home and sat on the ground floor in provided chairs as we learned about their daily life. They invited us into their simple home where they are very happy and allowed us to walk through. Back on the sampan and headed for the small city of Tân Châu on shore.
Once we arrived Bob explained about a local temple that was at the spot and then we boarded rickshaws for a 15 minute tour of the old city. It was "interesting" to be riding in the rain and seeing all the locals, also out in the rain on their bicycles, motor scooters and walking about. The weather is just a part of life in Vietnam this time of the year. Got back on the sampan and went back upriver about ten minutes to reach a local fish farm. When the river level is low, these structures sit some twenty plus feet in the air. At this time of the year they are at water level with live fish filling the structure below the water. When the fish have matured they are sold in the market or to a middle man for exporting around the world. The farmer turned on the feeding machine and the pools of fish went frantically crazy as the fish battled for the food and the waters churned like a white water rapids! Back on board for the short trip back to the Viking Saigon with another fascinating adventure in the books!
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