Life on the River (part 2) )

You would be missing the fun of living on the river if you couldn't jump into the water from the bridge!

or if your pet ducks didn't swim around in your front yard canal.

But there is still work to do: wood to transport,

watermelons to sell, 

bottled juice, soda, coconut water or hot coffee to offer.

Heck, here's the whole grocery store set up for you on your homeward commute...

Some houses don't look too sturdy on their rickety pole foundations. But here are a few with a patio growing what looks like tomatoes and other plants, as well as a vehicle (boat) in the 'driveway'.

Coming home

Neighbors of all income levels.

A new giant coming to the river. How will life change?

Life on the River (part 1)

Since we did a lot of countryside riding in the Mekong Delta, we saw many occupations that were closely related to the river and its fertility, flow, and abundance.

Rice paddies of course, often combined with coconut palms.
Green and beautiful.

Some rice comes to this little local rice mill for processing. 

The coconuts get loaded onto the boats, 

and after loading, the workers take a little break.

While others unload boatloads of bricks.

A fishing couple comes home from fishing and puts their boat away.

and ties it securely against the river rise or fall.

Some folks live in their river boats and have a spare boat for fishing.

Food -Viet Nam

Probably the tastiest food I've ever eaten was in Viet Nam. That's not really an exaggeration, most of the group felt the same way. The food was amazing: the ingredients so fresh and the seasonings so complex and complimentary that no matter where we ate, from little sidewalk shops sitting on blue plastic chairs, to four-star restaurants with cloth napkins, we would take a bite and look up in wonder, wondering how could it taste so good? Too bad I can't provide you with a sample, and no, the americanized Vietnamese food we find at home isn't as good. Sorry.

I don't have a lot of photos of the cooked dishes but I can show you the markets with all their variety.
Not that I tasted everything! I ate mostly vegetarian, but many of the group were daring eaters and were not ever disappointed.

Fantastic greens. These are a big part of the flavoring of the stews and noodle dishes.

There is always fresh fish --or octopus, or eels, or shrimp.

Poultry.

Bullfrogs, also eaten in Singapore. Considered very nutritious -and not just for their legs.

Piggies going to market.

Piggies and cow bits at the market.

Fruit: Here you have: mangosteen, longan, passion fruit, oranges, dragon fruit. Second row: lychee, dragon fruit, apples, water apples, limes. Third row rambutan and more longan.

and finally, Durian!