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Published: April 18th 2009
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Boats with eyes
Local folklore says that 20 years ago the delta was full of crocodiles, which all got scared and ran away thanks to the eyes painted on the boats, which stare down at the waters! Think Vietnam and think ......
Hammocks - dark green cloth hammocks, at every roadside shop. have a glass of iced coffee and top it up with a nap!
Boats of all sizes and shapes - with so much of Vietnam being under river water, boats are an integral part of life. Pets have their own seat on the boat. A pet dog will be staring into the sea for hours atop a boat, hammocks for the babies, radio connections, water storage urns, cooking stoves.. its a house almost to the people who use boats for their work.
Pho - (pronounced as "fuh" as to rhyme with fum without the 'm', and not as "fo") - soupy rice noodles had for breakfas, lunch, dinner, snacks and any other time as well!
Boat with 2 eyes - all boats have 2 large eyes - red, white and black in color, glaring down into the river menacingly - apparently that is why the crocodiles all got scared away from the Mekong Delta, is what the locals say!
Potted Plants - houses, shops, restaurants, wayside stalls - big or small - rich or poor - everyone has got pots
Local villagers commuting to the market
The boats are old, look rickety - but last amazingly long! For locals, boats are an integral part of their life. of plants in their balcony/ verandah/ windowsill/ garden. In the city as well as in the rural areas - every house owner loves plants - and even in the poorest of houses on stilts on the river - you would see potted plants reaching out to the sunshine. Amazing - I think its got to do with attracting the positive energies as per feng shui.
Bonsai plants in pairs - I thought the miniature bonsai plants were a Japanese thing - and here what I found different was two things. First - all bonsai plants are kept in pairs - so for example there will be 2 pots of champa flower, not 1 pot. Secondly, the miniature plants are huge - because there are miniature trees which have been grown now for many years - what would have been a 6-7 metre tree, is not a 2 metre bonsai tree!
Dogs that dont bark - As we passed by many small huts and cottages which have a porch at the front, we would invariably see a pup or a dog. As we passed the dog would stare at us with a lively interest, often wagging his tail, and
Traffic at the Floating Market!
Each morning at 6 am, the marketplace is crowded with wholesalers and retailers, all out to shop! Melons, pumpkins never barking. It was almost as if these dogs have grown up in a world of sharing territory, of welcoming strangers, and assuming no threat. The postmen in Vietnam must be a happy lot!
Conical Hats - the ubiquitious conical hat that you expect every self-respecting rural Viet to have.
Fruits, fruits, and more fruits - fruits that you have seen before, and fruits that look unlike anything you have seen before. A plethora of fruits. You could live on fruits and not tire of boredom.
Strong iced filter coffee - Hot strong (you have to believe me when I say its strong!) coffee which gets filtered through a strainer placed on top of a cup - and then is transferred to a glass full of ice, and sipped slowly. Often condensed milk is mixed in it. Different, very different.
Snake Wine - maybe its become a symbol perpetuated by gaping tourisms or maybe the locals actually partake of it - don't know - but yet every shop displays bottles of rice wine with a poor bloke of a cobra peering out of it through its glassy eyes. Didn't see anyone open a bottle and drink
Home sweet home - plants at the helm!
Potted plants are very much the in-thing - something to do with positive energies and spirits - or feng shui. from it.
Thin graceful women - for some reason I don't recollect seing a single fat Vietnamese woman - I found all of them close to scrawny - very graceful, and gracious. Men were often lazy and playing cards or sleeping in a hammock, and the women were almost always working,. Come to think of it I never say a woman in a hammock.
Two wheeler scooters - They are the new wildlife of the cities - untamed, mammoth, unstoppable mass of bikes.
War mementos - I was surprised, nay, shocked to see small wooden land-mine shaped momentoes in a tourist shop, amongst other momentoes like fans, caps and other wooden toys. Kids are so used to seing land mines, they actually make tiny toys which are bought as momentoes! Gawd, why would anyone want to carry a tiny landmine back home after visiting Vietnam?
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kay
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snake ?
Hello, Do you know where to find different chinese medecine as Snake wine ? I already own this one: http://www.asiansnakewine.com But looking for different types of natural medecine. Thanks for help. (by the way I found your website on Google when looking for Snake wine bottles)