Early this morning we departed the Jahan and boarded two covered water taxis to visit the fascinating fishing town of Chau Doc. On our way to land we slowly cruised by the “water” market, where fishing and boating families can shop anchored vessels of all shapes and sizes to find everything from a hot breakfast to go to produce and meat. Simply pull your vessel along side the vendor’s vessel and bargain with the seller for his wares!
Once ashore we were treated to yet another local mode of transportation, this time riding on local trishaws (oddly-configured cyclos). We took a circular tour of the market area and arrived back at the local temple honoring heroes of the community. Then we casually strolled through the marketplace, admiring the colorful display of local fruits and vegetables, as well as every possible household good imaginable.
Perhaps the highlight of the morning was a visit to the Nguyen family fish farm, located in mesh pens right below their wooden floors of their floating farm! Ingeniously the fish are purchased as fingerlings, then fed a combination of commercial fish food as well as food scraps processed right here at the farm. Hand fed twice a day, as many as 100,000 fish will be brought to market in just under a year. Primarily the fish are tilapia and catfish. The average price for these fish is about $2 USD per kilo, and at harvesting time most of the fish will weigh just about a kilo each. If they meet standards, the fish will be processed, frozen, and exported to the U.S., Canada, and Europe. If the fish price is good at harvest time, then the payoff can support a family very comfortably for a year.
The day concluded with a walking tour of the prosperous little village of My An Hung. The village produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, specializing in red-hot chili peppers. We were invited by a local family to sample some of the succulent exotic fruits, such as durian, jackfruit, mangosteen, dragon fruit, and other seasonal fruits as well as boiled corn. Along with the food we enjoyed a concert of traditional Vietnamese music performed by our hosts, accompanied by hot tea.
The entire village was very excited and turned out to witness young performers practicing for the upcoming Tet, or New Year, this year celebrated according to the lunar calendar on February 19. Our two young athletes (the only way to give credit to the moves they made) donned their dragon costume and proceeded to the beat of drums to make it come alive as they gyrated, spun, and leapt on our makeshift stage. The mythical dragon story unfolded in beautifully choreographed moves as our young men seemed to become the dragon, even controlling the blinking of the dragon’s eyes as well as the flapping of its ears, and the opening and closing of its mouth! Along with the whole village we were all mesmerized by the performance, and full of dragon spirit we returned to the ship for a quiet evening.
