Another strenuous day

Today was tough. After waking up and taking a shower, I decided to catch a motorbike taxi into town. Having sat on my sunglasses in Cambodia, I decided I really needed another pair. They're indispensable for travel, not just for the sun, but even more so to protect your eyes while you're riding around on said motorbike taxis. After a much more pleasant ride back to my hotel, I slathered on the sunscreen and went out to fortify my tan for an hour. Today was not tough, obviously. Today was dreamy. I am filing away this day, and the many others I've had like it on this trip, under "happy place" so that I can return to it in my mind when I'm cursing the Maine winter a month from now.

I stocked up on some fresh fruit at the local market - mini bananas, oranges, and rambutan. Yummy. The market here is bustling, with loads of produce, meat, and clothing for sale. And like the rest of Vietnam, at least what I've seen so far, this place seems to be hovering somewhere between falling apart at the seams and on the verge of serious development. It's a strange contrast and there's a fair amount of rubble almost everywhere you look. More than other markets I've seen in Asia as well, Vietnam seems to have an inordinate number of fish products. Phu Quoc island, in fact, is the country's biggest producer of fish sauce. You can even visit the factory, although I think I'll pass on that one. In any case, because of all the fish there's a distinct aroma as you roam around the market. On my trip to Ha Tien the other day, when we stopped to switch vans again, the air smelled like coffee, leading me to believe that I was in one of the coffee-growing regions. I suppose you can get used to the smell of fish, but I'd much rather live where they grow coffee.


A very crowded harbor.

A Vietnamese woman prepares fish for sale. Pretty much all food prep is done on the ground here, at least in the markets.