This is the village we just walked through from the water.

This place did not look like it could sell Nokia products, also all of these buildings look like they are being held up by very skinny trees.

It was the wrong time of the day to see the floating market, they start very early in the morning so we saw a few who had some melons left and the rest were tied up getting ready for lunch or a siesta.

Fish for lunch!

They work under very different conditions – he was doing something but we forgot to ask, you always have to remember to ask questions as well as just gawking around.

You have tarp and straw holding this building together and yet there is a brand new home beside it that has been built out of bricks and stone and wood.  Location, Location, Location is definitely not as important as it is in North America.  I’m sure in the cities it does have credence but out on the water in the countryside, it just matters who owns the land.

The next generation of water vendors.

After a while you start to realize the river is not just important for their transportation and selling their vegetables and fruits, but they use it for washing their dishes, clothes, and themselves.

Laundry day and a good chat.

These businesses depend upon the local people; this is not where the tourists shop.

Big town, lots of precarious buildings.

The women seem to be always busy.

We left the river to walk along the river to visit some villages.  They had a special tea that they prepared for us, very simple,  honey, ginger, lime and green tea, after walking in the heat this most refreshing. 

We bought some of the sugared ginger; it was very spicy, really delicious.  I hope I can find some in Malaysia.

This is the view of the buildings we just passed with our boat from land; it looks very picturesque when you can’t see how they are built.

Coconut Candy

You have to get to the meat of the coconut and then

Shave it, cook it and then it is ready to be rolled into candy.  This is a very simplified version.

Rolling and cutting the candy.

This is very, very sweet.

Next is rice paper, and once again a quick and simple version.

She pours over slurry made from ground rice, salt and water, and spreads the batter onto a cloth that is stretched over a wide pot of boiling water.  She then places a lid over the rice sheet and lets it steam for about half a minute.

Still steaming.

She takes a wooden blade and slips it under the rice paper to peel it off the pot. 

Careful...one slip and you have to start over, the women who do this have been doing it for many years and know exactly how to do this, since this is homemade rice paper it is more expensive than the factory made rice paper.  We never saw more than one person making the rice paper, I’m sure they have facilities where there are a number of people doing this.  This is hard on the body, sitting in one place, slightly bent,  all day.

Success, she now puts it on an inverted round basket to cool down so her partner can take the paper to the large drying table.  The rice paper dries on woven mats which gives them their pattern.

Ready to be stuffed or used to dip into sauces.