Day 4 of Central Vietnam 2015.
Today started real early for us! Our Eco tour begin @ 6am in the morning! We took up the Jack Tran EcoTour; Fish and Rice Experience. It is a 7hrs day trip which begins at 6am in the morning!
The tour is located near Hoi An @ the Local Phuoc Hai Fishing Village and Cam Thanh Ecological rice Paddy Field! Through the trip we will be travelling by bicycle and boat!
The trip begin when the guide pick up us at our hotel by a mini van! Our guide was Sinh! We were transferred to the bridge which connects Hoi An with Phuoc Hai Village and on the Bridge we collected our bicycle and begin our adventure into the village!
The Mini Van!
On the Bridge!
At the fishing village jetty!
Right beside the jetty is the market place, where fishermen and farmers are out to sell their produce and catch! There are lots to see in the market, cause unlike the Singapore this is really very "fresh"! You see all sorts of fished sold; including shark aka dog fish (in viet). You also see other seafood and many interesting marine catch!
Crab crab!
Curious me and my little crab!
Flat Fish!
Meat being sold!
Veggie!
Rice Noodles!
So much being sold in the little market place! We purchased some fish which we will be cooking for lunch at the villager place later for lunch! We brought dog fish, tuna, mackerel and more! We also got some rice noodles for refreshment!
After shopping and visiting the market, we set off to the fish sauce factory! To see how Viet Fish sauce is made!
Fence outside the factory! To prevent Robbers!
Fish Sauce Bottles!
After visiting the factory, we cycled to a villager (fishermen) house, on the way we saw a cemetery and got curious! So we decided to check it out!
Walking into the Cemetery!
After exploring the cemetery, we continue on our way to the fishermen place. Where he live with his wife and his 2 sons. We got to chat with him a little understanding his live through Vietnam war and also getting to know a little more about his family. His younger son who is also a fisherman is out fishing. His older son, a victim of agent orange, was born wheel chair bound and thus spend most of his time at home. They have a little farm in the yard where there are chicken, pigs and various vegetation. We had a tour around his house before heading to the seaside near by where his younger son is fishing!
The wife at work!
The 3 not so little pigs!
At the seaside ready to fish!
Basket Boat!
Frame to pull up the net!
travelling out to collect the catch!
For the fishermen, life was very simple, it was all about the little little things and to them having a good catch means the world! We were very lucky that day, where Stanley and Trent (another Guy from our tour) manage to net 2 LARGE mullet! From the time the mullet was net, you can see the joy on the fishermen face! They knowledge that it will bring money for the family for the next few days put such a huge smile on his face, and through that all the complains you have in the urban world seems so much smaller than they contentment and joy! It really teaches you to appreciate and learn to find joy in all the little things!
The happy fishermen who is so thankful for Stanley for netting the fishes!
What i net! tiny one!
Guys @ work!
Stanley happy with his catch!
Stanley and his mullet!
This basket of fish means the world to the fishermen!
We ask how much does the fishermen needs to survive a week and we found out that they would need about 15USD for a family of 4. And this basket of catch will fetch them a little more than that thus it is alot! Their life is simple, but it can be tough as fishing needs alot of luck and sometimes, due to weather or other factors, there may be no catch for many days!
After fishing on land, we hop onto the Jack Tran Boat and head out to the sea to see another fishermen couple who are out fishing in the sea!
Jack Tran Boat! Captain Hook!
The Fishermen and his Wife!
Baby fish!
the pro at work!
Me and the auntie! trying to row the boat!
Stanley throws the net too!
I am a fisher lady!
All of us with the fish!
After fishing with the couple, we got back onto the boat and headed to the palm plantation for our basket boat ride!
Here is the basket boat guy!
It was soooo fun!! all the dancing and rocking of the boat!
There is Stanley and me dancing on the boat with our guide!
And I dont know what got to me to allow the boat guide to gear me up with palm display like this?
Palmond Ring!
Back on the Jack Tran Boat for tea!
More spring rolls!
From all the fishing and the sea, it is time to head to Cam Thanh Village for the Paddy Rice Experience! I am sooooo excited about this as i had been on paddy experience twice with my school, once in Vietnam Mekong Delta (2014) and another in Malacca (2013). I had fun on both trip so was very much looking forward to this!
Arrival at the farmers' place!
The farm that we will be working in!
the buffalo that will be helping us!
I am all ready to be a farmer!
Prep-ing the buffalo up!
First up; learning how to ride the buffalo! Looks easy but it is totally not!
Stanley is tooo heavy for the buffalo!
ok maybe not...
Dragonfly!
Plowing the land with the help of the buffalo!
I am trying my best to guide the buffalo, but i think he is hungry, he keeps stopping to eat...
And i cant seems to stop him...
See he is eating again!
Stanley with the farmer!
I think we lousy farmers... for we can't seems to plow straight!
Happy Farming Life!
Animal Friend!
Next, learning how to transfer water from one plot to another!
This traditional technique is used before there was pump! It looks easy but it is real tough! The farmers did it with gusto and it seems so smooth, but when we tried, we were all clumsy and water is splashing everywhere!
See our bucket topple before the water even travel...
The guys seems to be better at it!
Next step; Flatten the ground!! The tool is too heavy for me!! >.<
Sowing the seeds!!
To experience the full experience, we cant wait for the plant to grow, so right after sowing at one plot, we headed off to the next plot to do transplanting; which is the transfer the seedling to another plot of land! This step i am familiar with as i did this during the school trip!
Back-breaking work!
all of us transplanting!
Having transplanted, we headed to another plot to do some harvesting so that we can continue to see the rest of the traditional process of getting the rice we eat everyday!
My harvest!
Stanley looking like a farmer! He can stay there forever!
We have our harvest!
Getting rice is a long and tough process, one will never appreciate it unless they have seen the whole process and gone through it themselves! The process is long and to get the simple rice on the table, farmers have to work long hours doing multiple process just to reach the end where we can have rice on our table!
After the harvest, we work at getting the rice grain out! One might think that it is easy after harvest, but there is more hard work ahead!
After harvesting, we have to first get the little grains off the stalk, the stalk can be used to make hay and build shelter, where as the grains will move on the more processing!
This machine remove the grains from the stalks!
After we done that we took a break and had some sticky rice cake with peanut and sugar!
Don't think the farmer had such break when they are working, so really make us appreciate this break more!
We also prep the fish we purchased earlier the day for cooking!
After the break, we continue to work! removing the husk from the rice grain!
Pong Pong Pong!
after which you have to pray for wind! why?
Cause out into the open we go and by tossing the grain in the wind, the husk remove will fly away (lighter) and the rice grain will land back into the basket!
Happy Stanley tossing! Again assured that he can be a farmer!
After this step, then, you get the rice you eat!
But the process continues if you are looking at getting rice starch which can be used to make rice flour and rice noodles!
Using rice to make rice starch!
Farmer Stanley and his rice starch machine!
After working in the farm and trying at all the process of farming and rice production, it was time for us to cook lunch and get our hands at rural cooking!
Fishes!
Vietnam Rice Pancake!
Me the chef! making pancake!
Looking like a real chef?
trying the BBQ fish! Tuna!!
Lunch Time!!
Lunch never tasted sooo great after a long day of work! After all the work with the farmers, one will appreciate all the food on the table more! Because you know they dont come easy and all the work the farmer put in just so that we have food! It is just wonderful! An awesome experience which can never ask for more! Glad that we gave this Eco tour a try!
After lunch, we head back to Hoi An city where we rest before we begin exploring again!
From Golden River Hotel, it is a short walk to the Ancient Town of Hoi An; UNESCO World Heritage Site. So we decided to walk in and check out more street food and the night sky!
By Hoai River.
Trying the street food! Crab Pancakes.
Chicken rice!
Viet Ice Cream!
Night games along the river!
Ending the long day by chilling in a cafe!! Tea and Lemon Tart!
What a fruitful day with so much great experience! Hope to go for more Eco tour in the future!
