Day Ten,

our last full day on the Jahan,

the time has just flown,

or perhaps I should say sailed by so fast,

so breakfast,

then ashore,

in the water taxis,

we are going to explore Binh Thanh,

as we leave the Jahan in the distance,

we will be going along some of the smaller waterways,

to look at life on the island,

and watch the local fishermen,

and weavers at work,

along the canals,

there are many fish farms,

using plastic barrels as floats,

for all of these families it is a home and a place of work,

Tri,

with I think one of his nephews,

it is here that we are going to learn how rush matting is made,

Tri explains how the reeds are collected,

whilst the loom is readied,

unlike normal looms where pedals are used to move the frame up and down,

 here the operation is achieved by twisting the frames at each pass of the reed,

a reed is inserted onto a stick, in weaving parlance using thread it would be called the shuttle,

the reed is caught at the far end, the stick removed,

the frame twisted,

and another reed inserted,

here you can see the frame bottom facing the seated weaver,

before the next reed is put in place the frame bottom now faces away from the seated weaver,

a new reed is put in place for the next operation,

we made our way along the weavers houses,

it seems strange looking in peoples homes but no one seems to mind,

we called by one of the islands schools,

the kids were so happy to see us,

they sang some songs to us all, so we sang to them, firstly Frère Jacques, (Brother John), followed by Waltzing Matilda, it was all so nice,

we continued our walk as one of the ferries came into dock,

and walked past some other families hard at work,

using the same technique we had seem before,

as the mat is completed the seat the weaver at the end of the mat is sitting on is moved forward,

with a goodbye we moved on to the house next door,

all along this road there were weaving looms in every house,

some stretching into the street,

one of the villagers collecting raw materials,

to be dried and made ready for use,

there were small homes on the other side of the street facing the canal,

work starting here on a new home,

to make things a little more economic, a lot of work has to go into the initial setting up of the loom,

so all of the looms here are double length, so that for one set up two mats can be produced,

in the next house,

the family there add a few dyed reeds to make an individual patten,

the owners of the next house use a similar design,

using red and blue stained reeds,

we were told that this is a typical house, 

on the village waterfront,

another fighting cock, it is a popular sport out here to fight chickens,

in the next house a finishing process takes place,

mats from the weaving houses are brought here,

where the ladies,

insert bamboo needles with reeds attached to finish the mat off so it is ready for use,

local transport,

we did not see any cars on the island, just one municipal van,

we say goodbye to the weavers,

and make our way towards the centre of the island,

passing some larger houses as we go,

some selling crops from their front yards,

and here a general store,

we were making our way to this building,

it is a temple and meeting place,

for the village, some years ago Tri approached the village to ask if he with the Heritage Line could call into the village with guest such as ourselves,

but to keep the village as it was then and now, so he and the line helps the village not with cash, but with works, such as the new roof here or help with roads or schools and medical help, what they did not want to do is give direct cash, they did not want villagers pestering guest for money, and it has worked really well, we were welcomed and not a single hand was held out, everyone benefits and the locals are not tourist dependant,

at the centre we had a question and answer session with two of the village elders,

firstly they gave us their life history, then questions and answers, 

the range of subjects was from religion to the war, Tri was not only the perfect English speaking guide he was a brilliant interpreter,  

I regret I can not remember the names of the couple but I do remember he was 79 years old,

we left the centre,

as some of the village children came home from school, the school has two classes a day one group in the morning and one in the afternoon, so depending on which group you are in you have a free morning or afternoon at home,

we were next on water taxis,

on our way back to the Jahan,

passing some of the many fish farms on the way,

a brand new boat for one lucky family,

I am guessing these fisherman,

are making this area look attractive to fish by putting lots of tree branches into the water, then after some time net the area off remove the branches and catch the fish they have encouraged to live there,

on the way back to the boat we were given a basket of fruit and a cold wipe, the crew of the Jahan think of everything,

although difficult to see this fisherman is emptying a net trap, the fish swim into it but cannot swim out of it again,

a villager checking her traps,

as a sand barge on the other side of the boat goes past,

one of the ferry jetties,

and here a house building yard,

aluminium frames are placed over plastic barrels,

and the home is constructed on top of the frame,

and here is one we finished earlier,

two boats run in parallel,

the shaft with the propeller attached is on a gimble and is used to steer the boat,

good job we were not going faster or our wake might have been a problem,

as we moved into deeper water,

sand barges service the grab as it removes sand from the riverbed,

safely back on-board,

in the distance,

rain clouds are building up,

and there is the constant rumble of thunder,

I think we might be in for a little rain,

traffic on road and river as the storm gets closer,

the clouds were black,

and low,

as we moved towards them,

then a howling gale approached as the first of the rain hit us,

so it was downstairs for lunch,

what a choice!

shrimp salad looked and was nice,

as were the others,

the special for today bánh xèo, literally sizzling cake, so named for the noise it makes when the rice batter hits the pan,

which Diana went for,

more decisions for dessert, black forest gâteau,

or crème brûlée?

meanwhile Tri was playing chef making his own meal,

after lunch it was back on the boats,

thankfully it had stopped raining,

as we made our way to shore, one of the ferries passing us,

first law of transport, might is right,

we passed more sand docks,

and here a petrol station,

I tried working out the price of a gallon, but confused myself so you can try if you like,

we are going to see Cai Be,

but before that we are going past the floating market,

there are boats here,

of all shapes and sizes,

selling all manner,

of goods,

we passed a few permanent houses,

and then here we are,

at Phu An, a hamlet where we are going to see some local pop rice and rice paper made, but first a quick look at the shops,

lots to chose from,

there are so many things here,

that I never knew I wanted until I saw them,

but this is what we came to see,

how to make rice paper,

some muslin like material is stretched over a steamer,

rice and water is spread over the surface which quickly bonds into a sheet,

a blade is inserted under what will be the paper,

which is lifted,

placed on a frame,

and then left to dry,

for the next demonstration, coco candies,

the coconut flesh is removed from it outer shell,

it is then heated and mixed,

and poured into formers,

when it cools the strips are removed,

positioned carefully,

then cut,

the pieces are then given to the packing crew,

who wrap each piece in rice paper and then an outer wrapper,

and added to the stock to be sold,

I had a look at some more souvenirs between demonstrations,

Tin-Tin seems to be very popular out here,

as does lacquerware,

both vases and trays,

next demonstration about to begin,

past another electric bike, they also seem to be very popular out here,

and this how to make pop rice,

a pan is prepared with oil,

rice which has been treated and is black is poured in,

after a few stirs,

as if by magic,

the rice pops and turns white,

whilst hot it is sieved,

boiling sugar palm oil is added,

mixed,

thoroughly,

poured into a frame,

the mixture is then spread,

and rolled to compress it,

then carefully measured and cut,

next to the packing department,

and it is now ready for sale,

now the good bit,

distilled rice wine,

this how you do it,

and here is some we made earlier, nice it was too,

can any of the sweets tempt Diana?

a last look,

 at some,

of the souvenirs on offer,

and we were on our way back to the boats,

past a mobile sugar cane juice maker,

and the gallery,

this is not a sand barge, 

but one carrying rice husks,

one of the villagers washing dishes,

we slowly made our way,

back to,

Cai Be,

taking pictures,

as we went,

 we reached Cai Be's Catholic cathedral,

a look up one of the many tributaries,

as a local ferry comes past,

and a sampan approaches the docks,

we interrupt the evening meal,

of some workers as we sail past,

as more boats,

ferries,

appear as the channel widens,

I still find it incredible,

how low in the water some of these vessels are,

one thing I found out about the 'eyes' at the front of the boats here, they really are eyes, painted there as years ago when crocodiles lurked in these waters, it was thought that if a crocodile looked up and saw two eyes looking down it would not attack,

back home on-board soon,

after a shower and a change a cocktail,

it was a farewell dinner and dance,

but first the captain presented his crew,

all of whom made our stay so comfortable,

then a short speech from the guides,

then the final group picture,

next let the dancing begin,

it was all great fun,

as we tried to imitate the classical dancers we had seen before,

next a bit of rock and roll, 

then appetites sharpened,

to the dinning room,

smoked salmon for starters, that will do for me!

guava granite with campari,

for both of us,

'Cheers!',

next the main course,

Australian lamb chops,

and now a real treat,

the Jahan surprise,

the lights dimmed as the flaming dessert was brought into the room,

we all had a slice of ice cream cake topped with chocolate,

what can we say? it was the perfect trip, the Captain and crew doing everything in their power to make sure we were pampered beyond belief, the crew addressed us by our first names, the on-board food far better than we had hoped for, the on-shore excursions perfectly executed, the guides speaking such good English, the list goes on, after the meal we then went to the lounge for a slide show, as we were making our tours one of the staff was taking pictures of us, these were put onto a CD and every cabin given a free copy, what thoughtfulness from Heritage Lines and the crew, with that we were off to bed.