The ship cruised about 90 km up the Mekong overnight and mooring in the river early in the morning near the town of Tan Chau which means new town. When the town was created it was initially populated by people displaced during the successive wars and there was a merging of four main cultures; Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer, and Muslim Malaysians. The different cultures mainly keep to themselves, but there is apparently a common bond about living in this relatively newly established city. Interestingly, there is also a very large Gao Dai church, which, as we learned yesterday, is a combination of the philosophies of many religions, and believing in one supreme being - appropriated for a multicultural city.
We again set off in sampans to visit the town and were then taken by a local version of a rickshaw (a bicycle, pulling a small two wheeled carriage) to a silk-weaving factory. This is a major form of production in the area. Most of the weaving looms originated in France, went to Britain and then after the Second World War came to Vietnam. They are, in fact, 19th century contraptions, using punched paper rolls, similar to a pianola to weave the design into the silk fabric. Very mechanical and very noisy.
I did ask about the “fair Lady weaves the shuttles” movement that we use in Tai Chi, but we could not overcome the language barrier to get an answer.
Next, it was back onto the rickshaws to be taken 15 minutes down the road to a mat-weaving factory. For some reason, my driver passed almost all of the other ones on the way there, travelling much quicker, but then I realised at the end that he expected a tip for the extra service.
The mats are made by making by weaving, large, long lengths of very thin sun-dried water reeds, which have been split to an even thinner diameter, some of which are dyed different colours. Woven mats are hugely popular in Vietnam, especially in the countryside, because they are much more practical in a dusty and humid environment than mattresses for sleeping on. Again, the factory had the appearance of a 19th century sweatshop.
After visiting the weaving factories, we walked across “Green Island” (local name because of its fertility and abundant vegetation. We had a great opportunity to see and visit local farmers and their homes, something a little unexpected and probably may not continue as tourism increases.
At this point I should say that the tour staff and guides have been excellent- the Tour Manager, Luc, and the guides have been very open about the country’s history and the changes that have taken place in Vietnam and its political and military struggles over the centuries.
We returned to the ship for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing (and writing) while the ship crossed into Cambodia. As forewarned, the internet quality dropped immediately.