We went back to the beach to watch the fishermen for a while. I still can't understand who would go to sea for a couple of days in a round bathtub made out of woven palm.
Then we visited a fish sauce "factory." I am amazed by the various cottage industries that we have seen. On the one hand, they are quite large scale. On the other hand, they are located in back and front yards and run by the family or a few employees. For the fish sauce, they put two kilos of fish (from the fishermen we saw) and one kilo of salt (from the salt farms we saw) into large vats with water. Over a period of months, they drain the water and condense the mixture further. It is kind of like olive oil with first press and second press.
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| Vats of fish sauce in the making. The woman with the hat is carrying two smaller white containers suspended from a pole across her shoulders. |
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| Hi-tech transfer from the vats to smaller containers that can be carried. |
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| Hi-tech bottling operation |
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| Hi-tech delivery method |
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| The finished product |
It is hard to tell from the picture but this is a tall sand dune. Little children offer to escort you up the dunes with sleds for $1 a ride. No ski lift or even a rope tow. You have to walk. They also had ostrich riding for "relaxed adventure." I have done a lot of strange things on this vacation, but I draw the line at ostrich riding.
My Aussie friends, Dick and Kathy, left at this point - they were only doing a four day tour. So now it is just me along with my guide, Chien, second rider, Huy, and truck driver, Tom. I feel like a 19th century colonial. Isn't this how Meryl Streep went on safari in Out of Africa? All that is missing is Robert Redford. Anyway, we had a long drive up the mountains to Dalat, a cool-weather resort originally built by the French and still very popular as a vacation and honeymoon spot. The ride was simply gorgeous. We drove by fields, lakes, and rolling countryside. As the elevation changed, we saw banana fields, coffee plantations, and tapioca drying as well as vegetable gardens. At times it felt like the California foothills and then it seemed like Hawaii and then New England countryside. Lots of switchbacks so I had plenty of turn practice. I think I have them down.
Chien and Huy rode one motorbike, I had my own, and Tom followed in the truck with my luggage. I had thought Huy was going back to Saigon. Then I remembered that they asked if I wanted a second driver in case I got tired. I assured them that I was going to ride the whole way, but Huy came along anyway. After a few hours I thought about it for a few minutes, but decided that riding on the back of Huy's bike did not seem like a good way to rest. An hour or two later, I realized that I could have gone in the truck. Oh, well. I rode the whole way. Usually motorbikes stay to the right while cars and buses pass them. On the last section which had a lot of traffic, Tom rode shotgun for me in the truck on the switchbacks, not letting anyone pass him so I had the whole road to make wide turns. There was a line of cars and buses behind him honking and cursing. Occasionally one would manage to go into the left lane and pass him and I would hug the right. At circles, he would go ahead and block the whole circle from the left when I entered although I still had to navigate the traffic coming from the right. Later we all drove to dinner in the truck and Tom practically ran down pedestrians in crosswalks. He has one charge - me - and nobody better get in his way. The life of a 19th century colonial may be even better than being queen for a day.
Tomorrow we will explore the sights of Dalat. Here is the view from the balcony of my hotel room.
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