Well, not really. Yes, it was a boat, a River Boat, and no, I didnt have to do any rowing.
Transported back to yesteryears, cruising from Cai Be to Can Tho through Mekong’s tributaries, seems life here revolves very much around the river; accessibilities, trade, sustenance.
The sky was unkind, and kept its grumpy grey shroud for much of the time, and seemingly blend with the brown waters filled with much silt which is siphoned up every so often to heavily laden large barges tethering on drowning themselves.
Conceptualised and funded by the Dariu Foundation, a River Boat anchored to the shore acts as a mobile computer class to bright eyed children happy to have their fingers bring forth their imagination. My mind is already conjuring up cut scenes of Link and Zora. Happy, innocent faces, adulthood far from their minds.
Riding through the small village on the back of a bicycle, kindly peddled by a kind gentleman – I noted the Vietnamese are typically very clean people, and there was no fear of tummy upsets throughout my 10 days. Not sure however if the vegetables are organically pesticide free but all their fruits were consistently delicious. Micro-financing do well here for the women in disadvantaged families, bringing in new income, fostering new alliances, empowering them. Coupling this to mandatory school attendance, the model becomes a smart double edge deal to ensure a brighter future.
One small incident stuck in my mind, a villager, fresh from the field, was asked if she owned a smartphone, she said no. Just a basic handphone. Has her husband a smartphone, then? No. So we guessed that she does not use Whasapp but just send an sms to communicate with her husband. Again, no. So, you’d use your phone to call him to talk? No, again. You don’t talk to your husband much? She said “We are together all the time, we talk any time, no need to phone each other”. Right back at you babe.
As the grey skies thickened into dusk our Home Boat moored for the night near the bridges of Can Tho aglow with its coloured incandescent lights reverted my mind back to modern day all too soon.
Goodnight Vietnam.
notanotanonita 