Around the countryside..

Four weeks are up, and June is on the Horizon...  We had a few "cooler" days but things are set to warm up....

(Quatro semanas ja se passaram e o mes de Junho ja ven no horizonte. Tivemos alguns dias mais fresquinho, mais com certeza o tempo vai esquentat bastante...)

A week or so ago  I went over on a local motorbike tour again..  Lots of activities on the rice paddies and as usual life in Asia never seems to slow down , no matter what day.
(Uma semana atras eu fui novamente em um passeio na regiao. Muitas atividade nas plantacoes de arroz, e como e comum, na Asia as coisas numca parecem que dao uma acalmada, nao importa que dia e da semana....)

 

Sugar cane harvesting on the way  (colheita da cana)

 

A pile of sugar cane waiting manual loading..

 

Local country farm house. Some are much better, others are even more basic..

 

These guys are loading watermelons onto their 100cc bikes..

 I calculated 7 bags at around 50 kilos each....

Local rice field getting ready to harvest

 

I visited a local church and the little girl insisted on a photo. She later went to get her friends for a group photograph..

 

The Church..

 

Young couple, they take care of the church and surroundings

Here is the little group of friends

 

Sunrise over the dam, where I go to do a little workout most mornings at 5 am

Sunset from my room door at the "village" compound..

 

Buggered after a hot day..

 

At the zoo today. I have been to many zoos before but never to one where you can get to touch most animals.... (except the tigers). We had a great morning visiting this private zoo. We were the only westerners around but plenty of Vietnamese folk. You get pretty close to most of the animals, and get to feed them if feed is available near by.

 

Hoje estivemos neste zoologico particular. Ha various animais e voce pode tocar ou acariciar a maioria dos animais com excecao dos tigres.. 

Friendly little chap.  Hipopotamu bem amigavel...

Greg and Lan, a friend that guided us to the zoo.

 

 Feeding the elephants. You can not get any closer..

 

First time to pat an elephant's trunk..

A primeira vez que toquei na tromba de um elefante..

A Kudu form Africa

 

 Rare white tiger. Could not touch him tough. 

Infelismente nao pude toca-lo

This table is made from a local tree stup. No easy to find a place around it where you could comfortably fit a chair but great work nonetheless. Check out the detailed carvings..

Esta mesa e feita de uma raiz enorme. De uma olhada nos entalhes.

 

Never been so close to a rhino. They looked really good, fat and healthy. Munching at the grass. Touched the horns, scratched their ears..

Rice straw laid out to dry across most roads. The straw is dried, stored and fed to buffalo and cattle in the "winter" months..

A small tractor churning in the rice paddy after harvest..

 

 

Late in the afternoon myself and Craig went over to the village to mingle with the locals (age range from low 20s to mid 70's) for a play of Baddingtom. Great fun, they play well and I did get a hiding. But will be back in the next few days.

 

Craig Tanner and big sister and little brother

We paly the game outdoors in the local school grounds

 

 

 You all have fun and I shall post a few more photos in the next week or so.

Back in Vietnam

It is great to be back in Vietnam again despite missing Anne, the family and friends. I keep check of the weather in NZ, and it is good to be in a warm tropical country, even if the temperature nearly kills you at times... But there is the early mornings and evening that are generally moderate and pleasant..

Work is going fine, many challenges to deal with, but working with the Vietnamese is really great. I have caught up with a few, but other still to be seen. It is spring here now and we are heading towards summer of heavy rains, hot weather and extreme humidity. Great to have a chance to get some aclimatization under way.

Myself and Greg did a little tour the other day on the back of our 100cc motorbikes. It is great fun and once you get used that in Vietnam the give way rule does not apply, use are just fine. The rule is, watch out for me and everyone watchs for everyone....

We visit a small town, with it many Catholic churches, a relique from the French I guess. It was Sunday and in on church there were lots of children attending what looked like a sunday activity day for kids..

We headed off through some rice fields (I will post more pictures from the stage the plants are now to hervest). It never ceases to amaze me that every single plant in pushed into the muddy ground, in perfect straight lines, by hand and almost all by women..

We heade to Tai Hoa, a relatively large town where Greg did stay during his historical first foray in Vietnam and TH. On the way i stopped on the road side where a few man were polishing great slabs (some a few tons) of beatiful local rocks. I went in and saw some nice specimens and being fond of mineral and rocks, had i being carrying decent amount of cash, i would have bought one or two pieces.... But i will be back..

Today, Saturday the 11th of May, i went of a walk around the project, adjacent to the village compound where we have accomodation, our meals etc...

I took a dirty track that took me to some small holders, peasnat blocks. Lots of crops in, sugar cane, maize, beens, tomotoes, you name it. The land seems very good, and some limitations to groth i am sure it is related to low soil pH and likely phosporus depletion. Some houses are really basic, the people ever so friendly..

sugar cane waiting for collection. All cut by hand and women seem to be the ones to do it

Sugar cane sprouting after harvest

Well it is about Vietnam but i have got some photos of Aotearoa, in fact from the top of the ranges on number one line. I did take the photos a few days before heading over here..

We will keep you posted