After the orphanage visit, we asked Duc to take us somewhere special to him that tourists never visit, and he made a couple of phone calls and a few minutes later we were on our way to a little sand island in the middle of the Red River where he used to play as a kid. He used to swim out there, but we were lucky enough to have a little dinghy take us out there. The boat is owned and operated by a man and wife who live on the boat and make a living fishing in the river. It also doubled as our water-taxi for the day!
Our car driver dropped us off at the highway and we had to walk a couple of kilometers in the dirt to get to the river, giving way to cows carrying carts of sand and fertilizer etc.
There are a couple of families trying to eke out a living by farming on the sandy island - mostly corn, sweet potato and soy beans. This pic is of a gorgeous, shy little girl who was toiling the land as we walked by.
After our walk, we interviewed Duc about his take on the latest developments in Vietnam and beyond - economics & tourism etc. Duc has some great insights from the perspective of a young educated Vietnamese man who is optimistic about the prospects for Vietnam, and also wisely cautious and aware of some of the possible pitfalls that often come with rapid 'progress.'
Here it is in three parts (note the farmers in the background!)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
More to come.
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