McDougall Meanderings: Images from Phu Quoc island

Jesse at the Night Market

an alter decorated for the Tet holiday--intermittently they pray to the alter throughout the day There is dragon fruit and mango in the dish in front. We eat mangos every day here. They are very plentiful in the markets.

Duncan and Jesse relaxing in the afternoon together

Yesterday we had a fun adventure. Belle and Jesse rode a motobike (with Jesse driving most of the way) 30 km south on Phu Quoc along dusty red dirt roads that ran 75 feet from the untouched beach lined with palm trees sprinkled with palm-frond houses that had been cobbled together by local fishermen. I rented a mountainbike ($2.20 / day) and biked down and back. Once we arrived we spent four relaxing hours on lovely Sao Beach, perhaps the most beautiful beach on the island. I've never been to Fiji or Tahiti, but their beaches can't look much different. Emerald green water. Palm trees leaning over soft white sand. We played endless games of soccer, swam, and ate a nice lunch of fried squid, crab and fried rice.

Yesterday was the first day of Tet, Chinese New Year, by far the biggest celebration in the Vietnamese calendar. Peddling my bike quietly through tiny villages and past hundreds of open-fronted shacks I noticed the following: virtually all businesses and homes, no matter how rudimentary, have two shrines -- one inside for household gods, and one outside. Yesterday all of the shrines were specially tended with flowers, fresh fruits, drinks (water, beer, etc), candies, and incense sticks so the gods would bring good tidings to the heavens and bring back a lucky new year; Even two rusted old cranes and one ancient dump truck at different construction sites were not forgotten Each had been provided with beautiful pots of marigolds and bowls of fresh fruit to help bring a luck next year; As I biked by people waved and called 'Hello!', for most that was the total sum extent of their English. When I wished them happy new year in Vietnamese, they laughed; two young girls, 9-ish and 5-ish, insisted I stop. In their finest attire they shyly asked where I was from, and then sang me a new year song in Vietnamese. I sang Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot. An even trade; Two km away I heard the booming of a drum from one village and rolled up to find a troop of sweaty young men going house to house wearing a 15-foot dragon costume, writhing to the sound of a barrel-size drum on wheels, helping scare away evil spirits; my last image was a head-scratcher. I passed a large sign (4 ft x 12 ft) in front of a farm gate. Below the large Vietnamese words it read in equally large English -- "Food Services - Supply with Slaughter Crickets" Any ideas??