Life on the Perfume River

A trip upstream to visit the tombs and pagodas is a good way to see life on the river.

For many people their sampan is their home as well as their workplace and means of transport.

We saw many of these boats which seem to be dredging gravel from the river bed.

Everything happens on the river. The women are wash clothes and dishes.

Sampans are still being built, and some have all mod. cons. including TV, as can be seen in the one above. Others look pretty old and tatty, but even the oldest will have a small boat used for going to the market, school etc. The scene on the right is perhaps one of the most typical of Vietnam.