Our Cycling Adventure Continued….

After Zoe’s cliffhanger yesterday, you have probably been waiting eagerly to read this post.  So, without any further ado…. here is part two of our biking adventure!

Boat Making

One of our stops was to a boat making area where we saw the process of the construction. First the logs made from the jackfruit tree are soaked in the water, then they are cut with a machine into planks which are used to build the boat. There are three sizes of boats: small, medium, and large. The boat is held together with wooden nails and if there are any small spaces in between, those are filled with sawdust.

Soaking the timber

Using a machine to cut the wood

The finished planks

After the boat is put together, it is painted. An interesting feature is the eyes at the front of the boats. These are believed to scare away evil spirits and monsters, who will think the boat is a much bigger monster and won’t bother it. This reminds me of when I learned about the ancient Greeks and Egyptians because they did this as well.

Painting the boat

Zoe and I with the eye of the boat

Huynh Family Temple

Our next stop was at a Buddhist temple. Like all temples, there are three doors on the entrance gate to the courtyard, but I learned they are for different people. The door in the middle is for the emperor or king, the left is for the men, and the women enter on the right. Sorry men, but this proves women are always right! 🙂

There are also statues around the temple of the 4 sacred animals: dragon, phoenix, unicorn, and tortoise. There were two unicorns on each side of the entrance gate to let people know where they should enter. The female unicorn has one foot on a baby unicorn and the male unicorn has his foot on a symbol of power.

A dragon

A phoenix

Male unicorn

Female unicorn

To enter the temple itself, there are 5 steps. The steps symbolize the stages of life: you are born, you grow older, get sick, die, and are reborn.

Inside the temple, there are altars for ancestral worship. Families leave offerings of fruit, flowers, and/or incense sticks on special occasions such as weddings, funerals, and when babies are born.

Sleeping Mats

Next, we went to a sleeping mat making factory which was part of a village home. These mats are used instead of mattresses and need to be replaced once a year. They are made out of a special kind of grass grown in a river across the street.  The grass is dried in the sun and can be coloured red, yellow, green, and purple. It is woven on a loom and a full size mat takes a skilled maker 3 hours to weave. Zoe and I were able to try to weave a part of a mat and thought it would take us a week to finish! 🙂

The couple making a sleeping mat

The grass used to make the mats

Zoe learning how to start

The lady teaching me what to do

After visiting the different villages in Tanzania, India, and Vietnam, I am beginning to recognize patterns.  The successful villages are the ones who focus on education and have local crafts/trades they can use to make a living.

With this information, I have the power to change and improve people’s lives.  By contacting multiple NGOs (non-government organizations, like Barefoot College), volunteers can be sent into a village to help.  For example, volunteers can work at schools and help the students learn English and other subjects.  Professionals can come into the village and teach the adults crafts or trades using local resources.  This is a way to make things better for people living in developing countries.

I’m not the only one who can make a difference with this information; anyone can!  Contact a local or international NGO to volunteer, share your expertise and/or donate and we can all change lives.