Slice of Life Challenge Day #31

After a week in Vietnam, there were many eye opening moments and memories. One of the lasting things from the trip, besides crossing the scooter filled streets everyday, was seeing the fishing villages in Halong Bay. Halong bay in itself was a beautiful natural wonder. I had no idea that it would be so big and that there were so many boats there filled with tourists.

On the first day of our boat cruise, we got to go kayaking around one of the fishing villages. We kayaked around and through their village and  I felt like I was intruding. They were probably used to all these tourists kayaking through their village every day. Yet, I felt like I got a small peek of their life. Their houses which were floating on top of the water with boats parked next to them I saw dogs outside, kids playing, women cooking food and people just sitting in their homes.

Afterwards, I had so many questions racing through my mind. What would it be like to be grow up pretty much living on water instead of land? How often did they get a chance to go on land? Did they interact often with other fishing villages? Did they go swimming often in the water? Where did they go to the bathroom?  How close of a community were the people in the fishing village? How did the kids go to school? How did they feel about all these tourists kayaking through their village every day?

I just couldn’t imagine growing up in a fishing village and living on the water. I did a bit more research and found an informative article on the history of these fishing villages here. I also found out that they are trying to get the people in these villages to move onto the mainland. I still find it incredibly fascinating that these people have been living on the water for many generations, making a living off the fishing that they do.

More photos to come on my trip to Vietnam! Stay tuned…