Vietnam and Cambodia

I have not blogged for ages as we have been away on holiday visiting Vietnam and Cambodia two fascinating countries.We flew into Ho Chi Minh which is a fairly modern city where everyone seems to own a motorcycle which entire families ride together, this makes crossing the road an art form as they do not stop at crossings and not always at red lights.They park the bikes on the pavements and even ride on them if it means cutting the corner, to cross the road you have to walk out slowly and the bikes go round you, if it is really busy you wait for a little old lady to take you across. They carry everything on the motor cycles and pushbikes

The children get taken to school on them,they wear the masks not just for thr fumes but too prevent their faces from getting brown, a sign of a field worker.

They rest on the bikes.

and this is a coffin being transported I ptesume it was empty.

The food was superb very fresh and piquant,we did a mornings cookery course and made vegetable rolls with shrimp, soup, fried tofu and shitaki balls and stuffed cabbage leaves. My favourite is Pho a clear chicken soup with rice noodles mushrooms and chili which is eaten for breakfast.I came back with a suitcase stuffed with dried shitaki,they are so cheapthere but then everything is to a Westerner.

Roadside barrows selling grapes, pomelos, dragon fruit all manner of fruit.

The markets were a wonder all kinds of delights most of which I had no idea what to do with this photo is fungi.

Beans and pulses and

Lychees

I shall post some more photo.s later if anyone is interested