Day Four: Exploring Vietnam

Due to the New Year holiday, no work was done in the hospital on January 1. Instead, we took some time to explore Vietnam more. Our first stop was to the Snake Market, which has come to include much more than snakes. The main part of the market is a fish and meat vendor area, which should not be visited by those who have a strong sense of smell or a weak stomach. It did, however, include a lot of fresh fruit and vendors who sold weaved products, like baskets and hats. My dad and I picked up a few of the woven hats, a woven bag, and a bottle of his favorite Vietnamese hot chili sauce.

Our next stop was at the Ceramic Temple, which is a Buddhist temple in which each building is made out of broken recycled ceramic tiles, plates, glassware, etc. It was amazing to see not only the temples, but the burial grounds they had there. The graves are built above ground because of the amount of water underneath the ground, and each one is very intricate. We also got to see the monks working on another building, and on the amazing wood carvings that they make. The temple also served as a home and school for a group of orphans, who were very excited to take pictures for everyone! It was great to experience another culture in addition to the Vietnamese one, as the Buddhist monks' culture is different from the hustle and bustle of Can Tho City and Ho Chi Minh City. Everything was so open as well, so I did not miss a thing, and visited all three temples, the school room, the cemetery, and the wood working room.

Our last stop was to the bat temple, that has similar temples to the ceramic one, but outside there are very tall trees where huge fruit bats sit, sleep, and poop on the people walking below. They monks there took care of pigs that had polydactyly, meaning they had extra toes. It took us a while, but we finally found the pigs, and there were three of them.

I enjoyed getting out of the city and being able to see some more of Vietnam. Tomorrow brings more screenings and another early morning! Until then, a nap and then a walk around the market should do just fine.