After the school stop, we rode for another 30-40 minutes and then made a second stop here. This house is very typical of what many of the houses looked like. Most were built up on stilts and the people used the ground level as living-type areas. I'm sure they are strategic to avoid floods during the rainy season too. The walls were a woven, dried, grass-type of thing. Tin roofs. Sometimes the walls were tin as well.
Amom had arranged a snack here for us - fresh fruit and water. Little clementine oranges, bananas, papaya and mangos. She also had this interesting spice mix to dip the papaya into - it was salty and sugary and spicy all at once. I wasn't a particular fan, but for those who know me, that probably isn't surprising!
This home is actually a silk maker's and it is a family business. I wasn't clear on the relationships of everyone there, but this girl was sort of our tour guide. Here she is showing us how they get the silk from each silk worm. They do the entire process themselves and all by hand. Grow the worms, harvest them, spin the silk into threads, dye them and weave them. All in this little house!
The worms in cocoons...
A younger member of the family working on the loom. She was very sweet to let me take her picture.
Another family member. We did see dogs and cats somewhat frequently throughout the day and although they did not seem quite like my version of a "family pet", they appeared well-fed.
Some of the finished products. They were beautiful!
After the silk maker's, we rode again for another 45 minutes or so and made a stop here. This was a local Buddhist temple. We passed several that looked like this throughout the day and to me, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. But I guess there is a population around?
The temple had several monks there eating lunch. Amom told us that it is traditional for the community to bring food for the monks to eat. After they have eaten their fill, then the children sitting behind them would eat what was left. I was unclear about why it was mostly all children and few adults in this group.
After another ride we stopped for refreshments before ferrying back to the city. This is sugar cane juice. They had this as a roadside and market treat all over the place. The sugar cane was put through a juicer-type of thing and this was what came out. It was cold, very sweet and refreshing!
It's a little hard to see here, but I am eating an egg. Eggs were also a common snack. They were basically hard-boiled and would dip them into a salty/spicy mixture like we did the papaya earlier. They were actually pretty good! That's Amom behind me. Please excuse my dreadful appearance and remember I've been cycling for 4-5 hours in the mud and rain.
After the ferry back, we had another short ride to where a van picked up us. Unfortunately, this part was when it rained the most and by the time we got there, we were soaked! Not to mention that I had mud splattered all over my clothes from riding on the muddy roads all day. Everything had to be washed when I made it back to the hotel. We did have a nice lunch at a local restaurant to end the tour. In total we rode about 20 km, which is maybe 12 miles. The bikes were mountain style and well-maintained to handle the rough roads. It was rough but all very flat and easy riding. All in all - a really fun day!
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