Coconut Boats!

It was another bright, hot, sunny morning in Central Vietnam. Pinky, Anny, and I set out via taxi from our hotel in Hoi An to a tiny fishing village just outside of town. There, we hired a pair of Hoi An's iconic "coconut boats" for a two-hour ride through the area's water coconut grove. A boat could only hold three, including the rower/guide, so Pinky and I took one boat, and Anny followed in a boat of her own (with a rower, of course).

coconut boats in Hoi An

Our guide, a little old local lady, could speak only a very few words of English, but she was quick with a laugh and a smile. As we rowed away from the small village, she showed us the traditional method of weaving rings and toy grasshoppers from palm fronds, which she did at the same time as rowing the boat.

heading out on the river

It was a very hot morning, and our guide gave us traditional conical Vietnamese hats to wear on the boat. We rowed slowly, enjoying the beautiful fresh and clear sky and quiet morning. We moved gently down the slow-moving river.

rowing out on a coconut boat

Through pantomime and a few keywords, our guide indicated the stop where two American bombs had fallen during the war, and showed us where the Vietcong hid in the bamboo groves to shoot at the American and South Vietnamese aircraft flying overhead.

hot, sunny day

Hue was the border and DMZ between the north and the south. Although Da Nang and Hoi An were technically in South Vietnam, they were the spots of some of the most intense fighting during the war. During the day, this region belonged to the Republic of Vietnam in the south, but by night it seemed to change hands back to Hanoi. It was a complicated war, to say the least.

empty boats near the coconut grove

Nowadays, of  course, that's long behind. The United States and Vietnam re-established diplomatic relations in the 1990's, and nowadays the country is incredibly welcoming to American tourists, expatriates, and companies. During my long stay in Vietnam, I've never once felt anything but welcome.

the boats are made of woven bamboo

In fact, you would never be able to tell that there had been a terrible battle here. That morning was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful, and we had a wonderful time as our guide slowly rowed us along deeper into the water coconut forest.

with our guide

Presently, we came upon a local fisherman casting his net into the muddy water. He beckoned us aboard his small boat, and was even kind enough to let me try the traditional Vietnamese method of throwing a fishing net.

a local fisherman

He showed me how to plant my feet, and how to grip the heavy net in just the right places. The fisherman then mimed for me how to twist my body and throw the net out into the water.

trying it out myself

I wasn't very good at it. To be honest, I'm not much of an angler.

I'm not a very good fisherman

That doesn't matter though. It was fun to try out a traditional skill. Of course, my poor attempts earned me lots of laughter from the fisherman, our guide, and my lovely supportive girlfriend.

the fisherman adjusting my hat for me (my hands are a bit full of net)

But then it was her time to try, and she was no better at it than I was!

Pinky tried too

Net fishing is really hard - but it sure does make for some cool photos.

casting the net

We carefully stepped back into our coconut boat and continued on. The water coconut trees were thicker here. We moved on, deeper into the coconut grove.

in the bamboo forest

Suddenly, our guide plunged her hand into the still water and withdrew a shellfish! She cracked it open, all the while still paddling us down along the river. This lady was a master of multitasking!

quiet morning

She plucked the meat from the inside of the clam and skewered it on a hook at the end of a piece of line that she held in her fingers. Slowly, we drifted up close to the coconut trees. Deftly, she began dangling the fishing line and the tiny piece of clam meat over a barely-submerged stump. Suddenly, a bright purple claw sprang out, snapping at the clam. It was a big crab! Dangling at the end of the line, the crab snapped his free claw angrily, but he never let go of that delicious piece of clam. He ended up trapped in a bucked, along with a friend.

a crab

That's the traditional method of Vietnamese crab fishing! Our guide was so proud to show us how she gets crabs from the coconut groves. But these crabs were lucky; they weren't for eating, just for demonstration. As we rowed back to the village, I got the honors of releasing them back into the water. In Buddhism, one common practice of "making merit" (accumulating good karma), is purchasing and freeing captive animals. At many temples, you'll often see people selling caged birds or trapped fish for people to buy and free for good karma. I guess this was my chance to make some merit by freeing these crabs! Look how happy they are to be scuttling away, free.

releasing the crabs

Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering what a "water coconut" is, you aren't alone! I had no idea either! This is what it looks like. It doesn't look anything like a coconut I've ever seen, and I've never even heard of a water coconut before, but there you go. Our guide plucked this one right off of one of the trees that we rowed past.

water coconut

This ended up being one of the most fun things that we've done in Vietnam. At first I was hesitant, and went along with it because the girls really wanted to see the coconut boats. I thought it would be too touristy and not really worth it. Boy, was I wrong! This was an amazing, fun, really authentic look at local life of a fishing village away from the big cities. Although Vietnam is a really developed country, there are so many ways to see the traditional lifestyle as well. Our guide was awesome - so kind, friendly, and funny. I'll never forget the fun we had that day.

with our guide

It was time to go. Pinky and Anny took a few more pictures posing with all the cool things that the villagers made for them out of palm leaves. We really enjoyed having Anny visit us and spend a few days exploring Vietnam together. Unfortunately, it was almost time for us to take her back to the Da Nang airport for her flight back to Bangkok. We'll miss her!

the girls with their woven gifts

With our vacation nearing its end, we headed back to Da Nang city, tired, but having had an incredible week. Our month in central Vietnam was nearing its end as well. After one final day in Da Nang, and one more day in Hoi An, we boarded another night bus to carry us to the south, to the seaside resort town of Nha Trang to begin our third and final month in Vietnam.

hanging out in the coconut grove