Charcoal kilns in southern Vietnam

Whilst caving in Dong Nai province in southern Vietnam in Feb 2014, I saw this small scale charcoal industry. Dong Nai is the province just to the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
Many people in the region use charcoal for cooking, especially for heating pots of water and for grilling meat.

The kilns are inside the attap roofed building

 

Wood is put into the kiln and it is then heated and turns into charcoal. It is a hot and smokey process.
This area has many cashew trees as well as other fruit trees, so these are probably used when older.

The smoke is coming out from the bottom, not from the top

there is no smoke from the chimney on the roof

I don't know why this kiln is covered up

 

 

 I tried to find out more about this charcoal industry but didn't find much. However I did find an interesting article on a village in another part of this province, where lepers are involved with the charcoal industry, charcoal kilns help lepers.........

 

 

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

McDonald’s is now in Vietnam

I didn't realise that McDonald’s is new to Vietnam. Apparently it only arrived in early 2014.

I was in Ho Chi Minh City in Feb, and I took a photo of a roundabout with lots of bikes, and later realised that in my photo is a McDonald’s.

The franchise has been given to Henry Nguyen, a Vietnam-American businessman who is the son-in-law of the Prime Minister.

On the same day I posted this blog, I read that Malaysia is the 3rd cheapest place to buy a Big Mac.  It comes in 3rd after India and South Africa . See report in The New Straits Times , 15 Feb 2014.

Coffee plants & turmeric in Vietnam

In Dong Nai province we saw lot of cashews, pepper and tobacco being grown. Dong Nai is the province north of Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of Vietnam. We were in the area near Gia Ray in February, which is the dry season.

We were looking for lava tubes in a volcanic area. The volcanoes are long extinct. The soil seems rich for growing these crops.

Coffee -

Turmeric -

This is no longer grown as the price is too low, but there are still some plants in the ground

And this is the finished product of the coffee -

Cashews, pepper & tobacco in Vietnam

In Dong Nai province we saw lot of cashews, pepper and tobacco being grown. Dong Nai is the province north of Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of Vietnam. We were in the area near Gia Ray in February, which is the dry season.

We were looking for lava tubes in a volcanic area. The volcanoes are long extinct. The soil seems rich for growing these crops.

Cashews -

Pepper -

 The people use very tall ladders for tying the pepper vines to tree trunks

Tobacco -

 These leaves are still quite fresh

 

 These are older and ready for harvesting

See next album on coffee and turmeric.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City

The bikes in Ho Chi Minh City really outnumber those in KL.............. though somehow they seem more organised than the KL ones. In fact the Vietnamese in general seem to be better drivers than many in Malaysia!!!
It's not easy to see on the photos, but the bikes go all the way down the street on the night shots.

I hate crossing roads, the trick is to step out slowly and keep going - but I am a coward and usually freeze half way across!