Lak LakeApr 24, 2008
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Bowl of silkworms
Silkworms up close
Working hard making fabrics
The scenery on Day #2 on the motorbike tour was just as spectacular as the first day. We continued on our path north and passed through several mountains with coffee plantations.
We stopped at a silk making factory to see how silk is made. We saw thousands of silkworm cocoons and watched how the woman removed the silk stands from the cocoons by placing them in a bucket of water and then manipulated them with a specific tool. The stands then went through various processes, including being wrapped on small spools which were then transferred to larger spools. The individual silk yarns were then fed into a very complicated machine that created the silk fabric, often times with extremely intricate designs.
We made a few other stops during the day. One to see a fruit orchard and meet the owner who enjoyed feeding us several bananas! We also stopped for our obligatory Vietnamese coffees throughout the day.
We also stopped at another textile production shop where young women toiled in front of sewing machines making fabrics. This seemed to be back-breaking work and our hearts went out to the young girls at this shop as we shared smiles with them.
We ended the day at Lak Resort located on Lak Lake. We stayed in a long house and, although it could probably house about 30 guests, we had the entire thing to ourselves. We enjoyed a beer at a table overlooking the lake watching the sunset. We then had a shower and joined Hiep and Son for dinner. They taught us some "Vietnamese games" which involved "brainteasers" using multiple toothpicks. Hiep had a mobile phone that played music and we ended the night listening to the Backstreet Boys sing "As Long as You Love Me." It was a bit surreal, but enjoyable all the same!
