After we had visited the incense village, we drove to another village to see the ancient art of making fish traps. On the way there we stopped at a home where they made rush mats, and below we see them being stencilled and trimmed.
I can’t resist an old wall with traditional or old items hanging up.
Fish traps are traditionally made using bamboo and other natural materials, such as palm leaves, rattan, and reeds. The crafting process begins with selecting the right materials and cutting them to the desired length and shape. The bamboo is then split into thin strips, which are woven together to form the framework of the trap. It’s a dying art and only a handful of older people make them now as cheap plastic imports from China are readily available on the market.
The lady below is in her 90s and when she was a young women it was fashionable for women to dye their teeth black! Apparently the fad lasted for less than ten years so women in their 80s don’t have black teeth. Fashion fads come and go and there are plenty of women my age with very thin eyebrows as it used to be fashionable to drastically pluck them into a thin line. It’s completely changed now and big dark eyebrows are ‘the thing’. (As well as big filled lips.) I’m glad I’ve never been tempted to follow fads.
The traps are lightweight enough to be piled high on a bicycle.
As we were leaving the fields a man was herding his flock of geese. Certainly not an everyday sight in the UK!
This day trip was taken with Moment Lives, and some of the information about the traps is taken from the website to ensure it’s correct. (Thank you Son Trieu!)
