The motorbikes are motionless, Saigon is silent, you can hear birds in the trees, the early morning conversations of dogs. Raucous roosters vocally defend their chickens. Lorries languish, their dirty diesels silent, cars are clean and polished in the front rooms of narrow tall houses. Food is supplied by soldiers, some of whom have never been inside a supermarket, their mothers aunts and grandmothers made food happen. Now they must find their way to some Coconut cream and noodles! Tests get up your nose! Jabs jab your arm whenever your blood pressure is low enough!

Enough! Enough! Lets’s look at some photos from the beautiful town of Hoi An. (From an excellent article by the superb ‘Saigoneer’ Emag.)

Life on the Last Remaining Ferries in Hoi An

Tuesday, 10 August 2021. Written by Tran Duy Minh. Photos by Nguyen Phan.

Darkroom is a Saigoneer photography series that documents the beauty and stories of Vietnam and beyond. The compelling images encourage one to reflect upon the complexity of the human condition and the world.

These ferry boat trips may no longer be seen in Hoi An in the future, but they have been reliable partners in daily life and work for years.

Cam Kim Commune is in the countryside in Hoi An city. It’s separated from Hoi An’s downtown by the Thu Bon River. People from both sides travel across on a daily basis to conduct business. When there was no bridge, the ferry boat was the primary mode of transportation.

Over time, bridges were built to connect the two areas, but they still cannot completely replace the ferry boats. For their own reasons, a few locals still continue to use the ferry as their favorite mode of transport.

The ferries have been part of life in Hoi An for years.

People used to take small rowboats from Cam Kim to Hoi An. In the 2000s, the boat stations were paved, and the boat trips became more organized. Boat drivers gradually improved their transport, first to larger boats, and then to proper ferries with an engine.

Liên, a 54-year-old vendor from Cam Kim, often takes the ferry to Hoi An and back carrying fish to sell at the market. “I cannot ride a bicycle or motorbike. I only walk places, so taking the ferry is convenient for me. If I walked and used the bridge, my legs would be broken. It’s too far,” she joked.

A daily routine for many.

Today, these boats still play an essential role in many lives. “We can only ride the ferry to Hoi An for our business. So if Hoi An lacked these ferry boats, we would lack food,” Tới, Liên’s 67-year-old sister, added.

While riding on the ferry, passengers often make use of the time to rest and chat with each other.

“On the ferry, people treat each other as family members. We openly chat about everything, about our daily work and life, happy and unhappy. Sometimes, our goods are sold out and bring in much cash, and we excitedly share about that,” Nhã said.

Ferry passengers can often only walk or ride a bicycle.   

Nhã is a 60-year-old vendor selling corn. She lives in Cam Kim, and every day she takes a ferry into town to do her business in the morning and goes back to Cam Kim in the afternoon.

“At noon, riding through the bridge will make me tired. Going by ferry boat, I just put my bike on the boat, sit down to rest and chat with my mates for a while. Then I will get home effortlessly,” she shared. “I’ve been taking the boat for about 18 years, and I preferred the scenes on the boat in the past when it was crowded.”

Many years ago, hundreds of people used to travel by ferry boat daily. Every morning, many vendors traveled to Hoi An to trade. “In earlier times, this boat station was full of sellers and buyers every morning. It was bustling and joyful,” Nhã recalled. 

Left: A passenger arranges her goods on the ferry boat. Right: A woman returns to Cam Kim from Hoi An

Farmers in Cam Kim say the ferry is the only way to deliver their produce downtown to sell. They also buy food and other necessities to take back home.

When tourism in Hoi An began to grow, many buildings were constructed in the downtown area, many Cam Kim residents took the ferry to work on construction sites.

Students living in Cam Kim also rode the ferry to go to school. “The number of students is enormous, so there used to be separate boats to transfer them. They were so playful and talkative. They looked lovely and made the boat full of joy,” said Nhã.

Lê Viết Nam helps passengers transfer their goods and bicycles from the boat to its station.

The hardest period for those working the ferry route was when the boats were operated by rowing.

“Rowing the boat is so hard and tiring, especially when it’s so windy. I had to row the boat to transport people to work on time. Sometimes, I wouldn’t eat breakfast until almost noon. I often grab a milk pack to drink when I feel hungry while rowing the boat,” Lê Viết Nam said.

Nam is a 72-year-old Cam Kim resident. Since quitting work as a fisherman eight years ago, he has worked as a ferry boat captain. Every morning, he wakes up at about 3am to prepare for his first daily trip departing from Cam Kim at 4am.

“I work almost every day, except for when it rains heavily. During those days, I miss my ferry boat while I cannot drive it,” shared Nam.

These ferries have gone through many ages, from impromptu stations to officials docks, from rowboats to diesel-powered boat, from the bridge-building to the COVID-19 outbreaks.

The ferry boat trips have been part of Hoi An life for years.

Since the bridge was built, the number of ferry boats operating on this route has gradually decreased. Some captains sold their boats and quit. When Hoi An’s tourism industry grew, many boat owners switched tourism transport. Then the pandemic came, and demand for tourism boats dropped.

“My working life with the ferry has been going up and down like the waves of the river,” Nam poetically shared.

He said that a long time ago, his work had brought in hundreds of thousands of dong per day. Besides his regular daily trips, he also made use of time to ferry tourists around to earn more. After the bridges were built, and when COVID-19 appeared, he now makes less than VND100,000 per day, but he still keeps working.

“I believe it is love that keeps my loyal local passengers using this old-fashioned transport to this day. I not only drive the boat but also usually help them transfer their bicycles and goods between the boat and its station,” Nam said.

Heading home after a day in Hoi An.

There are only about three remaining ferries on this route now, and they only run a few trips in the morning and afternoon.

“I think that these boats will no longer exist in a few generations. Society is becoming more modern day by day. The younger people will use motorbikes and cars so they can go across the bridge for convenience,” said Nhã.

Nam stated: “If this route stops, I will retire. I still work now because I want to live a healthy life while also working to assist the locals who still find this ferry convenient and useful.”

These boats are not only part of local life, but also the beauty of this ancient town. “I feel that Hoi An will be missing something if these ferries are discontinued. I hope they will keep running in the future to preserve a beautiful Hoi An,” said Nam.

To keep the ferries as a dear memory, here is a poem composed by Nam and his friends:

Cây đa tróc gốc trôi rồi

Đò đi bến khác, em ngồi đợi ai

Ai về xứ Cẩm chiều mai

Cho tôi nhắn gửi vòng thơ tặng nàng

Cẩm Kim có chiếc đò ngang

Cho anh đi với, đừng sang một mình

After a storm, the banyan fell and floated away

The boat changed its station, why do you still wait there

If someone goes to Cam village

Please deliver this poem to my dear

Cam Kim has the ferry boat trips

Please take me as your companion

I’ve stopped wearing my watch, as there’s no need, I don’t have to be anywhere at anytime. The hairs on my arm are now growing where it used to be! Being in all the time is now becoming frighteningly ‘normal’. Netflix and Amazon music come after my morning exercise and before my evening shower. I look at the time on my phone wondering when I can eat again, not because I’m particularly hungry but because it relieves the tedium.

Love and peace John.

An Afghan family’s harrowing account of getting to Kabul’s airport

One Afghan family’s harrowing account of getting to Kabul’s airport.

On his third attempt to evacuate, ‘Khan’ made it out of Kabul on Wednesday and detailed the troubles of getting his family to the airport as Taliban patrol the streets.

US evacuates Americans from Afghanistan as Taliban tightens control The United States is planning to launch one flight per hour to hopefully evacuate up to 9,000 people each day, as the Taliban assumes control of the country. It was on the third attempt that”Khan,” his pregnant wife and their 3-year old son made to get to Kabul’s international airport — the most harrowing yet — when they were finally successful.

Khan, whose real name ABC News is not using for his security, made it on a U.S. military flight out of Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to his U.S. lawyer, fleeing the Taliban takeover and the threats its fighters had made against him for years because of his service to the U.S.

Tens of thousands of Afghans remain behind in anguish and fear. The Biden administration has promised to evacuate”as many Afghans as we possibly can for as long as we can,” in the words of State Department spokesperson Ned Price, but the task remains immense and chaotic — not least because Taliban fighters continue to block access to the airport.

People try to get into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Aug. 16, 2021.It’s unclear how many Afghans the administration is committed to evacuating, where they will be brought to safety and who qualifies for a coveted seat on military and chartered flights.

Khan, a computer scientist by training who worked for a U.S. defense contractor alongside his brother”Mohammad,” had spent years waiting for a special immigrant visa.After waiting 10 years for a visa, Mohammad finally learned last December that he was granted approval. Less than a month later, he was gunned down on his way to work, his 10-year old son by his side in the car.

Khan was supposed to travel with them but had to run errands that morning in January. He has spent recent months in hiding, receiving death threats by phone and text message and waiting for his family’s special immigrant visas to be finalized. On Saturday, hours before the U.S. Embassy in Kabul closed its doors, he and his family were able to pick up their visas.

The State Department has informed a all American citizens and some Afghan visa holders to travel to the airport, warning in capital letters that they”cannot guarantee your security as you make this trip,” according to the embassy email notice obtained by ABC News.

Khan and his family made their first attempt on Sunday and tried again Tuesday, but there were too many Taliban fighters pushing back crowds to even get close.On Wednesday, they tried a different approach, nearing a gate on the north side. But there, they encountered U.S. troops trying to disperse crowds by shooting into the air and using tear gas, according to Khan’s U.S. lawyer Julie Kornfeld from the International Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP, who was FaceTiming with him during the episode.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Wednesday that American troops providing security at the perimeter fired their weapons in the air as part of”crowd control measures.”Kornfeld and IRAP have filed several petitions to order the State Department to evacuate all Afghans who have applied for special immigrant visas and their families — some 100,000 Afghans in total, the legal advocacy group estimates.

Heller called on the U.S. government to secure safe passage to Kabul’s airport for Americans and Afghans like Khan. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the U.S. had an agreement with the Taliban to ensure safe passage, but several Afghans on the ground have told ABC News they have been blocked. In some cases, Taliban fighters beat back crowds with chains or by firing sporadic gunfire into the air.

In the hours when it seemed like it wouldn’t happen, Kornfeld said they considered other options, including Khan leaving his pregnant wife and son behind to see if he could push ahead and come back to get them — an agonizing decision, she said.”It’s a dynamic situation. Things are rapidly changing on the ground, and one client’s success story of where the access points are is not going to hold up,” Kornfeld added.

The Taliban declared an”amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country.

Once inside, the process was more efficient, she added, with two of her clients and their families on flights within 30 minutes of entering the airport and being processed. Sullivan said Tuesday that since the U.S. military was able to secure the airport late Monday, more evacuation flights have been flowing in”one after another, hot unloading and hot offloading,” he told reporters.

But outside the airport, chaos continues to reign.An alert from the U.S. embassy late Wednesday advised U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, they”should consider” travelling to the airport — sparking crowds of people rushing there again.

Kabul evacuations resume after hours-long delay

Oh Yes! I’m The Great Pretender!

So! Are the Taliban Pretending or is it time for change?

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I’m eighteen, with a bullet. Got my finger on the trigger – gonna pull it! – (Pete Wingfield 1975).

A British incursion into Afghanistan ended in disaster in 1842 when an entire British army of 4,500 British and Indian troops and 12,000 camp followers while retreating back to India, were massacred. Only a single survivor made it back to British-held territory. 

So! How do you control young male illiterate fighters drunk on the power of the gun, fuelled by religious fervour, from being over zealous with their bullets, from taking whatever they want, including your very young much loved daughter who a month ago laughed her way to school!

Personally I don’t consider that soldiers and foreign people who have died there in the last twenty years have died in vain. They have opened a window to the Afghan people as to what life could be like without the terrible yoke of archaic oppression. That freedom has flown out of the window and dances on the eternal wind.

And relax!

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Love and peace – John

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