Tuesday, October 19, 2010

What's that on the side of the road?


(PICTURE: Cassava drying on the side of the road.)

During my famous Tet Road Bike Trip of '09, Long, Nicky and I came upon a street lined with a white chips. We tried to ask the farmers what they were laying on the road and they kept repeating "sun". Long, our translator, wasn't sure what "sun" was so I think we all just assumed he meant "The Sun" (as in "The Sun" is drying the chips). Chalking the moment up to a mutual lack of language skills, we just shrugged our shoulders and kept on riding.

A couple of weeks ago, while Huyen and I rode to the water park/hot springs in Hue, we found ourselves driving between two rows of white chips. Huyen explained to me that the chips were "sun for pigs." I asked her what sun was and she told me it was cassava. I must admit that although it was nice to know what the food was, it was nicer knowing that it wasn't for humans to eat. There's just something about food drying out on a highway that isn't appealing to me.