I’ve just been going through some old photos from our first RTW, Vietnam, wow! Great memories and one of our favourite countries. Did you know they use coracles in Vietnam?
I’m Welsh, so I grew up knowing all about coracles, they are a traditional river boat made from willow, skins and tar. The word coracle comes from a Welsh word, cwrwgl, but I had no idea they also popped up in parts of Asia.
We came accross these pulled up on the beach at Hoi An ( a gorgeous little town) on a very stormy day, they are obviously still used for fishing.
This photo has made me think I need to take a waterproof jacket on our next RTW, I don’t remember using it outside the Himalayas, but clearly I did!
We also saw some actually being used in Nha Trang ( after we’d been on a Booze Cruise and were very drunk indeed, that’s what backpackers do, quite often.)
I just thought they were really cool. Isn’t the world an amazing place. That’s all I wanted to say!
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That’s brought back some happy memories. I once borrowed a coracle for a maritime heritage exhibition. They’re surprisingly heavy when you are trying to carry them across town! Not sure I’d fancy one after a booze cruise.
The Vietnamese/Asian version of the coracle is made somewhat differently: using interwoven bamboo and waterproofed by using resin and coconut oil.