VietNamNet Bridge – People living along the banks of the Da River in the north have been familiar with large grocery boats loaded with various types of goods, from daily necessities such as rice, sugar and salt to household appliances, agricultural and fishing tools for sale to ethnic minority people.

A grocery boat moves on the Da River

However, many visitors to mountainous provinces are excited about such grocery boats as they can learn a lot of interesting stories about the mobile groceries. The boats move forth and back along the mighty Da River and dock at the river’s sections which are near markets of ethnic minority groups. Markets are open once, twice or several days of a month in villages of ethnic minority groups in remote areas of mountainous provinces but the owners of such boats know very well the opening day of these markets.

Customers inspect products inside a grocery boat on the Da River       An ethnic minority woman stands near a grocery boat. The boat docks near a market in Pa Na Village in Tua Khan Commune, Tua Chua District in Dien Bien Province to sell goods to local consumers. There are market sessions in the village on the 10th, 20th and 30th of every month.       Vendors sit inside a grocery boat. Those boats are usually full of goods, leaving little living space for the owners and their members on board - Photos: Nguyen Hue Nghi

SGT