Cam Kim Island

We strolled to the market to take the ferry to Cam Kim island. Several locals, bicycles and scooters were already loaded. We were told the trip would cost $10,000.00 Dong (50 cents) each, so not to get caught with an unexpected tourist rate hike we asked how much? The fellow showed us a 20 so we just shook our heads, no, and walked away. The guy by the plank to the ferry waved us on and said it would be 10k dong. We climbed aboard and sat with the locals. The ferry is a crude wooden boat powered by a loud (no muffler) diesel motor. The operator is at the back and controls the rudder with a hand lever and the throttle by a cord coming up through the floor. It is a short trip across, only about 15 minutes, but does offer a nice view of the town from the water's side.
Disembarking the ferry we walk into the beginnings of the wood carvers village. There a a few shops with finished carvings for sale and carvers in the back shaping wood chunks into art. The first two were working on creating inlays of oyster shell pieces. The one fellow was cutting the shell while the lady was applying some sort of pate to the inlayed pieces. The final product is shown in the photo of board with Asian characters. The inlay is also seen in the amazing prices of furniture, all hand made and carved and with inlay. Amazing! The best piece was the huge board the men were relief carving. It looked like it was three or four boards laminated together. So very beautiful and what a treat to see them carving the raw wood. Next was a guy on a scaffold using a chain saw to cut the shape of a wood statue, 16 or so feet high. He would then take the mallet and chisels to carve the detail.