Last stop in Vietnam countryside

In a small village, we visited a business producing several kinds of local candy. It was a production facility, Vietnam style.

First was a puffed rice treat, kind of like Rice Krispie Treats, Only not as sweet. First they heat up sand in this giant wok.

Then add the rice and stir until it pops up

They pour it into a shaker and removed the sand, then into a different shaker to remove the husks.

The puffed rice is added to the hot syrup,

Poured into this mold. Cool and cut.

Pass the cut pieces to the people who wrap and seal it. Yes, one of the girls is sitting on the table where they are wrapping the candy.

Then we were invited to sit down and have tea and sample the sweets. I liked the candy and tea - so of course we bought some,

Then they sampled a Vietnamese specialty, Snake Wine. Really. It is rice wine, where they place a dead snake, and let it sit for several years. Only 2 people in our group of 40 tried this, and TanMan was one of them.

And in case your muscles were aching, they also sold this medicine. As a pharmacist, I'll have to admit that this is a new one for me!