We were nearly at the Cu Chi Tunnels when our driver stopped at a small roadside market. He knew we liked to photograph things, and I was please that he took the opportunity to stop. He was also quite attentive as we crossed the road, making quite sure there was no traffic coming in either direction before he allowed me to cross.
The market consisted of half a dozen people selling their wares on a narrow strip of dirt between the road and adjacent field. There was the usual pile of bananas, sweet potatoes and other fruit and veg. A green plastic bucket filled with a writhing mass of eels. The women were friendly, smiling, holding up their babies to be photographed. The only man was working hard at doing nothing as he lounged in a hammock. The woman all laughed when they saw me taking his photo.
I had seen enough, and was just about to turn back, when the driver said “Cooking mice.”, and pointed to a wire cage at the end of the “market”. I turned to Stan... “Did he say ‘Cooking mice’?” Stan nodded.
On closer inspection, most of the “Cooking mice”, looked more like cooking rats. I bent in close enough to take a photo or two and then quickly retreated to the comparative safety of the backseat of the Merc. I comforted myself with the knowledge, that I knew the words for beef, chicken and pork in Vietnamese and that I mostly eat vegetarian food when I travel.
From Wikipedia...
Paddy mouse meat - barbecued, braised, stir or deep fried - is a rare dish that can be found in many Vietnamese rural areas or even high-end city restaurants.