You pass by vibrantly painted houses located just a few steps away from your boat, with colourful clothes drying on clotheslines

You pass by vibrantly painted houses located just a few steps away from your boat, with colourful clothes drying on clotheslines. You pass close enough to hear the alarmed clucking of chickens in their coops and to see women wading in waist-deep paddy fields. Fishermen row towards your houseboat hoping to sell their catch of fresh fish and crabs, caught right before your eyes. On the banks, you can glimpse the occasional temple or church, and shops and hospitals with small boats parked in front of them.