I was on one of the several remote sprawls of islands south of Phu Quoc Island at the western most parts of Vietnam. The boat stopped by a remote fishing village. At midday they few inhabitants were lazily resting on hammocks, eating, and tending to their gear. Small shacks and shelters grouped together along a patch of beach. Large coconut trees stretched upwards and tilted defiantly over the ocean.
Following the sand coastline towards a rocky cropping I saw children playing on a large rock. They were smashing small snails with stones and eating them once they freed the snails from their casings. They giggled and offered me a few and upon my reluctance; they laughed even louder. A few children were searching beneath the water for snails and then handing them to to a friend who collected the lot. I could not help but notice that a dive mask used by the kids was entirely home made.
The oval glass view plate was wrapped by a steel band which held a rubber face skirt that was fabricated by in inner tube. The mask strap too was a strip cut from strips of any inner tube. The children shared this home made mask and were jubilantly splashing and laughing in the sea. A few of these shots were brilliant. I love it when you capture a moment that seems like you froze a dance of a play.
Linh Vien Thai is Amerasian, born in Dalat, South Vietnam, where he continued to lived during the war. He left for the U.S. and is now an American living in Tokyo. He enjoys adventure traveling and doing what’s right to make the world a better place.
