On Saturday November 8th, 2014 we went on "The Hippo Boat Ride." Near the boat dock, artisan had their wares to show. There were carved animals, hats, beaded bracelets, necklaces and lots more fun things. The Christmas balls that are pictured in the middle row of pictures are carved on the outside of what they called Monkey Fruit. The monkey fruit had a pale green seedy middle which is removed before carving. The outside is relatively soft and appears to be quite easy to carve, although getting the design just right, I am sure, was a bit tricky. The monkey fruits looked a lot like a gourd that we would find back home. There were 5 or six men carving different designs on the monkey fruit. It was interesting to watch and listen to them as they talked.
