Pretty, huh? The crimson bubbles are striking. That’s what it’s like to be in one of Vietnam’s incense making villages. Very thankful as she got me a handful to keep as a memory. Firstly, the bamboo needs to be cut by hand in pieces. Then dried. Then cut into smaller pieces. Then dried again. Then into even smaller pieces. And then a machine will help to make them as thin as in incense stick. Then comes the dying part (pictured), then more drying. Then the paste of incense is added and ta dah. You have yourself an incense stick. Really not an easy task, for sure. Vietnam is one of the leading exporters of incense sticks, the country is extremely rich in all the ingredients involved in the making. Also long traditions, you can smell and see the sticks in most of the homes and businesses every morning. Just this village is producing around 50 million sticks per month, goes for sale not just in Vietnam, but close countries such as India, China and others as well... A lot more around Tet, the Vietnamese new year...