Can Tho and Mekong

Glory be, we are allowed to sleep in this morning. Breakfast at 7:30 - I am sure going to miss these breakfasts!

We check out of our hotel in Hoi An at 9. Then bus it to the airport for the 11:55 scheduled flight to Can Tho. On the way I get a small glimpse of some of the old revetments and quonset huts that once housed US aircraft on Danang Airbase.

It's got a whole different look at Danang now!

After checking in and clearing security I head over to our assigned gate and hook up with Dan and Darlene, a husband and wife on a four month tour of south east asia. Their next destination is Myanmar and they have been wanting to see some of the photos from my trip there last year. So just as we sit down and get about three slides into my Myanmar slide show, there is an announcement that our gate has changed - all the way to the other end of the terminal - AND they are boarding the plane right now!

I quickly pack up my stuff and run over to the other gate. The one hour flight to Can Tho on Vietnam Airways is uneventful. One hour from Hanoi to Danang, one hour from Danang to Can
Tho. Just like in the old days, when we would put in 14 -16 hours days but all of the flights in my C-130 were an hour or less. Lots of takeoffs and landings every day. Heaven for a pilot, because takeoffs and landings are what it is all about, no one enjoys sitting at altitude on autopilot. Plant one on the numbers, max reverse and jump on the binders - make that first turn off onto the taxiway! Damn, I miss that!!

En route to our accommodations we stop for a once again, phenomenal lunch. It's all delish but the mango shrimp is my favorite.

Loading up the bus again, we head over to our "Rustic Homestay".  Rustic it is! My room is air conditioned, but the mosquito netting over the bed makes me wonder if the AC will keep the little critters down. Then I notice that the doors have louvers to the outside that are not screened. OK, that answers that question. The door to the bathroom takes me outside where I find a small walled in courtyard. The sink and commode are under cover of a roof, but the shower is in a corner of the courtyard where there is no roof. Well, I guess if it's raining you can get a shower within a shower.

Most of the rest of the group goes out on a bicycle adventure but I opt to stay put and chill. There are some interesting things to photograph right here.

Pineapple growing outside my room

I went to sleep right after dinner as we had to be checked out and ready to go at 5 AM the next morning.