Full day in Can Tho.......

            Help! I think that my toes are growing webs to cope with all the water. I took heart that it was

Sunset over the Mekong

not actually pouring with rain this morning upon wakening at 8.30 am, from a deep & satisfying sleep (dear readers, decadent I know, but absolutely free from guilt!). From the breakfast table peered out into tepid and fleeting sunshine. Quickly packed my bag and headed out for a stroll along the Mekong River bank. Hailed every 10 metres by hawkers trying to interest me a 2 hour boat trip to the floating market---tourists of any variety seem in short supply here in Can Tho at the moment---exactly the way I prefer it! Probably they knew better than me, that it will be hot, dry & sunny in these parts in another 4-6 weeks.
           

Tasty dinner, but not for me.........

Had an encounter and chance to witness my first professional level drone operation in the river bank park. I was rather alarmed initially that the pilot was operating the expensive drone out over water from a bridge. The control that he exerted over the craft was impressive and he was able to position it almost motionless at various altitudes, from almost water level to 500 ft. plus. The craft was controlled from a tablet interface providing the 'pilot' with an exact camera bird's eye view. A 'toy' to consider for the future?!
                Circled the central area of Can Tho, described in Lonely planet as being 'laid back', enjoying the fact that is considerably less frenetic, less crowded and with air that is more breathable. The main boulevards of Can Tho are wide and the traffic somewhat more orderly than in

Filming us......

in most of the Vietnamese cities, especially, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) to the north.
                  Prior to  embarking on this trip, I invested in a new pair of sandals, of a style that needed to be both comfortable and cool for all the walking entailed in this type of independent travel. The problem is that I did not envisage was that the sandals would emit a really foul smell when wet---and they have been wet almost continuously for the past two plus weeks. I put them on wet in the morning and they stay that way for the entire day. This can be embarrassing when I am in company, for example, when on a sleeper bus and ones feet are directly under the head of the passenger in front! Would be interesting to hear some of the comments that must have been made about that

Not sure if he was waving to me....

foreigners stinky feet!! Anyway, next time I see a decent shoe shop, I think I know what in the interests of common decency, I must do.
                 Afternoon--semi sunny, but basically dry. Ambled the boulevards and back lanes of Can Tho. Of major appeal was the narrow lane that specializes in machinery, water pumps, tools, spanners and washers and a million other 'guy' things. Not only the machinery, but the mini tool shops and the places one goes to get things fixed. With only a couple of metres frontage, the employees work away on the tiny concrete floor area of their shop. Old pieces of machines are stripped, cleaned, overhauled and reassembled by oily and sweaty mechanics in the full blast of the tropical heat. Great 'slice of life' photo taking opportunities to record the realities of industrial life in a third world environment.