Tuesday, 5th July 2016 On Tuesday 5th, following a substantial breakfast in the Edenstar, our taxi driver for the three hourish trek to the next base was waiting for us at reception at the pre-arranged time of 8 a.m. Full of smiles but limited English, he told us that he had left Can Tho before 5 a.m. for this $100 pickup. Three hours later after a relatively uneventful ride, in Vietnamese terms, we were at our new place of abode. We did witness many examples of inept driving and total disregard for self-preservation amongst pedestrians and eagerly weaving motorcyclists but that's the norm here. I do remember raising more than my eyebrows experiencing how our taxi, just as for any other Can Tho bound vehicle, managed to cross over the "super-highway" / motorway type road to the pit stop services on the other side......via a man who walked around waving a red flag. I'm sure that would work back home. Get rid of the barriers between the north and south bound traffic on the M6 and get a man or two to hoist a reddish banner to halt the hurtling traffic as you cross to your comfort break. Yeah, sure to work! Our taxi driver was able to crack a joke or two in his unconstructed English. Coming to huge and impressive bridges across the Mekong, he told us that one was built by Japan and another by Australia. He praised them as being "very good". But when the taxi suffered one of its many huge unexpected leaps into the air due to roadworks being completed unsatisfactorily and left more like unintended speed bumps, which of course everyone ignores, his words were, " Road made by Vietnam!" Good joke! We knew that the Nguyen Shack would be a very different experience to the acceptably sterile Edenstar in Saigon. Incidentally, according to Katy, one of our new Vietnamese friends from Saigon, the names Ho Chi Minh City and Saigon are interchangeable and both are used by local people to refer to the capital city. The people of Vietnam are generally slim and slender but that didn't stop the slim and slender hosts at the homestay from insisting on lifting our heavy packs and taking them across the shaky rope bridge... which we would learn to cross with respectful care... to our bamboo bungalow beside a Mekong River inlet. Air conditioning is impossible without a closed roof! We were prepared for the attempt of fans to keep us cool and an outdoor bathroom with shower to ensure cleanliness of a satisfactory level. The two hammocks on the water-facing veranda were quickly claimed for an afternoon chill out! Our first and only activity booked for the day was the sunset boat tour; an hour and half boat ride down the inlets and creeks with our own private boatman. We cruised past hundreds of small homes where children would rush out to wave and demand a hello back from us, past swimmers and clothes washers, and past too much plastic that litters every part of the inner waters. Our boatman was so friendly and smiley, as is everyone. He asked for our names so that he could remember them everytime he would see us in the homestay. But in spite of his full efforts, his repeated attempt at "Phil" came out at best as "See-er". No criticism is intended on my part here as my repeated attempt at his name was further from the correct pronunciation than his of mine. It was a very relaxing hour and half, enhanced with the fresh coconut drink he cut up for us after parking up his boat for a moment and jumping to shore. Wielding a machete, the drinks wereready for consumption in no time. A curious, evil- looking and souding dog was very unwise in my opinion as he snarled and yelped constantly at him and us. He was fortunate that the machete was not used on him! A few challenges confronted our captain on the way back. As the river was high, there was insufficient clearage beneath a concrete bridge. The only answer was to shift our weight from the front to the back of the boat which enabled him to just get the engine under.....but with several scrapes to the paintwork. Another wooden bridge was too low even for this. His only option was to diassemble some of the lower part of the bridge and hold a heavy beam above our heads as his foot pushed the boat through the gap. Necessity is the mother! After supper....mine included fried spring rolls, a ginger, lemon grass tofu dinner and coconut ice- cream to follow... we made our way across the rope bridge and above the Mekong inlet to our bungalow at an earlyish hour. The intention was to get an early night, as on Wednesday we were due to leave at 5.30 a.m. for the floating market tour in Can Tho. But a sultry, sauna-like, a mere few hours asleep night was ahead of me! No problems for Caitlin or Alyson though! Only air-conditioning seems to affect Alyson's attempt to visit zedland.