Anyway, what better way to end Hoi An than with a lovely sunset cruise on the Thu Bun River, which was set up by our hotel. (The really nice one, not the formaldehyde-smelling one, not surprisingly.) Even better? It included free appetizers, which were tasty skewers (hmmm, meat-on-a-stick!) and spring rolls, plus free champagne. Even even better? There was food and drink for four, since another couple had signed up for the same cruise, but one was a vegetarian and one didn't drink, so more for me. I mean, if you're not eating and drinking to excess, you're not really taking advantage of your vacation, are you? And for those of you who like vacations that feature physical activity, I say, seriously? SERIOUSLY? If you wanted to work hard, then why go on vacation? I think you are missing the point ...

Whatever. Back to the river and the cruise. It was, as you might expect, nice. Even without the food and champagne, although, not surprisingly, that didn't hurt ... And if you don't believe me, here are some pictures to prove it, starting with a few of the bigger fishing boats on the dock. Which isn't exactly pretty, but I like it, so there, and--as I've said before--it's my blog, etc. etc. etc.:



Champagne wishes and spring roll dreams, people:





The hut in the photo below, besides providing a really good picture-taking opportunity, also doubles as a home-base for people fishing with nets. Well, actually, I guess that's more its primary purpose, but whatever. I prefer it as a photo op:



Here is the net fishing I spoke of moments ago. You can see the hut to left of the net. As far as I could tell, they pretty much just put these nets in the water, and then crank them up every once in a while to see how many--if any--fish are in them. Yes, it really is just that simple:



Well, it's that simple unless you're the guy who has to actually sit there in the hot, hot sun and turn the crank to raise the net. Then it sucks shit:



The next morning, we got in a van, were driven to Da Nang (site of the famous China Beach, which we didn't actually stop at but may have driven by), then jumped on a plane for Ho Chi Minh City, AKA the HCMC, AKA Saigon ...

Previously, on my vacation:
- Hoi An: My Son.
- Hoi An: the People.
- Hoi An: the Streets.
- Hue: Zoom, Zoom.
- Hue: the River.
- Hue: the Imperial Tombs.
- Hue: the Imperial Palace.
- Hue: the Streets.
- Halong Bay: the Videos.
- Halong Bay.
- Hanoi: the Random.
- Hanoi: Water Puppets.
- Hanoi: the "Hilton." '
- Hanoi: the People.
- Hanoi: Zoom, Zoom.
- Hanoi: the Streets.