Treasures of the Mekong River Cruise, March 2019

This trip has been 2 years in the making and it has finally arrived!
We drove to our son's in Mississauga March 8. Good drive, clear & sunny!
At 9:45 he took us to the airport where we met up with Rosemarie & Cookie. Breezed thru check-in and checked luggage.
Saturday, April 9, 2019, 12:10AM started boarding. Finally took off on a 15 1/2 hour flight to Hong Kong.












When looking at the route, we flew over North Bay, heading for the North Pole.
We arrived in Hong Kong at 6:00 Sunday morning, local time (12 hours time difference)

After a 2 hour layover, we were on our way to Ho Chi Minh City on a short 2.5 hour flight!








Touched down at 9:45am, with another time change, back 1 hour.

It was incredible to see the dense population!














On arrival, once we collected our luggage, we found the Scenic rep who took us to the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel. Whew! It is 30C!













The hotel is a 5 star luxury hotel where we had a complimentary drink in the Park Lounge, where they have afternoon tea.








We unpacked some clothes and had a refreshing shower.

Met up with Rosemarie's brother, Hamid and his wife, Carol and went for a walk around. Traffic is crazy! Scooters dodging in & out everywhere!


And so the adventure begins!

However, the wifi is very slow. It takes about 20 minutes to upload a photo! That is what is slowing me down in posting!

Friday, October 26.

12.9C first thing this morning. The fireplace certainly helps!

We got packed up and went to dump, only to find that we don't have a dump on our site! Closed up, hooked up and moved to the site next door to dump. However, it was apparently VERY slow, so decided to forget it & move on.

Finally got on the road at 9:55 with a temp of 55F and cloudy skies. Shortly we entered Tennessee and light drizzle was upon us. 4
Continuing through rain, mist and clouds we crossed into Kentucky and arrived at Dad's Bluegrass Campground. The rain fortunately let up in order to allow us to get set up.

At 8:00 it is 11.5C, so will have to winterize soon 😒

Now to decide where our next stop will be........

Thursday, October 25, 2018, Heading north

Light rain started at 2:30am.
By 6:30, it had become a steady, heavy rain.





Since the rain continued, we packed up the inside to be ready if and when it stopped. Of course, I used the time to go to the office to update on the wi-fi. Had to cross rivers of water to get there!

The rain eased up by 8:45, so we hooked up.






At 9:20, we pulled out under light rain and a pleasant 73F


We had rain off & on throughout the day and it was still raining when we arrived at the Memphis South RV Park & Campground in Coldwater, Mississippi. Amazing that we had good wi-fi out in the middle of nowhere!

Moving further north tomorrow as the temperature goes down!

Day 34, October 24, Farewells

Most were departing today for various destinations, but before leaving, we were provided with a "send-off" continental breakfast in the park restaurant. There were many hugs and safe travel wishes all around the room. It was a bittersweet time since we had made so many new friends.

After breakfast, we went to the Dodge dealer for an oil change on the truck. Stopped at a Walgreens  to pick up a couple of 64 GB flash drives so I can get copies of the pics that our 'official/non-official' photographer took.

Since we are staying until tomorrow, I decided to do laundry.






At 5:45, we went to the "Lighthouse", the park restaurant along with a dozen others for a final dinner.

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Marcel enjoyed an 11-ounce rib-eye with a loaded baked potato, washed down with a Yuengling beer.











My dinner was the "Salty Pig", which consisted of pulled pork on French bread and fried oysters. Delicious!


Then it was time to pack up in preparation for departure tomorrow morning.

Day 33, October 23, Winding down and Steamboat Natchez cruise

We had light rain through the night but it was quite a comfortable 19.2C when we got up.
Went to Walmart as the rain continued. I guess the skies are sad that our tour is almost over!

At lunch, the WM showed a slideshow of the trip, which brought back memories of our adventures over the past month.





Of course, we had to eat, and the park provided a great lunch buffet which included French bread for Po-Boy sandwiches, fried catfish, shrimp, crawfish pies, a veggie tray and fruit tray.








We have had plenty of practice with buffets over the past month!












At 4:45, it was still raining as we boarded the shuttle buses to go to the Toulouse Street Wharf for an evening Jazz cruise.




The Steamboat Natchez is 265 feet long, 46 feet wide with a draft of 7 feet. The Paddle-wheel is 25 feet in diameter and weighs 26 tons. Steam is the sole means of forward and reverse propulsion.











After boarding and being seated with friends, at 6:00 we were subjected to yet another buffet! During dinner we were treated to New Orleans swing style music by the Grammy nominated "Dukes of Dixieland". It was VERY loud!








Following dinner we were free to wander around the three decks of the boat. At 7:00, we cast off for the cruise up and down the Mississippi River, enjoying the lights.









St. Louis Cathedral from the boat.



On our return to the dock at 9:00, our shuttle buses met us and took us back to the park.

Our amazing adventure is sadly coming to an end.

Day 32, Monday, October 22, New Orleans School of Cooking

Breezy but clear start to the day, 14.1C




We took the shuttle buses to the New Orleans School of Cooking this morning.
The entertaining cooking classes and demonstrations are located in an 1830's French Quarter warehouse.







Of course, we had plenty of time to look around (aka shop) the General Store before it was time for our cooking demonstration!
The Louisiana General Store is a collection of locally sourced products. They carry a full line of Cajun and Creole products, cookbooks, spices, gift baskets, cookware and their famous original seasoning - "Joe's Stuff'"

They were making Pralines at the front of the shop, and had samples. 
Pralines are intensely sweet disks of sugar, butter and pecans. They have a creamy consistency, similar to fudge.

Rinaldi was our chef and he started off making a bread pudding and put it in the oven to bake while he continued making the Corn and Crab Bisque. Next was Crawfish Etouffee on rice.It was interesting watching him preparing the different dishes.











There are mirrors suspended over the cooking area so everyone can see what he is doing.











For dessert, he prepared Pralines and a Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce.











We all enjoyed the fruits of his labours for a delicious lunch!

After lunch, there was more time to shop, then the shuttles arrived to take us back to the RV Park.

Day 31, Sunday, October 21, Seaplane and Swamp boat

The boil water advisory is still in effect. Good thing we will be away all day!
At 7:30 we were ready to board the coach bus for a 2 hour drive to Southern Seaplanes in Venice, but it was deemed too windy to fly at present.
Our WM and TG's did some juggling and rearranged the day for us.




At 8:30 we were off to Jean Lafitte Swamp Boat Tours.

Arrived at 9:15 and boarded the pontoon boat.












We cruised along the canal (marsh)  with Jean Lafitte National Park on our left looking for alligators.
After a while, we left the marsh and entered the bayou.

The difference between a marsh and a bayou:
A marsh is an area of low, wet land, often with tall grass, while a bayou is a slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river.






We spotted 3, but it was hard to get a good picture. This one was sunning himself on a log.
There was a much bigger one in the water bur we could only see his head!









After about 45 minutes, we turned around to head back. The captain passed around a preserved gator head for us all to feel. After that, came an alligator snapping turtle shell. It has distinct ridges on its shell that are similar in appearance to the rough, ridged skin of an alligator.


He also brought out an 24 inch live gator for us to hold after instructing us how to hold it.





When we finished the boat cruise, it was off to the airport with "Plan B"




At 11:45, we arrived at Southern Seaplanes, in Belle Chasse where we enjoyed lunch of pizza instead of the planned box lunch at the original airport.
We were divided into 4 groups of 3 -4 people each (there were 4 planes, 2 would take off on land and 2 from the water). When the first group of 3 flights took off, we looked around the hangar, which was full of planes of various sizes.











When our turn came, we were taking off from the water (canal)!

What a rush! Today was unlimited visibility, which only happens about 20 days a year, according to our pilot! It was well worth the wait and change in plan.










Managed to get some great photos, but I don't have enough room to post them all! This shows the 'crescent' bend in the river and some barges. that is the reason New Orleans is named the Crescent City.








We landed on the canal after an amazing 40 minute flight, with the pilot giving narration, explaining what we were seeing and what has happened to the land over the years. Building the seawall was a huge mistake, but that is another story.

Back at the park, it was time for a celebration and Happy Hour after a super day. Larry brought out his "Harley Davidson" Margarita machine and a good time was had by all!