In Can Tho on the Mekong Delta right now. Its hot and sticky. Geckos all over the walls. Took a boat ride along the river and saw some of the floating markets today, watched people make candy from rice, pineapple etc. Green rice paddies and tropical fruit fields everywhere. On to Chau Doc tomorrow then crossing the border to Pnomh Penh the day after by boat.
The economics around tourism are interesting. A 2 night/3 day trip up the Mekong and on to Phnom Penh costs USD $36/person, including hotels, transport in an a/c bus, tour guide, activities (boat rides etc) and some meals. Its quite astonishing that it can be done for so little. It would be cheaper to go travel in South East Asia for a month than pay rent in DC. Doing the same thing as a private tour ups the cost to around $400 - real economies of scale, although there are only about 18 people on our trip. There are tons of travel agencies retailing a relatively small number of wholesaled trips- any deviations from the norm rapidly increase pricing. One exception is hotels - you can upgrade pretty easily either through an agency or online. This internet thing - I think its going to be big
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