For decades, Can Tho has been the capital of the Mekong Delta, drawing people from across southwestern Vietnam to its sleepy, riverside town. But while the city is developing a more modern edge these days – the Delta hub just got its first-ever western-style movie theaters thanks to CGV and Lotte Cinema – its landscape was decidedly different in 1969.
In a photo album posted to Flickr by user manhhai, who credits the images to a D. Hoag, 1969 Can Tho is a genuine vision of the Delta, complete with large, drooping palm fronds, lazy rivers and several quintessential symbols of the countryside, from women in bright white áo dài to seas of nón lá to a group of water buffaloes traipsing down a city street.
While there are certainly signs of development, many photos also capture the untouched village life of southern Vietnam that's fast-disappearing from some of the region's more populated areas.
