We docked in Phu May at 7 am and joined the Virtuoso tour bus at 8am on the dock. The weather was warm and got into the 90s and humid. It was a two hour drive to Saigon with a tour guide who was very entertaining. We stopped after an hour for a potty break and it’s clear that the traffic in this part of Vietnam is much worse than near Hue. The country side is more crowded but looks similar with ramshackle homes and stores and water buffalo right next to new concrete two story homes.
As we got near Saigon, the motor scooter traffic got very heavy and continued all day. The city was bustling and is dramatically different then Hue. It’s more modern and has a lot of construction going on. We visited the old presidential palace, the Notre Dame cathedral that the French built that looks like the one in Paris and sits right next to the old post office building that is a work of art.
After that we traveled to Chinatown and stopped at the temple of the Goddess of the Sea, so named because of it’s protection of sailor and seamen. As in all places in Vietnam, every time we got out of the bus vendors tried to sell us stuff. The lacquered box we bought yesterday for $9 we got today for $4, but in addition it came with a lacquered vase, round box and what looks like a incense holder. We then went to a first class Vietnamese restaurant where we had a superb meal and entertainment. In addition, we were given gifts that included scrolls with our names and water puppets. It was a wonderful afternoon. We had time to walk around the area to shop (upscale stores mingled with little shops).
We left Saigon at 3:15 for the two hour trip back to the ship and when we got there Chris did more shopping on the pier before we got on board. I think we’re running out of room in the cabin. We made it to dinner and then came back to the cabin for showers and rest.
The ship was supposed to leave at 7pm but one of the mooring lines got tangled in one of the propellers so they had to wait for a diver to come out and free it, thus delaying our departure for Laem Chabang and Bangkok for two hours, but it was a beautiful night so sitting on the balcony watching the activities and drinking Aste Spumante was an ok consolation.
As we got near Saigon, the motor scooter traffic got very heavy and continued all day. The city was bustling and is dramatically different then Hue. It’s more modern and has a lot of construction going on. We visited the old presidential palace, the Notre Dame cathedral that the French built that looks like the one in Paris and sits right next to the old post office building that is a work of art.
After that we traveled to Chinatown and stopped at the temple of the Goddess of the Sea, so named because of it’s protection of sailor and seamen. As in all places in Vietnam, every time we got out of the bus vendors tried to sell us stuff. The lacquered box we bought yesterday for $9 we got today for $4, but in addition it came with a lacquered vase, round box and what looks like a incense holder. We then went to a first class Vietnamese restaurant where we had a superb meal and entertainment. In addition, we were given gifts that included scrolls with our names and water puppets. It was a wonderful afternoon. We had time to walk around the area to shop (upscale stores mingled with little shops).
We left Saigon at 3:15 for the two hour trip back to the ship and when we got there Chris did more shopping on the pier before we got on board. I think we’re running out of room in the cabin. We made it to dinner and then came back to the cabin for showers and rest.
The ship was supposed to leave at 7pm but one of the mooring lines got tangled in one of the propellers so they had to wait for a diver to come out and free it, thus delaying our departure for Laem Chabang and Bangkok for two hours, but it was a beautiful night so sitting on the balcony watching the activities and drinking Aste Spumante was an ok consolation.
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