May 20, 2013 - Back into Vietnam

And 45 minutes later we were back in Ho Chi Minh City. Great flight with Cambodia Angkor Air. Nice new plane. Should we call it HCMC? Our guide this morning doesn’t. His father fought with the south in the war and he IS NOT HAPPY living under the corrupt communist system. He calls it Saigon. He is 50 so was a young boy during the war years. His son is now studying pharmacy in America and he doubts if he’ll return. He hopes his daughter will study in Australia. He says the people in positions of power are all corrupt. The politicians, the...

May 10, 2013 - Hoi An

Vietnam 2 I have been waiting to sample pho in Vietnam and have resisted taking much of an interest in it in Australia despite the strong possibility that it is just as good in Victoria St as here. We have had several bowls now and we love it! It has been our breakfast so far. It is a bowl of either beef or chicken soup with rice noodles and some meat. To that you add according to preference: chilli, coriander,Vietnamese mint, other unidentified greens,chilli sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce,fried onions and lime. With lots of fresh green herbs...

May 10, 2013 - HCMC and Hoi An

We enjoy that feeling of being hit between the eyes when we travel. Ho Chi Minh City (now on=HCMC) didn’t disappoint! We didn’t even know which side of the taxi to look from as we travelled in from the airport. “Look look!” I said to Mark as we passed an ornate pagoda but he missed it. The one on his side was even bigger he assured me, maybe in a slightly irritated tone. We flew out of Sydney with Vietnam Airlines (codeshare with Qantas) and found it quite ok; we even had 4 seats between us and perhaps Mark would have been less tired if...

Apr 11, 2013 - Vinh City

Well that took me back 12 years to the chaotic roads of rural Vietnam, where looking out of the window is not a sensible option if you like to keep your underwear clean. Somehow we survived and live to tell the tale. Suffered a corporate kidnapping in the evening, taken straight from sweaty factory to their favourite restaurant in the city and force fed food you would generally prefer to avoid. Managed to change flight to first flight out in the morning and now back in the civilisation of HCM. Still the weekend is here and Honk Gong beckons.

Mar 30, 2013 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

On our first stay in Ho Chi Minh City, we had the opportunity to explore the city and all it had to offer as well as exploring west toward Cambodia, in the area made famous for the Cu Chi Tunnels utilized during the Vietnam war. This time we headed south to the massive area known as the Mekong Delta. It is the flood plain and delta primarily created by the massive Mekong River. Here some 23 million residents live life as you would picture some 100 years ago! Mostly farmers and fishermen living entirely off what nature has to offer! Water is...

Mar 28, 2013 - Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay is situated in the North-East region of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin and serves as the gateway to Hanoi. It is made up of 2000 islands of all sizes with 989 of which have been given names. This is a densely concentrated zone of limestone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottos and caves that forms the central part of Halong Bay and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. Viewed from a small boat as Cheryl and I did, it was just one more...

Mar 27, 2013 - Hanoi

Hanoi is the perfect foil for the seething mass of humanity that is Ho Chi Minh City. With a population of four million and a more genteel style than its southern counterpart, Hanoi is the cultural capital of Vietnam and its heart and soul. A great place to explore on foot, there is a lot to see and do here. Vietnam's capital lies on the banks of the Red River, some 100 kilometres from its mouth. Human settlements here date back as far as the 3rd century BC. Previously known as Thang Long, it was renamed Hanoi in 1831 at a time when Hue was...

Mar 9, 2013 - Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Last Entry

Today we transferred to Saigon by bus as the riverboat is too high to go under the many bridges enroute. It took about an hour and a half, arriving around 10:00 a.m. It is all freeway to Saigon, a toll road that is mostly elevated, and has no entrances or exits for 70 kms. The toll is $5, a fair sum for here - but it's a nice highway, and no motorbikes are allowed, only cars and trucks. There are overpasses - but you can only enter and exit via the toll booths. Countryside is mostly rice fields - boring really. There are 9 million people...

Mar 8, 2013 - Sadec to Cai Be

This morning we take off early for another floating market! It's interesting to see all the commercial activity, but one more market and I think I'll have had enough! We don't like our Vietnamese guide as much as our Cambodian guide (who left us at Phnom Penh) He was so wonderful, just a real sweetheart - but then that's the way the Cambodian people are. I remember when we had lunch in town I left my hat under the table - totally forgot it - and he said nothing, just boarded the bus wearing my hat with the big flower in the front and a big...

Mar 7, 2013 - Chau doc to Sadec

Today is a lesson in How the Stomach Churns - at least in the morning. Ellen is better and raring to go. However, two others were taken to town of Chau Doc to Clinic. Father and adult son. The cruise line has 3 contact points with doctors they use if needed by passengers. Chau Doc is one - but if you saw the town you wouldn't want to go there. Anyway I spoke to the gentleman later and he said he was extremely well cared for and that the cruise line paid the bill (although he will likely have it put on his room account later) He had a full...

Mar 6, 2013 - Phnom Penh to Chau Doc (border crossing)

This will be a quiet day - no shore excursions, just cruising and crossing the border into Vietnam again, from Cambodia. After yesterday's blog when I bored everyone to tears, this will be much shorter! Ellen is a bit under the weather - so she chose a good day to just rest up. She started the antibiotic just in case, but is more tired than anything right now. I do the ship tour in the morning - kitchen (not much bigger than mine and 8 people in there!) Also the bridge - (captain steers in his bare feet!) engine room, and water filtration...

Mar 5, 2013 - Phnom Penh

We anchored off shore last night outside the major city and capital of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In the morning we docked along side our sister ship, the Jahan, to enable us to go ashore by walking through it (side by side). After breakfast we had a talk in the lounge by Dr. Jean Michel Fillip, a linguist who teaches at the University in Phnom Penh. He speaks 13 languages, and has lived in Cambodia for many, many years. His lecture was on the History of Cambodia from 1953 to 1993. Nov 9, 1953 Cambodia finally received its independance from...