Nearing the mouth of the Mekong River

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Thursday, April 12 Sailing the South China Sea to Ho Chi Minh City. The sea is calm, the sun hot, the breeze not much cooler. Lunch was outside on the ship’s stern at the Terrace Café; lemonade and salad. Earlier Bill and I took a backgammon lesson then went to hear a lecture on the nations of Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia) Their economies are booming and together they are a counter weight to the other major Asian powers -- The United States, Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan. The lecturer, a former New Zealand ambassador said that the 21st century will definitely show the ascendancy of Asia over Europe and the Middle East in the realms of geo-politics and economics.



A strenuous afternoon followed. I took a swim in the pool and then relaxed on a chaise lounge on the pool deck. I am reading a crime novel by Jo Nesboe. His writing is described as “Norwegian Noir”. Nesboe’s primary character is a chap named Harry Hole. I’ll not comment further on that. I ordered a chocolate milk shake and dozed as a jazz band entertained on the pool side stage. There was another lecture in the late afternoon followed by a rousing trivia contest, cocktails in the Martini Lounge and then dinner in the grand dining room. I went to bed early, Bill prefers to go to the evening entertainment which has featured a variety of Broadway acts, guitarists etc.

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