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Published: October 30th 2009
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We cruised up the Gulf of Tonkin into Ha Long Bay on a misty morning. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ha Long Bay is a place of stunning splendor, filled with mythical legends. This area, south of Hanoi, is referred to by the Vietnamese as Descending Dragon Bay and recognized as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. The seascape is filled with about 3000 limestone pillars and islets which house caves, beaches and hidden lagoons. Our ride on a junk boat took an hour to reach a small fishing community whose residents live on houseboats. We took kayaks and went exploring because seeing these karsks and monoliths at sea level is the only way to go. The waters were placid as we paddled around the houseboat community. Their “front yards” are big fishing cages holding their latest catch. Most of the fishing is done by Mom and Pop duos. It seems that every houseboat comes equipped with several charming children roaming around without lifejackets and at least one barking dog. We paddled into several caves and ended up in a lagoon surrounded by towering cliffs which provided shade on this rather hot day (95 degrees). Many of the
caves are quite deep and are home to monkeys, bats and snakes. After several hours of enjoying the beauty of this place, we paddled to our junk and re-boarded for a sunset cruise back to port. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon in North Vietnam.
The next morning I heard a woman calling “hi hi hi” from outside our cabin. I looked out and saw a Vietnamese lady in a sampan with her small child. She looked awfully familiar. So I went through our pictures from 2006 when we were last here and there she was with her little boy who was a baby then. She takes her boat alongside our ship and asks for food and money. It must be a lucrative business because now the boy is asking for the handouts and it looked like she had quite a collection of fruit, pillow chocolates and some dollar bills. When we were preparing to leave, one of the tug boats had to almost push her boat out of the way since she would not leave of her own volition. She and the tug boat captain got into a shouting match while our Captain was patiently watching this
little lady hold up our departure.
We had a big change over of passengers and I hardly recognize anyone. It seems like a much younger crowd is on board now. This is one of the most interesting and port intensive segments of this cruise. In sixteen days there are just four sea days with lots of time for visiting some great cities ashore. Many of these segment passengers are still working stiffs who only have time for a two week vacation-- unlike us “ROFIs” (Retired on Fixed Income) who have all the time in the world. With this younger group there are a lot more tennis players. Given that we are in hot, humid weather now, it is nice to play round-robin tennis games. The pool and hot tubs have been in perfect working order the whole trip.
Heather Clancy is a singer whom we have cruised with several times. She recently married Mike Romhild, the Executive Chef on board. Heather is a southern girl who can belt out a C&W tune like Dolly Parton and also has the classical training so she can do justice to an aria like “Nessun Dorma”—one of my favorites. It is a good deal
because she gets to spend time with her new husband and we get to enjoy her wonderful singing.
After a brief stop in Chan May we headed to Saigon. One of the luxuries of revisiting a port is that we can use our time to explore some of the subtler aspects of the place. For instance in Saigon we have been to many of the museums, churches and temples, the Cu Chi Tunnels, Chinatown, and most government buildings, so we don’t feel that we have to visit the War Remnants Museum or see the water puppet show again. Kevin has a favorite Saigon barber and we always go to Pho 24 for a bowl of noodle soup and visit several good markets. Just soaking up the atmosphere and dodging traffic is a full time exercise.
Saigon is officially called Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) by the Communist leaders in Hanoi but the locals still refer to it as Saigon. It is one of the most frenetic cities in the world. Since Vietnam is still a very poor country with the highest birth rate in Asia, it does have many evident problems like smog and noise and shoddy development. But there
are also some very interesting neighborhoods. We took the ship’s shuttle into town and promptly got into a severe traffic jam. The 15 minute trip ended up taking an hour and a half. While riding into town, a passenger kept remarking on how ugly Saigon is and that she is never coming back to Asia as she much prefers the orderliness and style of Europe. I say vive la difference! It seems that the local government is trying to address some of the problems and we even noticed that there were a few more street lights and a few more traffic cops. One new phenomenon that I don’t care for is that motorcycles are driving up on the sidewalks in order to get around stopped traffic. It’s hard enough to cross streets especially when two wheeled vehicles do not obey traffic signals. But to have those bikes whizzing past when you think you are safely on the sidewalk is maddening.
Pho noodle soup is the hamburger and fries of Vietnam. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is served in the fanciest of restaurants and in food stalls on the street. Now it is being touted as an
antidote to swine flu. One of the spices in pho is star anise which contains shikimic acid. This acid is the main ingredient of Tamiflu which is used to cure H1N1. So, strictly as a health precaution, we had pho three times in two days!
The street food scene is a world unto itself. It seems that every enterprising Vietnamese lady has a small kitchen set up on the sidewalk and sells waffles, rice or noodles. On the pier beside our ship an impromptu restaurant serves up delicious fresh fish and other local specialties. Without proper refrigeration or washing facilities it is amazing that no one gets sick. But it all seems to work as most of the crew and many of the passengers enjoyed the offerings of this instant café. When our ship was pulling away from the pier, we saw the waiters taking down the tarps and piling the chairs and tables on the back of motorcycles to take their moveable feast elsewhere.
As we sailed down the Saigon River we watched anxiously for any stray fishing nets as this is where Captain Dag thinks that the Voyager picked up a net that caused the premature end of
the 2009 World Cruise last spring. There is a constant struggle on the river to find a clear path since it is packed from shore to shore with every type of boat, ship and skiff imaginable. The Mariner’s horn blasts continuously, warning the skippers to move out of the way of our 50,000 ton vessel. It amazes me that there aren’t more collisions on this busy waterway.
The United States and Vietnam reestablished diplomatic relations in the 1990s and many of the old war wounds have healed. The majority of the Vietnamese population was not alive during the “American War” as it is referred to here. Kevin and I both spent a lot of time in Vietnam during the war. It is good to come back in peaceful times and to enjoy the wonderful people and their fascinating country.
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