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Published: April 30th 2016
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PHU MY, VIETNAM - 26th March
Vietnam's seaside resort is the gateway to the city of Ho Chin Minh formerly known as and still called in most circles Saigon.
Saigon is located on the river near the Mekong Delta, it was formerly in French hands and became known as the "Paris of the East" with many fine examples of French colonial architecture.
It's now about 90 minutes from the port to the city thanks to a new motorway which keeps the hordes of motorbikes at bay, so it was a quick trip into the city with the first port of call being the Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
The General Post Office with its huge picture of Ho Chi Minh was built at a similar time as the Cathedral (1870's). The Cathedral is a fine example of Neo-Romanescque style, built on Paris Square. Built of red bricks and granite (all shipped from France) and dominated by twin towers it is a smaller version of its namesake in Paris.
Next was a visit to a lacquer factory where we could see Vietnamese craftsmen at work. Very intricate patterns made from mother
of pearl and eggshell nod then lacquered. There was of course the opportunity to buy.
There are numerous museums to go to and our next stop was to the National History Museum, it was filled with ancient ceramics, traditional costumes and relics crafted in stone and bronze.
I think the highlight of this museum and totally unexpected was when we were ushered into this small area with seats around a green looking pool of water. This was for a short performance of the unique Vietnamese spectacle of water puppetry or should it be muppetry. You had to be there to believe it, the pictures don't do it justice and it certainly brought tears to your eyes (from laughing).
There are other museums to see such as the Reunification Hall , the former Presidential Palace. It was here that the flag of Socialist Republic of Vietnam was raised signifying the end of the war in 1975.
Another more gruesome museum is the War Remnants Museum, a place not for the squeamish as it documents in some detail some of the most horrific events of the Vietnam War. The exhibits are biased in that only atrocities
committed by the French and the US feature.
Also on display are tanks, planes, bombs and helicopters.
And so to lunch, a good buffet with lots of Vietnamese goodies such as noodle soup (Pho), Fried fish with noodles (Cha ca) and vegetable spring rolls (Nem tau). There was also some traditional Western dishes as well.
There was a performance of traditional music and dance which I don't think will make it "X factor"!!!!
After lunch, guess what - a temple, haven't seen one for at least two days. The Thien Hau Temple is dedicated the Sea Goddess - Protector of Sailors so quite apt for us cruisers.
Our final stop was a shopping opportunity and tea tasting, utter chaos and a waste of time for all the cheap tourist tat that was on sale. Still, they have to make living - but not from us!!!
Hopefully no more temples until Sri Lanka.
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