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Published: June 13th 2017
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Geo: 10.7592, 106.662
DAY NINE (1/11/13) — Saigon
The sun is shining on our gorgeous resort in Nha Trang this morning. But before we leave our room, we cook Patrick's surge protector and my curling iron. (I love the smell of napalm in the morning.) Although new equipment and new outlets in most hotels require either nothing or just an adaptor but not a converter, I forget and plug in my curling iron -- hardly a high tech item – with only an adaptor. When I go to use it, I fry my hair and the melted tip of the iron falls to the floor. Note: I don't need no stinkin' curls.
We have breakfast on the outdoor porch, overlooking the ocean, whatever the ocean's name is. We decide to take a walk along the beach and discover another pool, with a disappearing edge; we see the extent of the facilities at the spa; and we see the cable car that crosses the bay to Vinh Nguyen where other resorts are located.
I edit photos, send Facebook messages and finish packing. Back to the porch for lunch and off to the lobby for our transfer to the Nha Trang airport and on to Ho Chi Minh City. It seems the name "Saigon" is back in favor … everyone uses that term except the government agencies.
About our guides: Larry Abbott, our Tauck Tour Director, is superb. He's from Lawton, OK but has lived the last 20 years in Bangkok. He is knowledgeable, calm and collected and very VERY amusing. The crowd is taken with him.
However, the local guides appear to be knowledgeable but they are difficult to understand … their accent is challenging for those with a Western ear. And one of our guides in Hanoi had such a monotonous voice that I found my neck snapping if he talked longer than 10 minutes. It's something Tauck should address as we've experienced it on several trips. Note: Hai an Tau, our two directors to comefrom Trails of Indonesia ground supplier, are very important exceptions to this comment.
This turns out to be a not very good tour day. There is nothing in the morning; and the transfer to Saigon takes all of the afternoon. For some who want to relax, this is OK. For Type A personalities like I, "relaxing" is not part of my vocabulary. I have to admit, a change in flight schedules, not Tauck, has put a damper on today's events.
When we board our bus in Saigon, we do a drive-by shooting of some of the city's major sights. We stop and visit Notre Dame Cathedral, something the French left behind; and we tour the government post office, designed by Gustave Eiffel, of “Tower” fame.
Speaking of the French … they are gone but not forgotten. Their influence here started with 18th Century missionaries, followed by military involvement in the unification of the country. The French were in Vietnam for almost a century, but apart from the buildings, the railway and the baguettes on sale on every corner, there are only few traces of their presence: fashion consciousness … Catholicism … and remnants of the language in the common vocabulary.
Because of the
French influence, the Vietnamese language sounds Chinese but is written out
with a Latin alphabet of 29 letters.
There is no “F” in the alphabet, which proves to be problematic for us
when we try to grade the public bathrooms; we have to resort to a grade of
“Ph”!
We check in to our hotel: the InterContinental Asiana Saigon. The rooms are lovely, the amenities top notch.
Dinner
tonight is at Camargue, an elegant French restaurant. We dine with Adorjans, Morleys, Lee Berg and Stephen Goodman, along with Larry. Larry entertains us with stories and we have a delightful time.
"If you're looking to have a Vietnamese massage, it's better to stick with the major hotels. There are some massage places that if you ask for a massage, it will really confuse them."
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Ingrid Bremer
non-member comment
Oh my Tommye, now everyday will be a natural hair day......not so bad. I wish I had some of your energy. I am enjoying every blog.