This voyage never ceases to amaze. Having spent time recently in Singapore and Bangkok, after a further welcome day at sea, we docked at around 7am yesterday at Phu My in South Vietnam. Along with seemingly a few hundred others, I had opted for the “Highlights of Ho Chi Minh” excursion. The formula was similar to trips to cities and other places a long way from the port. Usually, this involves a couple of hours’ drive along a recently built highway to our destination, guided tours of various sights, and perhaps a sumptuous buffet at a 5 star hotel.
Ho Chi Minh City can accommodate cruise ships, but not one the size and dimensions of Queen Mary 2.
We were welcomed aboard coach 15, thankfully air conditioned, and with the now familiar fancy curtains and pelmets of tourist buses in this part of Asia.
Taking part in this “day out in Vietnam”, involved an early start; up at 6am! However, I felt the journey would be worth the effort; and it was. Along the way, we saw glimpses of “ordinary life on both sides of the highway, little shops and businesses in cluttered shacks, the occasional house, place of worship, many open fields and some jungle area, nearer to the city. If I was not so far from home, I might have found this journey a little on the dull side. But, I was seeing a glimpse of a country I had only heard of so much, but would never have dreamed of actually travelling to. Thus, apart from the effects of morning fatigue and the ever present humidity, every moment was fascinating.
Each tour seems to begin or end with a visit to a store, an arrangement between the proprietors and the coach company with the aim of generating business from those on the trip. Today, we called at an establishment manufacturing & marketing lacquer products. We saw workers at their benches making what would become lovely items, such as jewellery boxes, pictures, and other fine pieces. This time, I was intrigued and impressed. So was everybody else; business was brisk!
We continued to the Natural History Museum. We were guided through exhibitions of ancient ceramics and many displays relating to the history of South Vietnam. As with all such visits, the limited time and the sheer number of people doing the same thing makes it hard to really appreciate what is on display. I usually purchase a guide to read at a later date. Unfortunately, none was available. But there was a leaflet with a plan of the Museum, which is helpful. In the Museum complex, there was a small theatre where visitors can watch a water puppetry show. This bit of culture, while entertaining, was lost on me! However, I do have video……
Buffet lunch was on the 7th floor of the 5 star Windsor Plaza Hotel, another massive windowless ballroom, but beautifully colourful, and lavishly decorated and furnished. The buffet, like that at the Sheraton in Bangkok, was “in duplicate”, along both sides of the room. Our party was allocated at least three large circular tables, all beautifully laid and inviting. There was ample choice, including excellent local cuisine. Around four “acts” provided mainly local entertainment, closing with “Auld Lang Syne”….a Vietnamese version! This was all extremely pleasant.
Afterwards, we made brief stops at the Post Office (designed by Eiffel of Tower fame) and still functioning as such, but also a major attraction, Notre Dame Cathedral (in the process of major renovation and boarded up around the outside), Reunification Hall, and the Thien Hau Temple dedicated to the Sea Goddess. Again, this shore excursion provided the best opportunity to see as much as possible in a day visit. I got to experience the sultry heat, the apparent chaos of the traffic, the noise, the persistence of persuasive & pestiferous street vendors, and for a while, just being in a place many will only read or hear about.
I would welcome the opportunity to go back there, as well as most of the other ports of call on this voyage.
I am afraid this is just the briefest of descriptions of a remarkable visit to Ho Chi Minh City. There are a few pictures to follow shortly.
Many thanks for reading.
David.
David's Cruise 