Trip to Southeast Asia Part II - Vietnam

A Day at Sea

We enjoy the days at sea as much as the days in port.  It gives us a chance to relax and work on projects. Both of us brought our laptop computers and Hal worked on his personal history and I downloaded and organized my photos and worked on a history of my Grandma and Grandpa Peterson.               

That evening the dinner was once again delicious!

Phu My and Saigon, Vietnam

We made 4 stops in Vietnam and the first of these was in Phu My, Vietnam which was a 2 hour taxi ride from Saigon.

We joined with 4 other couples to hire a van and driver to take us to Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City (renamed by the Communists after the war).

 The ride took us through pretty green countryside with views of the Mekong River which is known as the "rice basket" of Vietnam.

 These photos show rice paddies that we passed on our way.

As we neared the city we could see it in the distance.

 Many people rode motorcycles and they hauled almost everything on them!

 Need some pipes?  No problem!

 Speedy flower delivery!  I had to share this one with Evan, Kelly and Conrad!

They (in the red) apparently needed a fruit tree!
 Many riders wore masks (for pollution, germs??) and some of the women wore aprons over their dresses - check out the lady in blue.

Our first stop in Saigon was the Independence or Reunification Palace .

 Once the home and work place of the South Vietnamese president, this modern palace was the center of the dramatic seizure and fall of Saigon when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through its gates on April 30, 1975.

This palace was also the site of the convention between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam in November 1975 that reunified the country.

Today the palace is open to the public for self-guided tours. We stayed together with our group as we walked through the inside and around the grounds of this historic place.

Sitting Room 

 Conference Room

 President's Office

 Banquet Room

In the basement of the palace there was a bunker - the photo above shows the "War Room".

We next stopped to see the Notre Dam Cathedral built in 1880. Vietnam was a part of French Indo China from 1858 until 1954 and we saw French influence in architecture, as well as shops and food items.  The French called Saigon the "Pearl of the Orient".  

We also saw the Central Post Office which was designed by the famous French architect, Gusstave Eiffel, and  built in 1886, during  French rule.  Below is a photo of the interior of the post office.

After the post office, we made a 1 hour stop at the Ben Thanh Market -  Saigon's busiest market that sells everything from food to clothing and souvenirs.

Our next stop was the War Remnants Museum. In Vietnam, the war is called the "American War".

Our visits to the palace and then this site, coupled with a lecture about the history of Vietnam, (that I attended on board the ship) brought to mind all of the horrors of war and regrets for how the Vietnamese people suffered from that terrible conflict.  It was all pretty sobering. 

After the war museum, we stopped to explore the Fine Arts Museum's gardens and grounds.

Our last stop in Saigon was to get a closer look at the Rex Hotel.  This hotel played an important role in the Vietnam War because it served as housing for US officers and was the meeting place for war correspondents covering the war.

The hotel was decorated for the Vietnamese New Year 2019 - the "Year of the Pig".

 After a 2 hour trip, we returned back to our ship just in time to shower and get ready for dinner after a long day!

 This is a picture of our driver - he took great care of us and took us to all of the places that we wanted to see in Saigon!

Shortly after arriving back, there was a "Dragon Dance" to celebrate the New Year.

 We had a great view of this from our cabin balcony.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

We left Phu My and headed around the southern tip of Vietnam and then north  to our second port  - Nha Trang.

This was our 2nd stop where it was necessary to tender in to shore.

 
On our way, we passed the Vinpearl Resort and Amusement Park which is across Nha Trang Bay on the island of Hon Tre.  Guests at the resort can travel by cable car or boat to Nha Trang.

 We passed under the cable cars as we neared the dock.

 Nha Trang is one of Vietnam's most popular seaside resorts with over 5 miles of white-sand beaches and beautiful turquoise sea and has a backdrop of lovely mountains. It is called Vietnam's Mediterranean. I found the photo below online which shows an aerial view of Tran Phu Street which runs along the beautiful coastline. We took the ship's shuttle from the dock and along this street into the heart of the city.


We rented Tuk Tuks pulled by motorized bicycles to ride through town and to a nearby market.  Below are photos taken as we traveled to the market.

Motorbikes parked in front of a shop

 

You can find almost anything at a market in Vietnam - food, clothing, accessories, even a sleeping child!

 

Da Nang, Vietnam

We continued north along Vietnam's coast to the city of Da Nang on the South China Sea. It is the fifth largest city in Vietnam with a population of over 950,000 people.  Like Na Trang, Da Nang is known for its gorgeous coastline and is a popular tourist destination.

We took the bus from the port into the city.

On our trip into the city, we saw lots of tall buildings, beautiful greenery, flowers and this interesting bridge.

 
 We walked around the city, explored a market and then stopped at a tea house for fruit smoothies.  After that, we visited the historic Da Nang Cathedral, a Catholic church which was built in 1923 in French Colonial style.

The church is a distinctive pink color on the outside and the interior and the grounds were beautiful!

On our way back to the ship, we snapped these interesting pictures of motorcycle riders - a family of 4 and hauling pipes and corrugated metal!

 
 We saw these distinctive kumquat trees everywhere in Vietnam. I later learned that the kumquats are a symbol of good luck and prosperity and part of the New Year's decorations.

Halong Bay - Day 1

Our 4th and final stop in Vietnam was Halong Bay where we spent 2 days in port. There are about 2000 islets (small islands); most of them are made of limestone.

It was early morning when we came into the bay and it was spectacular! Below are views from our deck.

Halong Bay was named one of the world's new seven wonders in 2012 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   

After breakfast, we left the ship and rode a bus into the Halong

Halong Market (Outdoor)

You could find an array of fruits, vegetables, dried fish and shrimp - even dog meat was available!

 

 

Halong Market (Indoor)

Vietnamese markets are interesting to say the least!  You can find almost anything in them.

That evening we had beautiful views of Halong and Cau Bai Chay Bridge.

 Halong Bay Day 2

On our second day in Halong, we took the shuttle from the ship to the nearby Sun World  Park.  This amusement park had some lovely gardens, interesting shops and decor that we wanted to see and explore.

 

At Sun World Park, we found a taxi/tour guide to take us to a pearl farm and to see the beach at Bai Chay.
On our way, we passed this interesting graffiti and then hundreds of newly built and partially built condos that were not occupied. We saw row after row all along the beach front road.  The investors that are putting up the money for these condos must be planning on lots and lots of tourists and buyers!!

We first went to the pearl farm - Legend Pearl.

 It was really interesting to see how they harvest the pearls from the oysters, then separate them by color and size, and then set the pearls into beautiful jewelry. It was a big operation!

 The salt water pearl jewelry was lovely but not inexpensive!

On our way to Bai Chay, we passed several pearl oyster farms like the one in the photo above. We also saw this landscaped dragon. Halong Bay is known to the Vietnamese as the "Bay of the Descending Dragon".  This name come from the legend that says a dragon spat jewels into the sea to protect against invaders and those gems turned into the nearly 2,000 limestone islands in the bay.

We then crossed the Bai Chay bridge to Bai Chay which is a coastal town that attracts crowds of beachgoers in the summertime.

 

 

We saw lots of beautiful views of Halong Bay from different perspectives.

Our taxi took us back to the area near where our ship was docked and as we walked along the street back to where the ship's shuttle would pick us up we looked at the shops and restaurants on our way.  The photos below shows some of the very fresh seafood dishes offered and you could choose your own fresh fish, lobster, octopus, oysters etc.  It doesn't get any fresher than that!!

That evening as we left Halong Bay, the sun was setting and we had some beautiful views!!

Halong Bay was a beautiful port and a great part of our trip!