Vietnam and at sea

Wednesday, March 9 and Thursday, March 10– at sea – in bed resting all day

Ronn Lucas, ventriloquist entertained and he was great! I did make that show. Bill Harris in onboard with a speaker series about the glory days of Hollywood and all his interviews with celebrities. Gene found out that Raddie, the piano player in the Ocean Bar, The Neptunes band, has been to Sedalia, MO to play on a piano once played by Scott Joplin! To make a long story short, Raddie was playing at the Sydney Hilton and befriended an elderly woman from Sedalia who paid for his air ticket from Sydney to play at her retirement party!

Friday, March 11, 2011 – Phu My, Vietnam – port for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) or Vung Tau, Vietnam

This is the closest port to Saigon so you have the option to visit the beach town of Vung Tau or take the 2 hour drive in to Saigon – we escorted buses in to Saigon. My bus had a good guide, Tri, who was anxious to please and assist the guests to figure out how to get from one part of town to the other. We had a fun drive in and out of the city with him. Gene’s bus guide was the opposite; was absolutely afraid to speak English and asked Gene to sit beside him to speak in to the microphone! I felt terrible for those guests – of course it is fascinating to just look out the window but to be able to question and learn is such a wonderful opportunity. Monthly income is $250. Extended families live in the same household – he has Mother, Father, brother, two aunties and one grandmother. There are over 9,000,000 people in the city located on the banks of the Saigon River, 37 miles from the South China Sea. The currency is the dong at approx. 20,000 dong to one US dollar!

We were dropped off at the Rex Hotel, from where the journalists broadcast daily during the Vietnam War. It is now a luxurious hotel in the city center. We wandered around the nearby streets and then took a taxi to the War Remnants Museum, “which exhibits proofs of Vietnam War crimes and their consequences – rarely do Westerners have the opportunity to hear the victims of US military action tell their own stories”. Not an easy museum to wander through, no matter what view of this war. Very descriptive photos. Tanks, air planes, tiger cages and other imprisonment conditions, aggressive war crime section, “historical truths” and war documentary photos taken by 134 journalists from 11 nationalities killed during the war.

We took an overpriced taxi (since he knew we were at his mercy at the museum closes at lunch and that is the quickest form of transportation to get to the next point) to the Ben Thankh market – what fun! Bought some pretty items from a market that had about 1000 vendors – all wanting my dollars. They could help me find whatever I needed and whatever I did not need but they thought I needed.

Back to the hotel for the transfer back to the ship and we were back in plenty of time, which upset a few people. But think of the alternative….if you were delayed due to bad traffic you may have to find your own way to the next port of call – Singapore! Shopping pierside – Rolex watches for $25 and beautiful enameled wall hangings…Entertainment by Eve Sherratt, a great vocalist from Wales.

Saturday, March 12, 2011 – at sea in the China Sea – itinerary change announced!

Guest Chef Brown Burch, from Le Cirque, NY, was onboard for a presentation. They have a fantastic kitchen set-up for demos and the recipes are even shared! Indonesian Tea with friends. Ensemble cocktail party! Tried a different area of the ship and where we had more standing room plus seats. I think we were able to circulate better; most had the Singapore Sling since we dock there tomorrow! Saved them $28 in case they don’t get to Raffles for the original drink.

As we have fairly good TV reception and receive a daily newspaper, we are able to keep up with the events in the world – good and bad. Captain Olav Van der Waard finally announced a decision had been made of our upcoming itinerary. No port calls in Egypt.

March 26 – Muscat, Oman
March 28 – My birthday this year will be in Salalah, Oman
March 29 – Gene will celebrate his birthday at sea
April 2 – Aqaba, Jordan
April 4 – Transit Suez Canal
April 5 – Ashdod, Israel
April 6 – Haifa, Israel

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” - Samuel Johnson