Ho Chi Minh / Saigon. November 27-29, 2014.

Thursday, November 27th

During the morning we sailed up the Saigon River, which was a little surreal. The river is big, but it feels a lot smaller when sailing in a cruise ship. By lunchtime we arrived on Ho Chi Minh city proper. We did a little exploring of the city, mainly visiting the markets in search of affordable silk cushion covers. We found what we were looking for. The heat was getting to us, so we only headed back to the air conditioned comfort of the ship.

The number of motor scooters in this town is a little insane. And we managed to cross the streets without get mowed down. The trick it seems is to not do anything unexpected, as the locals don't expect the unexpected. Of course we found the local Starbucks.

The old world and the new world.

Found the local Starbucks.

Friday, November 28th

We had great plans to head back into the city, but the heat kept us away. A little bit lazy on our part, but we were just happy enjoying our last days of luxury before returning to the real world.

Saturday, November 29th

We walked into town after lunch and did a little window shopping. Mum picked you a tailored outfit which she arranged the day before. Amazing that tailors can whip up outfits overnight like that, and for a pretty good price. We picked up a few Christmas gifts along the way. We were getting use to the heat again and could stay out longer, but as the sun started to set we headed back to the ship. Being near the equator, the sun sure does set fast here.

Nha Trang. November 24-25, 2014.

We stopped in Nha Trang for a day and did a little window shopping and a small walk around town. Very hot day, so we weren't out for too long.

Lizards anyone?

Or maybe Seahorses?

Fresh Markets

Daily Life

Hoi An and Da Nang from Chan May. November 21-22, 2014.

The World left Ha Long Bay at 8pm on November 20th and docked in Chan May around 6pm the following day. The ship was docked miles form anything so that evening we did not go ashore.

Saturday, November 22.

We hired a private car with driver and guide and set of towards Hoi An for the day.
First off was Da Nang with stops at the Cham Sculpture Museum, Marble Mountains, and 'China Beach', now Marble Beach. True, not much to see at this last one, apart from the beach, but I wanted to at least set foot on it because I liked the TV series 'China Beach' years back. We could see the remnants of the American airbase, but it looked all closed off.
On we went to the ancient town of Hoi An, another UNESCO World Heritage site. We had a lovely time wandering around and having lunch, before it was time to head back to the ship.

Marble Mountains, Da Nang.

'China Beach' today - Da Nang.

Hoi An.

Japanese covered bridge, Hoi An.

Hoi An.

Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. November 18-20, 2014.

Tuesday, November 18.

Around noon we reached Ha Long Bay, our entry point into Vietnam. The bay features some 2000 of limestone karst islets and islands in all shapes and sizes, which makes for stunning scenery. In 1994 the bay was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. While sailing into the bay and taking in the spectacular seascape, we enjoyed a bbq on the pool deck of The World.

Sailing into Ha Long Bay. With Alison.

Ha Long Bay.

Once docked and cleared by the Vietnamese authorities, we took a shuttle into Ha Long City for an evening stroll through the markets and along the riverbank. For us this also meant the last (new) country on our world trip.

Ha Long City riverside.

Garbage collection.

Picking up his wife after a day at the markets.

Wednesday, November 19.

That morning, loaded with our overnight bags, we boarded the transfer bus to Hanoi, where we arrived around noon.
After checking into the Sofitel Legend Hanoi, a beautiful French colonial hotel, we went walking around town. We liked Hanoi. It is full of old French colonial style buildings, some in better nick than others. Combine that with new construction and lots of motorbikes and you get an interesting mix. Dinner was at the Wild Lotus restaurant, after which we went for a night walk and a drink.

Thursday, November 20.

We went for a morning walk in the area around the hotel and found a Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. Around noon we checked out of our hotel and went to the pick up point for the transfer bus back to Halong Bay and The World.
All in all a very good idea to spend the night in Hanoi, as opposed to just a day; it gave us a bit more time to get the flavor of the city.