We were picked up by our private guide and driver and driven down to the Mekong Delta area, about one and a half hours away from Saigon. We stopped along the way to visit a temple of all religions, mostly Eastern. I was very surprised that they have religion here at all. The country is 97 per cent Buddhist. And I thought they were all communist.
We continued on to the Delta with a running commentary by our guide and constant horn blowing by our driver. There we boarded a small boat which navigated to the opposite side of the river. This river is enormous. We landed on an island where we saw people making canny out of coconuts. We then boarded a smaller boat, a sampan, which rose low in the water and took a ride through the jungle where the Viet Kong hung out. It was creepy. After that we took a donkey cart ride, went to a honey tasting, bees and all, and then listened to a performance by the locals. My ears are still ringing from the atonal Asian screeching they call music. After that it was another boat ride followed by the long car ride back to Saigon in awful traffic. Exhausting.
Day Two was spent in Saigon. We visited the Palace of Reunification, the Musuem of American Atrocities which was upsetting, to say the least. Then it was on to a synagogue of all things, followed by a ride to Chinatown and a fabulous Chinese temple which was filled with worshippers and incense. Our last stop was the central market which totally overwhelmed me. I could hardly breathe it was so crowded with aggressive sellers and hundreds of shoppers. Everyone was touching you and I don't like that. So we returned to the ship feeling that we had our fill of Saigon and learned a lot about it. It is not communist but the guide says they have no freedom of speech. They really do believe that America should not have been there. They are capitalists in Saigon. I don't know about the rest of the country as yet but I sincerely doubt it. The south seems to be more open. I think things will tighten up the farther north we go. We also haven't gotten to the pretty part yet. Just a big smoggy city surrounded by rice paddies with ancestor worship alters everywhere. Very interesting. So far, it is a land of contrasts.
Good Morning from the South China Sea, where the Chinese are building artificial islands and the waves are gigantic. We have been rocking and rolling since last night. Barf bags are placed strategically throughout the vessel and it is impossible to walk a straight line. There are many green faces this morning. Nevertheless, the laundry room is busy. It's those same old biddies that have nothing else to do other than tie up all the machines so no one else can do their laundry. Jerry beat them this time by running past them to get a machine. My hero!
They are having a Black Friday sale but I don't have the patience to go right now. It's too crowded and too expensive. I am saving my pennies for Hong Kong where I will shop for a new camera and the the Stanley Market and the Ladies Market for bargains.
The captain just informed us that the waves are fourteen feet high. I could have told him that by just looking out of my window. The sea looks angry. It is dark grey with lots of whitecaps beside the waves. I am fine. Jerry is wearing his patch. Most others are looking not so hot. A big wave just broke over deck five. We are outside on deck five and I just got all wet! Guess it's time to go in.
We will be in DaNang tomorrow but going on an excursion to Hoi An which is purported to be phenomenal.
5:30 pm. Seas rougher than ever. All activities cancelled! So right. Now the South China Sea is not my favorite place. It is the remnants of a typhoon or so I hear. One of our group has been in bed all day. Even the band is seasick. I wonder what dinner will be like, says the woman with the cast iron stomach.
So after a miserable night of tossing and turning - I mean the ship-and thinking I would be fish food, we finally docked in Da Nang where it is raining. We will be getting off shortly for a trip to Hoi An, one of the highlights of the trip.
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