Monday, March 14, 2011
Saigon
We have a long day
trip. Since our ship is so large, we are
limited in how far up rivers we can go and must take tender rides or buses or
both to get to the good parts. We are
docked two and a half hours by bus from Saigon, and the temperature will be in
the middle nineties. The situation in Bangkok will be similar. We are happy to have an air-conditioned bus
and a guide who speaks clearly. TRAVEL
HINT: Check how many tenders you will have to take on any cruise.
The bus ride to Saigon is
two hours of small shops side by side.
We see numerous little rest stops which are quite literal. They have hammocks in which you can lie for
free and pay only for the food and drink you consume. We see rice fields, a rubber plantation,
egrets, water buffalo and cattle. There
are flocks of small motorbikes often with two or more people including babies
and children on them. Face masks, some
quite substantial are everywhere. I see
one woman dressed in long pants and jacket, helmet and elegant high heels wrestling
her parked bike into position.
Saigon has eight and half
million people today, about forty percent Buddhist, many non-religious or of
other religions. There are about a
million Chinese which merits a visit to the Thien Hau temple, a local Taoist
temple. There is picture showing how the
Chinese came by boat and were saved from a horrible storm by the goddess of the
sea.
Originally this area was
Hindu and we visit an old temple which is still in use and quite nice. At the national history museum we see a water
puppetry show which is well-done for tourists.
We have photo stops at the local Catholic Church and the former
presidential palace and glide quickly by the old American embassy which is now
rebuilt, a consulate and very hostile-looking as all such American buildings
are these days. You might prefer the
term defensive which is understandable, but I always think, we should be aware
of marketing and have some sort of travel/library/ shop which is
friendly-looking. Lunch is at the
Majestic Hotel, a wonderful hotel but there are several hundred of us, and we
are in a large fifth floor ballroom with a very decent buffet lunch. Not a bad choice when there is much to do and
miles to go. The last stop of the day is
the lacquer factory where we see the workers briefly and have time in the
shop. There is much that is traditional
or sentimental in design, but it is of wonderful quality and with some quite
splendid modern designs.
Vietnam is the world’s
number two exporter of both coffee and rice and the number one exporter of cashews.
Most rural Vietnamese eat
only two meals a day but apparently consume a lot of rice wine in the evening. In this area they get two rice crops a year
but further north three can be grown.
Three months for growing and one for resting the field.
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