Good Morning, Vietnam - Day 2, Nha Trang

We left the hustle and bustle of Saigon behind and found beauty, peace and friendship in Nha Trang.  Nha Trang was a large group, 3 full buses.  Joe, Gretchen, Carlos and I was in bus #1.  Our group leader was Anne, who at the last minute had to cancel the tour.  So Donna took over and she did a very nice job shepherding her 35-strong flock. 

Our guide was “Hooie”. of Smile Tours.  No connection to the Smile tours of HCMC.  What a nice young man.  He had just gotten married and his bride wanted to come along. He would not let her.  Wish we could have met her. 

Nha Trang is a tender port, so no long drive into town.  We had a very busy day planned, so off we went.  As in all Vietnam, the streets were clogged with motorcycles.  And the rule of the road is:  “there are no rules”!! 

Our first stop was an embroidery factory.  Vietnam is known for its beautiful embroidery work.  The factory was filled with mostly young women sewing.  I did see some older women there.  I was struck by the fact that there were so many young women carrying on this tradition.  Some of the work is so detailed it looks like a painting until you get up close.  Sadly, we  did not buy anything. 

Beautiful young Vietnamese girls

Next we went to the Thong Bao Temple.  It is set high on a hillside.  Due to the oppressing heat and humidity, many on the tour bus, myself included, decided not to climb.

Thong Bao Temple

Then we had another boat ride in a crazy little boat to go up river to a fishing village.  It was fun and I got several nice photos along the way.  At one point there was a group of boys frolicking in the water.  When they saw us, they decided to show off, climbing a post to do back flips into the river.  They waved and shouted to us.  

Our bus met us up river and off we went to see how they make rice paper for noodles and their yummy spring rolls.  After mixing the water and flour it is rolled into very fine sheets and dried in the sun.  They they can work it, either cutting it by machine into noodles or squares that are sold and cut down into size for the rolls.

We had two more stops before lunch – one to a conical hat village and the other to a county store in a very old house.  In the village we found 5 women sitting under a tree making hats in various stages.  The oldest lady would cut the bamboo and strip it into long strings.  This is woven around a frame.  The finished product is pretty and they contend this is the coolest hat to wear during their long hot season.  Hooie commented that very few ladies are wearing these traditional hats anymore  Of course, I had to purchase one for the exorbitant price of $3.

Carlos with chef at lunch

 

 

young girls at orphanage

We had a very nice lunch in a restaurant along the riverside.  Then we went off to the highlight of the tour – the Pagoda Orphanage.  My cabin steward was able to give me some additional chocolates to go along with all the ones I had sequestered from my pillow.  It was fun handing them out to the older children. The younger children were being entertained by some college students who had them singing and dancing.  We were told there were about 130 children ranging in age from 6 months old to 15.  It is sad, but when they are 15, they are turned out on the streets.  There is concern on the government’s part what becomes of them.  They think some might become beggars and others resort to crime.  So they are starting to follow them more closely.  The orphanage is run by a very old nun and she sure gives the impression of running a very tight ship.  We walked around a little and spent less time there than I thought we might.

As we were leaving the orphanage, we came upon a young girl selling fans.  Of course I had to buy another – minus another $3. She kept telling me she had 4 children and her baby was hungry.  Then she asked me to help her sell – to talk to everyone in the group to buy one of her fans.  Something tells me she had no children, but she was cute with just one of the biggest smiles.



Joe with fan girl



Nha Trang was more than I could ever have hoped it would be.  These are the people I thought I would meet.  They are so different than everyone in Saigon.  People smiled in Saigon, but I never felt the warmth as I did here.  If I returned, I would love to come back to this city of warm happy Vietnamese.

Good Morning, Vietnam!! Day 1 - HCMC AKA Saigon

The day dawned hot and what else, humid.  How did our soldiers, in fatigues and full gear, stand this weather when they fought the war?  Today’s tour is coordinated by Cliff, and it is a large group.  He has 2 buses with about 36 in each.  But each bus is to go there separate ways throughout the city.  So all Cliff has to do is keep track of his 36 little chick-a-dees.

Today we are in docking in Phu My, the port for Saigon/Ho Chi Ming City, we have a good 2 hour drive over bad roads with lots of traffic.  Our guide is Mrs. Thi (Mrs. T).  She is the owner of Smile Tours  She said she rarely takes tours anymore but in light of the size of this one, decided we needed special handling.  Thanks Cliff!!  Her English is excellent and knowledge unsurpassed.  On the drive into the city, she had a lot of time to talk about the tour.  She was very prepared with booklets, a copy of our itinerary (nice touch), bottles of water and fresh, cold, towels when returning from a tour.  But the 2 hour drive turned from a tour into indoctrination.    As you might imagine, it was very slanted to “Uncle Ho’s” point of view.  We had been warned about this in a port lecture - our job was to smile and keep our mouths closed. 

Our first stop – the Jade Emperor pagoda. This is an active temple with many worshipers.  So Mrs T talked about the pagoda before arriving and did not talk during our walk through.  There are various rooms here, one dedicated to the emperor, which represented heaven.  The next housed “hell” and the third had 9 mother statures lined on both sides.  Here is where a couple goes to worship when they cannot conceive. 

Off to the Presidential Palace.  Many Pulitzer photos were taken here when the city fell and tanks rolled in breaking down the iron fence.  The palace is large with many narrow corridors in the basement level.  I was told there was a lot of war propaganda, but I really did not find any.



View from balcony of Presidential Palace



We then went to a water puppet show. This turned out to be the “find” of the tour.  I absolutely loved it and even though I could not understand what was being said, a little imagination went a long way.  Great time!!



Dragon spitting fire at Water Puppet Show



Very talented puppeteers

We had a drive by of the very old Notre Dame Cathedral (it was closed), the post office and the famous Rex Hotel where war correspondents held their nightly broadcasts from.   Lunch was in the Pho 2000 restaurant, so named for the year Bill Clinton visited the restaurant.  It was a typical Vietnamese restaurant and very busy. 

We ended up with some free time to shop in the Ben Thanh market.  I did not have a lot on my agenda, and just wandered through for 15 minutes and then back to wait for the bus.

 



Carlos shopping.  Doesn't he look like he is enjoying this?



Aisle in Ben Thanh Market

All in all, a day for the record books – weather records, that is.  I am glad to have made the journey into the town, but would not return because I fell in love with Nha Trang.  I will discuss that in my next chapter.  Joe & Gretchen did a Princess trip to the Mekong Delta.  They said it was a wonderful day, but hot, humid and a tough trip getting in and out of dug-outs.

 

Bangkok

Today is April 18.  We docked in Laem Chabang, Thailand, the shipping gateway to Bangkok.  It is a very large container port, so no fancy cruise terminal this day.  We were warned how hot it was going to be and to make sure we carried plenty of water and sunscreen.  The highs were to be 93 and the humidly about the same!!  Because we are going to the Palace, we are expected to wear long pants and “modest” shirts. 

I was tour leader at this port.  I booked through Bangkok Day Tours, recommended on Cruise Critic.  I cannot say enough good things about them – from the initial contact arranging a tour, to planning throughout, arrival and meeting our 2 tour guides, Sam & Lucky, to our great safe driver, Wat, and finally to Nov, who collected the money and road in the back seat with me to the city.  I had such a good time talking to her.  We met as strangers and departed as friends.

Kathleen with Nov

Our itinerary included a nice long drive from the port into Bangkok – just about 2 hours each way.

Our first stop:  Wat Traimit, the Golden Buddha.  It weighs over 5 tons and is the largest Buddha image in the world and the most treasured of Thailand and Buddhism.  It was accidently discovered when being moved and it was dropped.  It turned out the gold Buddha was encased in cement to protect it from the many years of occupying forces. Te cement cracked and they discovered this beautiful sculpture.

Gold Buddha

Then off we went to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo.  This is a huge complex, but in one of them there is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  This is Thailand’s most revered temple.  The grounds are very large, and we did a lot of walking and took so many photos. Photos were forbidden in the Grand Palace but I did take a lot of the grounds.

a happy moment shared on a very hot day

We moved on to Wat Pho – the building where the reclining Buddha is located.  We were so drained from spending a day in the hot weather that I almost passed on it. But Sam assured me it was not much walking.  And I was so glad I did get out of the bus. 

We were grateful for the respite of the stop for lunch in an air conditioned restaurant along the Chao Phraya river.  It was very charming and hard to leave.  But we did in search of our long-tail boat to take us along the canals and back ways of the Venice of the Orient.  It was a huge leap of faith when I got into the boat because the river was very choppy and the boat going up and down.  I didn’t want to fall in since our guide said no one drowns in this river, they just dissolve!!

along the canal



Gretchen bargaining - is she Gretchen saying $3 and the lady saying $1



a house along the canal

Our merry bunch of travelers

After 30 minutes on the river, we said goodbye to Sam and boarded our bus for the long drive back to the port.  Bangkok was everything I dreamed it would be.  I waited 48 years to come to Bangkok.  Carlos said when we married our first assignment was Bangkok.  It was changed at the last minute and we went to Saudi Arabia instead.  One day I will return to Bangkok.

April 16 - In the Gulf of Thailand

ON THE WAY TO BANGKOK

We boarded the ship yesterday, April 15.  It was interesting in so far as this was the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  Cruise line did not say anything about this.  Guess they don’t want anyone panicking at the life boat drill. 

The first day on board is always chaotic.  You get through the boarding process, find your cabin and then wait for luggage to arrive.  Then you have to find a home for 3 suitcases of clothing for the next 35 days.  I do believe this will tax the organizational skills of Kathleen & Carlos!! 

Today, our first full day at sea was somewhat restful.  In the morning, I had my Cruise Critic “Meet & Greet”.  I was the organizer and about 120 passengers attended.  I sent invites to 10 of the officers and had 6 show, including the Captain.

Right now, we are heading up the coast to Laem Chabang, the port for Bangkok.  We will arrive at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, which is 7 p.m. east coast time Tuesday.  I planned a tour for 12 couples to see the city highlights.  More on that after the tour.

That is about it for now.  I hope this finds everyone well.

Singapore

We arrived in Singapore in the late afternoon.  Princess did not meet us, so we took a cab to the Fairmont Hotel.  Very nice hotel with great service.  We had a message from Gretchen and Joe.  They were walking the streets, but we planned to meet for dinner.  Since they were recovering from jet lag, we went into the mall for a light supper.

My first full day in Singapore was spent in a walk-in clinic.  I found a lump under my arm and we decided to have it looked at.  The doctor sent me to a surgeon since she wanted it to be biopsied.  Long and short, I had a minor procedure to have it removed.  Stitches will be removed in 7 days on board the Diamond Princess. Not a fun first day.But we did head out to the famous Raffles Hotel to take a look at the Long Bar and of course, taste our first Singapore Sling. 

Our second day in Singapore we spent with Joe & Gretchen.  We went to the famous “flyer”, a huge Ferris wheel that goes around once every 30 minutes.  Of course, it rained, so my photos were not the best.  Are you starting to see a theme here?

this soccer field gives a new meaning to the word "ball boy"

Tonight is check in with Princess in preparation for our transfer to the ship tomorrow at mid-day.

Three Gorges Dam

Today we docked just upstream from Yichang for our tour to Three Gorges Dam.  Once again, visibility was poor.  I was able to take a few, very poor photos of the dam. The shipping locks are a series of 5 locks.  Unlike the Panama Canal, the Three Gorges locks are free to all ships.

Carlos overlooking shipping locks

Model of dam

Model of shipping locks

After reboarding the ship, we sailed down river another hour before disembarking in Yichang.  We were met by our guide, Helen, who took us to the airport.  She was very efficient and had our boarding passes and told us to wait until 20 minutes prior to boarding to check in our luggage.  Everything went very smoothly.

After clearing security, there were 4 young girls who wanted to practice their English.  Such a happy group and Phil got a photo of me with them.

Kathleen with hostesses at Yichang airport

We parted ways with Phil at the gate and he went on to Beijing and we boarded China Eastern for our 6 hour flight to Singapore.  Somehow we lucked out and were upgraded to first class.  How sweet it was. 

On the Yangtze River

The morning, dawned cold and what else – foggy and hazy.

Today is to be one of the highlights of our journey down the Yangtze – the Three Gorges.  Here is where the landscape changes from a meandering river to deep canyons on both sides.   It is known primarily for its scenery.  Three Gorges is approximately 120 miles long.  It is one of nature's most extraordinary sculptures along this portion of the river. 

As the day progressed, the sun came out and burned off the fog.  And what an afternoon we had.  At one point we pulled into a little dock and boarded our pea pod boat. 

early morning on the Yangtze

Today is our last full day on the Yangtze.  A thought that has plagued me all the time on the river: the destruction of all the towns, homes, way of life, etc.  All this is now under 120 meters of water thanks to the dam.  I talked with several of the tour guides.  They have mixed feelings about the replacement of so many towns and over a million people were displaced.  New towns were built but higher up the mountain.  Now you see high rises where 1 story homes dotted the mountain.  The Chinese are proud of their ancestry, and have always honored those that came before them.  Now all those graves are under water. The ecology of the area is greatly impacted by the dam.  The sturgeon is endangered and now being bred in fish farms and released into the Yangtze.

The reasons behind building the dam were to control flooding during the rainy months and to make the Yangtze navigable.  Before the dam, the water levels could drop so low that shipping was impossible.

coffin in cave on hillside

Carlos on pea pod boat

Kathleen poling down river

high water mark in gorge

limestone gorge walls

April 8 Trip to Chongqing

Melody took us to the airport early.  We were so early, they would not check us in.  We sat and waited until the appointed hour and checked in without any problems.  I have no idea why I spent so much of my time worrying about luggage requirements.  Speaking of which, just got word from Luggage Free, my shipped suitcase is waiting for me in Singapore!!  Hooray, I will have dress clothes.

We cleared security easily and sat at our gate, waiting and waiting and waiting some more.  It was finally posted that the flight was delayed “due to company plan change”.  We never found out what that meant, but did a lot of scrambling to determine what we could do if we missed the sailing.  Once again, there were a lot of people who could not speak English.  I finally found one counter attendant who knew some English.  He said he would let me know as soon as he had word from his boss.  I was pretty worried since the flight was 90 minutes late and we were cutting it close for the 9 p.m. sailing. 

Finally the flight arrived at 7:30 p.m.  We were met by our guide, Jim.  He said not to worry, even though we had a 45 minute drive to the port, he was in constant contact with the cruise line, and they would be waiting for us.  Jim lived up to his word, because we got there right at 9 p.m. and the ship departed!! 

I wish we had stayed in Chongqing.  What a beautiful city, with a light display to rival Hong Kong.  If you go there, check out the Two Rivers hotel.  It looked really nice with a beautiful view of the “2 rivers”! 

We did have a problem when we arrived at the dock. Jimmy said we were to ignore the porters that were on the dock and not pay them the 10 Yuan they wanted.  Not knowing local customs, we followed what Jimmy said.  Then we proceeded to drag 3 large suitcases and 5 small carry-ons on to a tram that went to dock level.  No fun.  All 3 of us were pretty pooped by the time we boarded. 

Peter, the cruise director, was in the lobby waiting for us. He helped checked us in, get our cabins and then said he was having a welcoming lecture in 5 minutes on deck 5.  We barely had time to drop the luggage, freshen up and try to close our mouths after looking at the size and amenities of our suite!! 

Reception area on board

At breakfast on the first morning, we were seated at a table for 9 with a Swiss family with 2 handsome young boys and then a mother traveling with her 17 year old son.  We also learned we were the only Americans on board.  Peter told us that Americans use to come, but lately not that many.  I guess the economy in the U.S. has impacted this.

Xi An April 6 - 8

Our flight to Xi’an was nothing short of very eventful.  The three of us overly worried about excess baggage.  As it turned out, China Eastern Airlines was pretty relaxed.  You should have seen the folks carrying on 4 and 5 pieces of “hand luggage”.  Carlos’ stack of 3 and my 2 paled in comparison.  I went shopping in a camera store to find my USB cable.  All for naught.  But as I was starting to leave, a young salesman said “what about a card reader”?  So once again, Kathleen is a happy camper with her new card reader to download photos for 45 days.  When I came out of the store I found Phil and Carlos rummaging through all of Phil’s belongings.  He was visibly upset, saying he lost his money clip with over $800 in it. We played the game “where do you last remember having it”.  We called the hotel asking someone to check his room and safe.  Nothing.  Just as he was about to give finding it – he opened his wallet to find the “missing” money clip.  He sheepishly said he never kept wallet and money together.  Problem resolved.  Phil received the “most senior” moment award of the day and the bill from the bar for a round of drinks.

Hong Kong sure is a big airport.  We went in search of that bar for Phil to buy us drinks. After about a 15 min walk we finally found one.  Downed it quickly then started our way back up the concourse to our gate.  It turned out, our plane was at a mid field terminal so we loaded into a bus for the transfer. 

Our flight from Hong Kong was stacked up and we circled for almost 1 hour.  Consequently, my first impression of Xi An was: where is it.  It was like pea soup - we had no idea if we were landing at an airport or a dirt strip until the very last moment.  Clearing immigration and customs was easy.  When we exited the building, there was someone holding a sign with our names on it.  Our guide was Melody and our driver “Mr. John”.  We asked her about the low ceiling and she said it was a combination of pollution and sand because they were in the dry season.

The drive from the airport took forever.  We came out of customs at 6:30 and we arrived at the hotel at 8:30.  Traffic lived up to everything I had heard and read – awful congestion.  I can also confirm the belief that very few Chinese speak English.  Our hotel was the Gaosu Shenzhou International Hotel.  I will never go back nor recommend this hotel to anyone.  According to our tour operator, this is a 4 star hotel.  However, there is no a.c. because the system won’t be turned on until the heat of July.  The temperature in both our rooms was approaching 84 degrees with only small windows for ventilation. It was next to impossible to sleep under these conditions.

After a fitful night’s rest (if you can call it such), we had our guide and driver pick us up for 8:30 a.m. for our tours to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and then on to see the Terra Cotta warriors.  For me, the Pagoda was the pearl in the middle of the oyster.  Upon arriving at the pagoda, Melody introduced us to Mr. Lee who would be our tour guide for the next two hours. 

Phil Carlos & Kathleen with Mr. Lee, our guide

He was a walking encyclopedia  He was a student of Buddhism and talked at great length about the pagoda, its history, the monks that live there and all the artifacts in the various buildings. Mr. Lee took us into a room to teach us calligraphy.  He even translated our names and wrote them on rice paper.  My name stands for success, wisdom and jade and Carlos is Car, Dew and Wisdom.  Little did all our children know how much wisdom their parents have!!  As on most tours, you end up in the commercial area where the pressure is great to buy, buy and buy some more.  A somewhat sad ending to an otherwise enjoyable morning.

Buddah at Wild Goose Pagoda

Carlos in front of Upside down tree

We then drove 45 minutes to the see the famous Terra Cotta Warriors.  This is a massive complex of 5 buildings.  Walk is the name of the game, promptly followed by the word “steps”.  And we did our fair share of both. 

The Warriors

Building 1 is the largest and houses the most warriors.  There are over 6000 warriors uncovered at this dig site.  The most famous have been moved to another building and kept behind glass.  The kneeling archer is one that you see time and again on any literature about the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Carlos, Phil & Kathleen in main building with Terra Cotta Warriors

The Kneeling Warrior behind glass

We spent the most time in this building. In the other buildings, they have displays of how they preserve the warriors and how they put them together after finding broken parts.  In the last building we entered, there was a display with the chariots that were excavated from a hillside of the burial site of one of the first emperors.  By the time we returned to the hotel we were “too pooped to pop”.  Our feet hurt from walking so much and climbing all those stairs in 5 buildings. 

We hung out in the hotel.  Or I should say, Carlos and Phil hung out.  After having a night cap at 8 p.m., I went to bed without bothering to eat.

The following day we were scheduled to check out of the hotel, take a tour of the wall of Xi An, have lunch and head to the airport for our afternoon flight.  Carlos and I passed on the wall trip and spent a leisurely morning getting packed and ready for our trip to Chongqing to board our river boat.

Wednesday, April 5

TRAVEL DAYS – APRIL 3 TO 5

Our first leg is behind us!!  And what a leg it was.   It seemed we traveled forever just to get to Hong Kong. 

For the most part, our flight cross country was uneventful.  I did get some nice shots of the Colorado River and the beautiful terrain from 36,000 feet.

The hardest part of the trip was sitting in Los Angeles for those 11 hours.  I think I must have looked at the clock every 15 minutes or so.  The plane boarded at 1:30 a.m. L.A. time on 4/4.  Just before we started to head down to the gate, I took an Ambien.  It was almost a mistake since I know I was wobbling walking down the concourse.  I remember getting into the plane, taking off my shoes and a flight attendant coming by to “stow” my shoes.  That was my last recollection until about 4 hours into the flight.  I do not remember lift off, food service, etc.  Speaking of food, who eats dinner at 2 a.m. anyway? 

We finally got to the Sky City Marriott in Hong Kong around 8:30 a.m.  We were met at the door by our neighbor, Phil Clark.  He arrived the night before and was on his way out to visit the Giant Budda at Po Lin Monastery then into Kowloon for an afternoon city tour.  No visit to Hong Kong is complete until you climb all 268 steps to get to the top of the Budda.  We were here in 2001 and I climbed to the top.  Today, Phil did the same and has the picture to prove it.  We didn’t have any plans for the day other than shower, relax and relax some more. 

Tonight we had a light meal in the bar and came back to the room to organize and repack for the trip to Xian tomorrow.  I thought it a good idea to download my few pictures.  Much to my dismay, I brought the wrong USB cable – but good news is: now I can download all the golf courses of Asia since I am traveling with my cable for my Sky Caddie!!

D-Day April 3

All packed and we decided to leave the house on Apr. 2 in the evening.  Carlos' brother has so kindly invited us to spend the night 20 miles from Dulles. April 3 will be a somewhat leisurely morning instead of the insanity of an early departure from Bridgeville. 

The black one on the right "hopes" to make it to Singapore via Fed X

The game plan is:
Tuesday, get up around 6:00  and out the door headed for Dulles by 8:30.  The flight to L.A. leaves at 11:50 a.m.  So here are the "numbers" according to Carlos:
Hours before leaving house:         2
Hours at Dulles:                        3
Flight to L.A.                             6
On ground in L.A.                        11
Flight from L.A. to Hong Kong        14
Clear customs and get to hotel      2

Door to door "service"             38 hours

Maybe we need to re-think the clothes we are wearing.  Perhaps they should just be "disposable"; after 38 hours, we may not want to ever see them again.

According to my trusty-rusty map, this journey will have us traveling 27,750 miles, door to door in 48 days.  Check it out:

http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=mooney_10

This will be the first "post" for the trip.  Will check in once we get to Hong Kong.  We have plans to have dinner with our neighbor, Phil, at Jumbo's.  Very touristy thing to do.

Adios, Zai jian, Ciao, Sayonara and Good-bye until later.