Southeast Asia Vacation – Vietnam Nam January 28 to February 1/18

A one day sail in the Gulf of Thailand in calm seas takes us from Bangkok, Thailand to Ho Chi Minh City. This city was formerly Saigon under the old regime in South Vietnam and oddly, the locals still refer to it by the old name. The city is bustling with 10 million people and growing like crazy. Vietnam Is largely aa agricultural nation and is a major exporter of rice and most of the people live very basically and are content with their life.

The mode of transportation is the motorcycle or scooter. Not uncommon to see 3 to 4 people riding on one motorcycle transporting all sorts of goods

Our ship was too large to dock in the City, so we docked in a container port 1 1/2 hours from Saigon which made travel by bus very long. We booked a tour to the Mekong Delta which is termed the the rice bowl of Vietnam Nam. There are miles and miles of rice patties.

A typical rice paddy taken from the window of the bus showing the family mausoleum in the field. A closer picture above. Very common site

We caught a ferry over to Unicorn Island, the largest island on the Mekong River. The Mekong is 2700 miles long and flows through 6 countries to discharge into the South China Sea. It drains an area of 307,000 square miles and thus provides very fertile soil supporting millions of people. Where we are at, the river is 5 miles wide. The people on Unicorn Island thrive on fishing, aquaculture,fruit tree agriculture and beekeeping.

Lady making coconut candy above. To the right is a cup of honey tea that we enjoyed.we stopped at a local shop to check out the coconut candy and honey tea and taste both. Both were very tasty.Shop owner’s pet! We found out that snakes are a very big part of the Vietnamese culture. Snakewine is used as an aphrodisiac with claims of successful fertility beyond normal. Snakes as pets is also very popular. A ceremony that they perform is the killing of a snake and eating the heart while still alive. Thank God we did not see that!

Local entertainment over a tasty Vietnamese lunch. Always with Tiger beer

This village was very enchanting and we finished our tour with a sampan ride down one of the many channels back to the ferry. The lady ahead of me in the sampan did not work too hard but she had a cool hat. Too busy keeping an eye out for critters in the water, I think.

A day of sailing from Saigon along the east coast of Vietnam In the South China Sea brings us to the city of Hoi An. This city is home to 190,000 people and is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999. Hoi An was a trading port back in the 15th century and is a well preserved city with a prominent Japanese Bridge dating back to the 16th Century. The meaning of Hoi An is peaceful meeting place. We are here to do a bit of shopping and take a bike trip thru the countryside.This Guy was trying to sell us fruit if I would buy him a Tiger beer. Shameless! (My buddy Terry for those that do not know)

Also, a picture of ancient Hoi An and the Japanese Bridge.

We biked thru the farm areas on paved narrow roads and took in the countryside that was beautiful and quant! All the people here travel by motorcycle so our group gave way to the many travellers on these roads(paths).Upper left, now that is a garden. But these plots are really looked after. A typical rice patty again. This is what they do. The guy on the lower right is the workhorse of this country still, few tractors. Running away may be hurtful though.

We biked about five kilometres thru the countryside and back into the City. Once we hit the City the guide told us to stay close as the traffic was crazy thru the narrow streets but we made it. Some of us were very stressed in the traffic but even tho it was very busy, there was a courteous flow to the madness. But definitely time for a Tiger beer.Inside a typical Japanese house from the 16th Century. This house would have been aristocratic. The family that owns it now is Vietnamese and sell linens, which is a good business with all the tourists. Many shops here that will make you a custom dress or suit in several hours for cheap! Not sure of the quality tho.A local wedding happening. The local girls are all petite and mostly stylish. The man had military dress as with all the Southeast Asia countries, two years of military service is mandatory.

This guy claimed to have every kind of sunglasses, or could get it within minutes. Very enterprising!

Back to the ship to set sail early evening for Halong Bay, arriving mid morning on the 31st. Again This area is a Unesco World Heritage site. Sailing into This bay is awesome as the bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes.

We have a tour booked this day to travel by boat to Dau Go Island where we will go ashore and go thru the Thien Cung Cave or more commonly referred to as the Heavenly Cave. This Cave has numerous stalactites and stalagmites with special and strange shapes. It is a huge tourist attraction, and is very hidden by flora with a narrow Inlet and was only discovered by fisherman in 1993This picture is an example of the interior of the Cave. Truly breathtaking.

we passed this limestone formation on the way back and they are said to look like a rooster and a hen. Also, they are referred to as the kissing rocks. Need imagination a bit on this one.This is our ship that we spent two weeks on. We received a greeting every morning from our captain, a Greek fellow named Captain Alex. A very funny guy with anecdotes such as “we are presently sailing in 243 feet of water, sailing east, so do not attempt to go ashore” , or “we have been sailing around the ocean for 2 weeks and I have finally found Hong Kong”.

The following day, we are off on a countryside tour of Ha Long by coach. We had stops at a Buddhist Temple, of course, as well as a visit to a local home which was very interesting. This family grew all of there own produce and raised animals for food as well on a plot of land that was approx. an acre or a little more. The family consisted of a 82 year old mother, her son and his wife and their son. There house was a couple of rooms and was about 500 square feet. We were told that this was a very typical Vietnamese house and family.The grandma and son cleaning a type of onion in the yard. These would be transported to the local market for sale to others.The upper picture has the family pictures in the living area. Middle picture is the kitchen which was very tiny. You can see the size of the refrigerator which means that they would only purchase or pick the current day’s meals. The bottom picture is the bedroom and as you can see the motorcycle lives here. The motorcycle is a very valuable commodity, so was not left outdoors when not in use.The upper picture is of the chicken coup or pigeon coup more accurately. They raise pigeons for the meat as well as the eggs. We saw pigeon meat in the markets many times. The middle picture is the family garden. The Vietnamese gardens that we saw were very devoid of weeds and well tended. The lower picture is the family sty. Not sure if they raised and sold the pigs or slaughtered for their own consumption. With no freezer, they would have to salt or dry the meat for preserving.

This grandpa or must have been great grandpa was taking the little guy for a bike ride and posed for us. Hope I can do that at that age. Notice how the little guy has a high quality bike seat. Checked the average age of Vietnamese people and it is 81 for women

and 71 for men, whereas Canada is 84 for women and 80 for men. The 71 thing had to be war related in some way!

Our final stop on our return to Ha Long was to the local fish market. The Vietnamese are huge fish eaters and, as they have limited refrigeration, daily purchasing is required. As we were told, to ensure the catch is fresh, it must be alive! The market is huge and the boats come in non stop all dayThe local fishing boats back from a day of fishing.Upper picture is a boat unloading it’s catch. These steps are really steep and this little girl, (Marg’s size) was carrying a 5 gallon bucket full of water and catch in each hand up these stairs. Lower picture is of a ray which is very popular as a food in Vietnam Nam.https://kenandmarg.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/img_2534.movCalamari, yum! You get to pick, even. The market is huge and has every kind of produce, meat and fish.

Now, off to Hong Kong which is North East and one day sail, if Captain Alex can find it!