Phu My, Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam!  Early in the morning of March 24^th we made our way out of the South China Sea and up the river to our berth at Phu My, the gateway to the largest city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon.  The drive from the port to Ho Chi Minh City is roughly 2 hours; the roads are narrow and very congested with traffic.  During the stop in Phu My a complimentary shuttle bus was available to the Ba Ria Market, a 40 minute drive away.  Vung Tau, the closet city to Phu My, is another 20 minutes from the market.  You can see we were in the middle of “nowhere”.

Most passengers took all day tours to Ho Chi Minh City, where they saw all the sights including markets and historical artifacts, or to the Cu Chi Tunnels, and also to the Mekong Delta.  This was also the starting point for the Overland tour to Cambodia’s Angor Wat.  We, unfortunately, had to cancel our spot on the trip to Angor Wat and again spent our day on board watching “life on the river”.

Our last trip to Vietnam was in 2008 and “life on the river” has not changed, it is still fascinating to watch how busy the daily activities keep the river and its tributaries.

Our departure was delayed due to late arriving tours.  Next port will be Laem Chabang the port for Bangkok, Thailand.  

Hong Kong, China

Tuesday, March 20 we arrived in Hong Kong for the first day of our much anticipated 2-day adventure.  Needless to say, all the passengers and crew were very excited to have these 2 days to explore.  Unfortunately, we are ship bound for the first of what we are afraid will be many ports that we will not be leaving the ship due to Cindy’s broken foot.

Hong Kong features an incredible skyline, beautiful harbor and some of the best shopping in the world.  We heard from passengers that prices had escalated substantially from our previous visit in 2008, even in famous Stanley Market.  There are so many points of interest in Hong Kong that 2 days really isn’t enough.  You can take a boat tour of the harbor, drive across the Tsing Ma Bridge to Lantau Island to the Po Lin Monastery where you visit the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world.  Take in nightlife, eat an 8 course Peking duck dinner and watch the incredible Symphony of Light show on Victoria Harbor.

We docked at China Merchant Wharf located near Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island and close to many of the main attractions.  So we were able to spend our days on the balcony watching the busy harbor teeming with ferries, fishing boats, junks and the busy crew provisioning the ship.

At 5PM we let loose our lines and departed the harbor for our next port of call, Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam, to arrive in 3 days. 

Shanghai, China

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY! 

Today, Saturday, March 17, we sailed into our first stop in China – Shanghai.  Around midnight we embarked the pilot and navigated through the outer shipping lanes, before beginning our 6 hour trip through the inner shipping lanes, narrow channels and the Yangtze River to our berth in the heart of the city.  What an amazing location to dock!

Exact population figures for Shanghai are not available but it is easily China’s largest city.  The world’s only other cities of comparable size are Tokyo and Mexico City.  Shanghai’s attractions are legendary, from exquisite temples and museums to strolling along the Bund.  The city is also the gateway to the Grand Canal and the famed cities of Wuxi, Suzhou and Zhujiajiao.  On a previous visit to Shanghai, we toured Suzhou and because we will return in October to tour Shanghai in depth, we chose to take the 90 minute drive to Zhujiajiao.

Zhujiajiao is located on the banks of Dianshan Lake, connected by so many crisscrossing rivers that the town has been called the “Venice of the East”.  We began our day by walking and exploring the cities old, historic narrow streets on foot.  On our walk we visited the Qing Dynasty Post Office, the Fishing House, and many of the 36 bridges built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the 400-year old Fangsheng Bridge.  This is Zhujiajiao’s longest, largest and tallest stone bridge.  We had a short time to shop and barter (by calculator – they put in a number and then we put in a number, back and forth until agreed upon price) and then took our canal boat ride, reminiscent of a gondola ride in Venice.

Having finished our tour of Zhujiajiao, we began the return trip to the outskirts of Shanghai.  The next stop was at the Tianhou Silk Factory.  This would end up being a very memorable day!!!!!  The tour of the Silk Factory was very interesting and the fashion show a lot of fun.  And the shopping was going well as we picked out a silk duvet and pillow shams.  Then Cindy tripped over a 4 inch platform hidden by a silk coverlet and fell.  At that time, she thought she had probably sprained her ankle/foot.  She hobbled on to the restaurant for a very late but delicious lunch served family-style and made up of traditional Shanghai-style dishes.

Our scenic drive continued thru the outer 3 ring roads of Shanghai and into the city center to the People’s Square for a short photo stop.  People’s Square is the site of Shanghai’s municipal government headquarters, museums, exhibition halls, and shops.  We travelled back to the ship passing the famous shopping street, Nanjing Road, closed to auto traffic as it was a weekend day, and along the Bund, one of Shanghai’s most recognizable landmarks.

The day ended with a visit to the ship’s doctor and a fractured bone in Cindy’s foot – no walking until further notice………