A Brief Visit in Ho Chi Minh City

Continuing our way southbound along the Vietnamese coast, our next port was Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Of course, locals will call it one or the other depending on where they come from - the southerners still use Saigon as that was the name before the two parts of Vietnam were reunited, and those from the north call it by the name it was given when the communists took it in 1975.

The city is actually quite a distance up the Saigon River from the ocean. The captain had announced previously that the run to the port would be much easier now that there was a properly marked shipping channel. Apparently ships used to have to deal with fishing boats in their way so navigation took a lot longer. Seeing that we were tied up at a container port we could see that this new channel would have some real advantages for ship traffic.

Fishing boats strung across the Saigon River. No wonder
a shipping channel was needed!

Our tour wasn't until the evening; the day tours were quite long and might, with any traffic issues, have arrived back late, so rather than seeing the Mekong Delta or other historical sites, we chose to stay on board and prepare for the overland to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, which would be leaving the following afternoon.

Our evening tour in Saigon included a pre-dinner cocktail and traditional music show at one of the nicer hotels in the city, and then a transfer to a restaurant for a meal of local fare. On the way in, we got more of a feel for the city traffic, mainly caused by the scooters and motorbikes:

There were not many traffic lights, even in the big cities,
but there were always about 5 lanes of motorbikes and
scooters in 1 traffic lane.

And all of them were waiting to make the same left
turn from the same lane!

The Majestic Hotel was built as a private residence in 1925 in the French colonial style, a haven for westerners after the war, and is still a very elegant place. Except for the elevators, but that's probably only when there are larger groups trying to use them all at once. We all had to get to the 7th floor and the outdoor terrace where our cocktails and show were to be, and, of course, we kept trying to put too many people in the elevators so they would be overloaded. One off, then another, and another until we got below maximum capacity. It was actually a bit funny, and everyone did eventually arrive. Then the show started.

Views over the city from the 7th floor terrace at
the Hotel Majestic

 The music and dance troupe performed traditional rural dances from various parts of the country, and the musicians played on some really interesting instruments.

    

The instrument in the middle below is probably the weirdest one we've seen. It has one long string and a tall spindle at the end.  Depending on where the musician placed her finger on the string, and which way she wiggled the spindle, it made all kinds of different sounds. Apparently it takes about 5 years of university training to play it properly - and she even played a pop tune!

After the music and dance performance for about an hour, we all had to reverse the process in the elevators to get back down - and as much as people hoped they could overfill the elevators for the downward trip, it still didn't work and took just as long.

Back into the buses we went, for a short drive to a very well-known restaurant, Hoi An, which along with serving traditional Vietnamese cuisine, also served French food and French wines. Why French? France colonized South Vietnam from 1946 to 1954, and although ultimately the communists took South Vietnam after the war and reunited the country, many who grew up in the south during that period still feel a heavy French influence. It was a little strange to be walking past a few, shall we say 'questionable', nightspots to get to a high-end restaurant, but it made the evening a little more interesting.

One of the bigger local 'beer hall' type restaurants. It was
packed when we drove by on our return journey.

Our Menu

Spring Rolls

Steamed Rice Pancakes in Lotus leaf

Banana Flower salad with grilled beef

Sauteed beef that came in a bamboo tube
and was upended on the plate

Fruit plate for dessert

The dinner was quite delicious, and it seemed that everyone enjoyed it this time. Either the picky eaters didn't take the excursion or they were not sitting at our table!

Back to the ship we went to make sure everything was in order for our overland.