2017 Dec - Holiday Cruise part 1: Hongkong to Vietnam

12 Jan 2018 (as I post this!)

31 Dec 2017 (as I write this)
Happy New year Greetings from the South China Sea!  As I type this, we’re floating somewhere between Vietnam and Taiwan ROC and we’ll pass into 2018 new year hopefully without incident!  We are planning to do our annual goal setting together tomorrow to set the year off right!  This year, my theme is “You become what you think about”.  This goes right with “Seize the day” and “I will not let cancer rule my life”!
But first, back to today... This year, we decided that rather than a home trip for Christmas, we would take a cruise here in Asia, and this entry is the first of what I anticipate to be two entries about the new and also revisited destinations we are exploring together.
We left cold Shenyang on the 24th of December and landed in HongKong.  We have been to Hong Kong several times, but I always enjoy it.  Compared to mainland China, it’s clean, it’s organized, and it’s expensive!  We decided that this time, we would stay at the Ritz Carlton, HongKong, the highest skyscraper hotel in the world. Seize the day!  Seize the opportunity!

View from our room  in the Ritz of Hongkong on the 111th floor, overlooking Victoria Harbor. 

We didn’t get out of the hotel!  We just enjoyed the time to do nothing and practiced the fine art of conversation.  Something we both enjoy, but don’t do enough of.
The next day, we did another first and that was to take the Rolls Royce hotel car as a taxi to the cruise  terminal.  Neither one of us had ever been in a RR, so we took the opportunity to do this!  For taxi rides, it’s no doubt the most expensive taxi ride/km we have ever had...but I don’t regret one penny!  Feeling the inside cushy ride, hearing the quietness in the car, drinking a sparkling water from the bar in the car and having the driver unload our luggage at the cruise terminal was all a once in a lifetime experience for us!  What a nice way to start off our vacation!

Up close and personal with A Rolls Royce

Rod and Sarah with our hands on the grill of the flying lady of the Rolls

Getting in the backseat of the Rolls

Sarah and Rod in the backseat of the Rolls, on the way to the cruise boat

We arrive at the cruise terminal in the Rolls

We checked into our room and explored the ship. We had been on this ship before but it had been renovated since then, so we spent the time just getting our bearings (actually, even after a week on board, I’m not sure I have my bearings yet!).  As we sailed out of HongKong, it was a beautiful clear evening and it gave us a spectacular sunset over the city!

The sail away from Hong Kong harbor at sunset...ahhh...

Sunset over HongKong

The first day was actually a “sea day” which we spent doing nothing..except, we both went to the spa and enjoyed a nice massage (this has become a habit of mine on sea days!).  We celebrated a quiet Christmas and just enjoyed being together, and Sarah booked the excursions.  Rod didn’t feel up to it, so we agreed that  I would do the excursions alone (in the ship arranged tours) and bring back the photos.

On the 26th of December we docked in in Halong bay Vietnam. Halong bay is a UNESCO world heritage site. There are over 2000 karst land formations or islands in this archipelago.    Since we had our Vietnam visas (something evidently we didn’t have to have if we would have stayed on the cruise day trips) Sarah went on a special overnight , and spent the night on a small river cruise size ship (about 40 people total) and we cruised through the Halong Bay Area.  The ship was brand new and first class.  It is winter time which means rainy season in north Vietnam, so so the bay was misty and somewhat mysterious and very peaceful, even with the other boats.  Included in this small cruise was a stop  in  cave (inside one of the 2000 mountains(. This was was called  “surprise cave” because there are 3 main caverns and each one gets bigger and bigger.  The inside of the cave had normal stalagmites and stalactites, but the most interesting part for me was the ceiling.  It was shaped live ocean waves and I’m sure that is what formed it years and years ago.  My cousin Amy saw one of the pictures and pointed out that the inside looks very similar to the outside.

The next day, early in the morning  we stopped  at another mountain that had a beach and also a panoramic overlook, so I climbed to the top and took some pictures and also was able to put my hand in the South China Sea.

Halong Bay Vietnam

Halong bay, Vietnam

Sarah inside one of the caves of Halong Bay

The ceiling of one of the caves at Halong Bay

Panorama of Halong bay in Vietnam

The view from the top of one of the mountains in Halong Bay

Sarah in the South China sea at Halong Bay in Vietnam

On the way back to the ship, we we were a little early, so we stopped by a pearl market where they demonstrated how cultured pearls are made. Very interesting!  I still don’t really know a good pearl from a bad one...my criteria remains that if I like it, it’s good enough for me!  Here are some basics:  For Sea pearls there are 3 types: Akoya,   South Sea and Tahiti.  The akoya is smaller, and takes about 3 years to make, the South Sea ones are White and  golden and take 5 years to make; The Tahiti ones are  (black/dark green) and take about 3 years.  Each of these types the oysters are in a different type of shell and for each one they “seed” there is about a 30 % success rate.

The small one is for Akoya, the one on the top is for South Sea and the one on the bottom is for Tahiti

I saw this pearl come out of an oyster in Vietnam

After the pearl market, we also stopped by a local market and saw some of the local delicacies...it’s always interesting for me to know what people eat and also the colors of the markets are so vibrant!

A fresh market in Vietnam

Fresh fruits in Asia are the best!

More fresh fruits in Asia market in Vietnam

Get your fresh fish here...

Even fresher chickens here!

After this we went back to the ship and Rod found me...always nice to be “ home” again, no matter where home is.  Home is where the heart is and in my case, home is where my husband is.

The next day (28 Dec)  , I went on another excursion into a small village called Hoi An.  On the way, the tour guide gave a lot of information about Vietnam. The following is a combination of general info  given by a mixture of tour guides and some of my own research about Vietnam. Firstly,  I have great respect for the veterans who served during this time (including my dear husband).  It was a time of change and unrest in the US and other places in the world.  I especially honor those who fought and  paid the  ultimate price and who never came home or who came home in a box.  They were helping the South Vietnamese to fighting against communism at the request of the US government .    Eventually communism won...Vietnam was reunified and it remains is one of the 4 communists counties in the world (China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam)...not sure where Russia fits into to this, but it’s what our tour guide said!    The tour guides from the North and South had very different attitudes about the communist forms of government and also it was obvious that there is still much animosity between North and South in Vietnam.
Here is the general info I gathered: (since I’m studying Chinese, I have some special interest in the language !)

General information about Vietnam 

(skip this section if you just want to look at pictures!)

History and Geography

Vietnam world map

Present day Vietnam used to be part or China during the Qing Dynasty and as a result of 3 separate wars where they defeated the Mongols and Gingus Khan, they gained their independence  in 1789.  (Strange to think that during this same time the French Revolution was going on!)
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam.    On the east, East side is Pacific Ocean, west side is Laos, Cambodia. North border is China. The French colonized Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in 1900’s and Stayed until 1954 and as a result of the Geneva convention, North and South Vietnam split and gained their independence. North was communist, South was capitalist.  Then the Vietnam war happened, The North won and the entire country became communist.   In 1995 the US restored diplomatic relations with Vietnam and in  2007 Vietnam became a member of WTO.   Vietnam Population today in  93 million people.

Language:

Their spoken language is Vietnamese and it  has 6 tones, some words similar to Chinese, but not all. For example depending on the tone, “ Ma”  means mother, horse, (like Chinese ) but also means ghost, but/ however, young rice tree, cemetery.  Today the Vietnamese language is written all in western letters. Before 1900 (French  influence) it also had characters, but when colonized, this was dropped. The Vietnamese language is a mixture of Chinese, Thai, Malaysian.
Old Vietnamese speak French, but now mandatory to take English.

 Culture and Religion

The Vietnamese women, like most Asian women wear masks not only for pollution, they also don’t want to get sunburned dark face from the sun.  The beauty standard is the whiter  the better!  They also celebrate Chinese New Year. School is out for 3 months in Summer, too hot, no A/C  in the schools.  June July, August.  Education not free in Vietnam, must pay to go to school.  the  3 biggest religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Confucius, but there are 10% Catholic (mostly in the South).  There is a “2 child policy” but it is only enforced for the communist party government officials.
Every man must do 2 years of military service. Corruption is very bad, government officials and their families are all rich due to being paid off! You can buy your driving license. Big drinking problem in Vietnam according to the tour guide.    Working time is normal from 8-12 in the morning, then take a lunch and siesta,  then finish st 5.  They work  6 Days/week. An average  Factory worker makes 400 USD/month.  (I assume they also have meals and transportation to and from work provided like china)  There a 10% income tax rate. There are normally no pensions (no social security), only members of communist party have a pension. The oldest son has responsibility to take care of parents for their retirement similar to China.  Cultures are very different in different parts of Vietnam. Saigon is a melting pot, lots of industry. Hanoi is mostly government officials.  According to the tour guide,  the  city  people appreciate civilization brought by French, country people  blame French for taking everything.  Feng Shui is heavily practiced in Vietnam, get the right colors, right dates to be married, dates for travel. Zodiac years are similar to China, but in Vietnam, there is no year of the rabbit, it has been replaced  by the year of cat.

Economy

Exchange rate is 1 USD =20000 Vietnam Don and the tour guide said they save their money in USD (which is accepted anywhere) and gold because the money is devalued frequently.   They drive on the right side. Vietnam has oil, but no refineries. So they send the crude to Singapore and then import the gasoline.   Economy depends on export  Income from rice, seafood, electronics, oil. In the highlands of the south also rubber, elepha nts and coffee.  All land Leased from Gov, there is no private property ownership. (Remember it is communist!).  After 1995 (when Clinton restored relations) they have an Open market in economy  with communist characteristics, you can start business, but government still owns 5% .   Big export product is rice , 68% rice is grown in Mekong delta.4 crops/year).  Most industry is in the south of Vietnam.  To get from Saigon (South)  to Hanoi  (North) by bus takes 40 hours on hwy1 (which was build by US when they were here during the war).  This road has 3  lanes,  1 lane each for car, bus, motorbike, and the speed limit 80km/hour max, controlled by police . The same journey takes 42 hours by train which is running on old tracks built by French over 100 years ago, and you can take flight 1 hour.
Japan is biggest foreign investor for infrastructure (subways, bridges, ferry boats etc) espe cially after 1995.

That’s probably more than you wanted to know about Vietnam!  It’s more than I remember learning in school!

Now, back to the fun stuff of exploring!  
On the 28th of December, I went to the village of Hoi An, and marble mountain.  These areas are just outside of Danang (central part of Vietnam.  Hoi An is an old village that still has some authentic houses and temples and old market streets.   Hoi An is a tourist place now, used to be a big fishing and shipping  port now, known for ceramic pottery and silk. Hoi An Was  a port on the Silk Road . 1.5 million people live there now, but we only saw the old town.  Marble mountain is a Buddhist shrine.

The Japanese bridge in Hoi An, Vietnam

A close up of one of the panels in the bridge..I just love this!

Some children in a small village outside of HoiAn

A potter and her wheel in HoiAn

An old Buddah getting engolfed by the Mangrove tree in HoiAn

The market in HoiAn

One of the temples on Marble Mountain

The next day (30 Dec), we docked in the port closest to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) and Sarah took a bus ride into Saigon and  Saw the notre dam cathedral, built by French 100 years ago. Still used as a functioning church, currently closed for renovation )paid for by the French).

Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon

After the quick city tour, we went to the mangrove swamp, took a wood canoe ride and saw some fruit bats hanging upside down in the mangrove trees. these things are huge ( 1m Wing span). Then went to see some monkeys and also feed the crocodiles. This was in a wildlife reserve. There used to be rhinos, wild bore, tigers and elephants in this area of Vietnam, but all gone now. The last Rhino was poached 5 years ago for his horn, sold for very high prices in China.

The view of Saigon from the river

A boat loaded full of Coconuts

Crocodile fishing...

Another market outside of Saigon

So that’s about it for phase 1 of this journey from HongKong to Vietnam. The journey continues onto Taiwan and back to Hongkong next!  Stay tuned for Part 2 next!