April 7-10,
It was up early, buttoned up Mystic and out the door by 7:30am…..we were not sure of the traffic or the lines at Thai Airlines so we left in plenty of time…..11am flight. The traffic was not bad…..took 30 min and had been told 45-60min…..and there was no line at Thai Airline……so, without asking, the ticket man just moved us up to an earlier flight to Bangkok…..hmmm……ok, we can just wait more time in Bangkok…..which we did at some local pub. We did make it to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on time around 4pm…..and then the fun began…..30 minutes to deplane and take a bus to the Passport control…..then 15 min to get our Visa on Arrival…..which actually worked out nicely….we paid a little extra to be “expedited”…..means someone meets you and then walks your papers through and viola you have a valid Visa for 30 days……it was mass confusion at the VOA line and we were soooooo glad we had a person expediting. But, in that 15 minutes the Passport lines went from no lines to a 35-45 min wait……why oh why do airports do that…..disgorge 5-6 planes all at once…..yikes. Anyway, we get through customs and head for baggage claim and Kathy instantly sees her bag already taken off the conveyor and then we look up and there is my bag…..okee dokey!!!
A woman from APT tours, Linh…..we are using them for our Vietnam/Cambodia part of this trip……was still waiting for us…..yea……so with a car and driver we were whisked away to the downtown Sheraton…..wow, HCMC is quite modern…..did not expect that…..and the Sheraton is the nicest hotel we have stayed in since Singapore….and we got upgraded for a small fee……sweet as!!!!
As part of our upgrade they have a lounge for happy hour…..5-8pm….with a few niblets…..well, it turns out the wine is from Australia…..and a full bar…..and the niblets are like a full meal…..so we dined on fresh sushi (the tuna was outstanding), prawn cocktails, a seafood “pot” and braised beef, plus lots of cheeses et al…..it was some of the best food we have had in a while!!!!
So with a full belly and some good wine and a walk down memory lane remembering the Vietnam war…..we both sort of remember President Ford announcing the end of hostilities in a speech at Tulane in April 1975…..we were juniors and we should have remembered that vividly but we both just had a vague recollection….arghhhhhh!!!
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM……LOL…..you had to know that was coming:)))))))…..Day 2:
We had a day to ourselves before the APT tour starts so we decided to make a day walking the sights…..first up was the War Remnants Museum……this was a very sobering and somewhat depressing event. The museum is well done and we are glad we went but it was a museum depicting the horrors of war……we were both especially moved by the pictures on the effects of all the chemicals used….especially Agent Orange (contains dioxin)……all the destruction to humans and the environment as well as the 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th generational birth defects….remember the pictures in Life magazine!!!!!:
“The museum comprises a series of themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment placed within a walled yard. The military equipment includes a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 “Daisy Cutter” bomb, M48 Patton tank, an A-1 Skyraider attack bomber, and an A-37 Dragonfly attack bomber. There are a number of pieces of unexploded ordnance stored in the corner of the yard, with their charges and/or fuses removed. One building reproduces the “tiger cages” in which the South Vietnamese government kept political prisoners. Other exhibits include graphic photography, accompanied by a short text in English, Vietnamese and Japanese, covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays, the use of napalm and phosphorus bombs, and war atrocities such as the My Lai massacre.
The War Remnants Museum is currently one of the most popular museums in Vietnam, attracting approximately half a million visitors every year. According to the museum’s own estimates, about two-thirds of these are foreigners. However, visitors’ opinions are mixed, ranging from favorable to “[the viewing of the exhibits] need to be taken with a grain of salt”, with some going so far as to claim that the Vietnamese regime has “borrowed images from the West and inserted them into a “distorted” history”, using images of the war to substantiate their version and their views on Vietnam War history.
“Although the exhibits are blatantly one-sided with many exhibits in the museum contain[ing] a heavy dose of anti-American propaganda and need to be taken with a grain of salt, they do graphically portray the horrors of war. The War Remnants Museum is worth a visit no matter your opinion on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.” Another states that the museum “is unlike any museum I have seen. Most museums I have visited around the world have done well to deal with sensitive issues while presenting facts and not taking sides. … At the War Remnants Museum however, it’s a no holds barred barrage of propaganda, overwrought with emotive language and typical propaganda buzzwords. The museum would have visitors believe without consideration, that the United States Government was evil; that American atrocities against civilians and Viet Cong soldiers were heinous and knew no bounds; and that the entire world, including the American people, were against the war. Conversely, the Viet Cong are supposed to have been kind to the soldiers they captured; they never wilfully harmed innocents; and all that the beloved leader Ho Chi Minh (or “Uncle Ho” as he is warmly referred to by the Government) wanted was peace”.
After that very sobering morning we slowly walked back to the hotel taking in the sites…..mainly buildings built in the French colonial times……Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Opera House, Nguyen Street with HCM statue……and lot’s of shops. We then were interrupted by a text from Mr Somkid of Derani Yachts who is watching Mystic in our absence. The text said the shorepower connection is hot and we are checking. Yikes…..then a series of texts…some answered, some not……Mr Kid has ok spoken English but not so good written…..and Ian the Aussie who does most of the communications is at the Singapore boat show…..ugh….and then bam, my phone runs out of Thai Baht and no more texting. OK….let’s go get a Vietnamese Sim card…..we walk back to the hotel……maybe 15 minutes but it is now close to 100*F with heat index of 120……ugh. The hotel says go across the street to a Circle K and they have Sim cards….ok…go over….no sorry, no Sim….back to hotel…ok, we’ll call….they try several places…finally find one that is open….it is Saturday….they write down the address and get us a cab…..10 min later we are dropped off at a mobile phone store…ok, looks promising…..we go in, do you speak English…..sort of….we need a Sim card……we do not have Sim….ugh,….but she does not truly understand so we take out the Thai Sim card and show her….she shakes her head but points to a store down the block…..ok, we go to that store…..selling Samsungs…..and a nice man gets us set up to buy a Sim card with data……you do need your passport which we have and a nice counter lady takes 10-15 min to enter all the data and get us set up…..cost, 155,000 Dong or USD6.5….plus cab….make it $7.5 and 1.5 hours of our time!!!!
I keep trying to text Kid with no luck. Turn on Google Maps and we are 15 min walking to our next stop……Reunification Palace…ok. we are both getting tired……but decide to go anyway……but, it starts to rain so we find a cover and wait 15 min…..then start the walk in a steam bath……I’m mean everything is wet on our bodies…..yuk!!!!!
“Independence Palace has stayed in the mind of many generations of not only Vietnamese but also foreigners. It is known as the famous historical witness which passed through the two fierce wars against the French and American colonists. The palace was built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City and designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu. As Vietnam was split into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the building served as presidential home and workplace. Today in most locals’ minds, the palace is remembered vividly as a marked end to the war, just like the fall of Berlin Wall, as the North Vietnamese tank crashed its gates on April 30th, 1975.”
Both of us remember the pictures of the NV tank crashing through the gates and the last helicopters taking off from the CIA headquarters carrying the last of the Americans. The Palace actually was a bit disappointing…..maybe the sweat constantly dripping in our eyes had something to do with it……the new design is modern and a bit plain…..mainly a lot of conference rooms so not too interesting…..but what made up for it was all the pictures and explanation of the historical events…..ok, seen enough….yep, and we make our way back to the hotel and air con……cool off, nap, change clothes, do a Skype call to Mr Kid and find out all is well on Mystic and gave him instructions for further checks……then make it to HH at the lounge and a 6pm Tour APT tour meeting and then dinner!!!!
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM….Day 3: will have to blog on this day later
We stayed very busy on Day 3 visiting the Cu Chi tunnels….it is now Monday, April 10 (Day 4) and we just boarded RV AmaLotus for our 7 day Mekong Delta cruise. I’m going to go ahead and post this log w/o pictures while we still have internet…..they say internet will be spotty for the next 7 days as we tour the MD.
Hope all is well!!
John
touring Vietnam
PS: Here is a link to our itinerary: http://www.aptouring.com/trips/asia/vemr13
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