Day 136 Mekong River Delta (HCH-002) Port: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City 5/29/23

 Day 136 Mon May 29, 2023  Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam Depart 3:00 

This description of activities is accurate.  

Mekong River Delta (HCH-002) Port: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Tour Length: Full-Day (Approximately 7 hours)   7:00 AM-2:00 6:15 AM time to be in Insignia Lounge

Tour Description

Cruises Visiting This Port

• Leave the city behind and cruise through the fertile Mekong Delta.
• Revel in the tranquility of Vinh Trang, a temple adorned with huge statues of Buddha.
• Enjoy an up-close view of rural areas only accessible by boat.
• Savor a traditional meal at an island village and then continue on by sampan.

Experience the rural lifestyle in the fertile Mekong Delta, much of which you will traverse by boat. As an introduction to the local culture, you will first visit Vinh Trang, an ornate temple surrounded by meticulously manicured gardens full of ornamental shrubbery and bonsai trees. Despite its beauty, the flora is no match for the fecundity of the Mekong Delta, where you will cruise pass terraced rice paddies, seemingly endless fruit orchards and fields of soybeans and sugarcane. For a closer look at village life, you will disembark on Thoi Son Island and interact with the locals. While enjoying a cup of honey tea and a selection of fresh fruits, you watch a folkloric music performance. A traditional lunch of dishes such as elephant ear fish and grilled pork follows, after which you will return to the water; this time on a wooden sampan identical to the ones used to transport fruit through the canals.

HELPFUL HINT Dress in weather-appropriate clothing  Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

                                            Fishing boat on the river.

                                                        Tea, lime and honey was tasty and healthy.

                                                    Map of the Cu Chi Tunnel area.

                                            

                                            Folkloric music

                                            Taffy-like candy

                                                    Folk dance

                                                        Happy Buddha

                                            Elephant Ear Fish

                                            Sampan in a small canal

                                            Our lunch spot

                                            Sampan in a small canal

                                            Sleeping Buddha

                                                        Lady Buddha

Day 135 Sun May 28, 2023 Port: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

 Day 135 Sun May 28, 2023 Port: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

This is the information I read to chose the excursion.  The description is quite accurate.

OE Good Morning Vietnam (HCH-004) May 28, 2023 11:00-6:00

Tour Length: Full Day (Approximately 7 hours)   

Tour description

• Visit U.S. military sites that played key roles in the Vietnam War.
• YES View the former U.S. embassy and NO quarters for the soldiers.
• Browse the powerful, often disturbing exhibits in the War Remnants Museum.
• Explore parts of the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Cong hid and lived during war time.

Explore sites that best illustrate the American military presence in Saigon during the Vietnam War, a time period depicted in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam.” One of the most indelible pictures from the Fall of Saigon in 1975 was that of American helicopters helping evacuees from the roof of the U.S. Embassy before communist troops took over. You will see that iconic building, as well as various quarters for the soldiers,NOT  including the residence of General William Westmoreland, Commander of the U.S. forces in the late 1960s. You will reach an even deeper understanding of the Vietnam War by browsing the graphic exhibits at the War Remnants Museum, where you will likely see a fighter plane and a helicopter with rocket launchers. Still, few attractions shed light on the war quite like the Cu Chi Tunnels, which the Viet Cong dug in the countryside outside Saigon for their protection. The section that you will view stretches for more than 100 miles.

We did tour the War Remnants Museum and I found the exhibits portrayed the Americans in a very poor light.  Our lunch spot was lovely and then we continued on our way to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels were interesting and all the traps were disturbing.  I did crawl through a tunnel for the experience.  

                                   

                                            Chinook Helicopter outside the War Remnants Museum

                                                Lunch Spot 

     I think this guy was going in.  Then he would pull the square covered with leaves that is in front of him down on this head.  

     This trap has poison on the tips of the spears.  The trap door looks green like the rest of the area when it is in the closed position.    

                                A trench is dug to trap the tanks.  Once a tank tips into the trench, it can't get out.

                                            Door trap above and clipping armpit trap below.

                                                                See-saw trap above.   
  

                                            Folding chair trap, looks nasty.  

                                                                    Cu Chi Tunnels

                                                        Following the man in front of me.

                                                            I am coming to the tunnel exit.  

                                        There is a rifle range here.  I think it is $3/bullet to fire a gun.  

                                        Above is a hole in the ground for the cook's smoke from cooking to escape.  

                                                            Bunker operating room.

                                                        Bunker kitchen

                                                Aircraft outside the President's Palace.  

                                                President's Palace

            Iconic building from the evacuation before Communist troops arrived.  This is an apartment house near the US Embassy.  About the picture - The building in front of the tall glass building is the location where the helicopter was evacuating the last people in 1975.  It is not the embassy as I had believed.  This was an apartment building which housed many embassy employees.  The building's address 22 Gia Long St. and the US Embassy's address was 18 Gia Long St.  The choppers were taking off from the parking lot of the Embassy and the roof of this building.  Eighty-one helicopters evacuated 5595 Vietnamese and 1373 Americans in nineteen hours.  It was the largest helicopter evacuation.  Many helicopters were overloaded and people had to leave their bags behind.  The smaller helicopters took people to the airbase that had been bombed, thus stopping plane evacuations.  From there, larger helicopters took people to waiting ships.  There were forty US ships and twenty-seven South Vietnamese Navy ships.   The South Vietnamese Navy headed to the Philippines accompanied by people in fishing boats, barges, homemade rafts, sampans, etc.  None of these people had adequate supplies and some set fire to their crafts in order to be rescued.  The US ships took people to the Philippines and Guam.  This was the end of the “American War” which is what the Vietnamese people called the conflict.  There is no effort to maintain this building as a piece of history.  There is interesting reading about Vietnamese immigration to the US.  

                                            US Embassy

                                                    Operating room in a bunker

                                            US Embassy

Day 126 Fri May 19, 2023 Bintan, Indonesia

Day 126 Fri  May 19, 2023  Bintan, Indonesia

Bintan Island Tour

Information I read when I chose the tour.  We did none of this.  BNT-003 Tanjung Pinang City Tour  About 6 hours.   Explore the highlights of Tanjung Pinang, the culturally diverse capital of the province. Visit two vastly different temples in the ethnic Chinese settlement of Senggarang.  See a massive, gold-covered statue of the Goddess of Mercy in yet another Buddhist temple.  Look out over a blue lagoon from atop the towering sand dunes at Busung.  

Delve into the diverse culture of Tanjung, Pinang, the provincial capital of the Riau Islands which flourished as a trading post as far back as the  3rd century.  Within the city limits, you will find the ethnic Chinese settlement of Senggarang, much of which was built on stilts over the water.  YES - As you will see, the roots of the banyan tree have taken over much of the aptly named Banyan Tree Temple, NO while the temple Vihara Sasana is known for its decorative archways and ornate roof carvings.  NO  Its towering statue of the Goddess of Mercy is coated with 22-carat gold.  NO Food will become the focus as you browse the traditional market with items ranging from freshly ground spices to sea snail crackers.  NO You will also visit the sand dunes at Busung, which overlook a blue lagoon.

Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.  Wear flat comfortable shoes and sunglasses.  

1.  Ekang tourism village - morning coffee with localWe went to a camping-type resort first thing in the morning.  I walked around and saw the basic A-frame type housing where guests stay, a basic pool, ponds, a horse, archery targets, ATV’s etc.  

2.  We drove a lot between each stop through a lot of green vegetation.  Our next stop was the Banyon Tree Shrine/Buddhist temple.  The Banyon Tree Shrine was built in 1811.  Once a palatial two-story structure it served as an official government building.  The house was abandoned in the mid-19th century and a banyan tree subsequently grew over the house, enveloping the crumbling structure.   Much of the house was torn down to make way for a road and the surrounding concrete structures.  Pictured below.

                                            2.

2.

                                            2.

3..  Some other passengers and I stopped in another temple before we walked along the street of vendors selling the usual stuff.  

                                            Tributes to people that have passed away.

A buffet lunch was served at the Blue Fire Restaurant and then headed back to the ship knowing we were going to be very late.  We left the restaurant at 1:15 and the trip back was about 1 hours, 15 minutes.  All aboard was 1:30 and we were to sail at 2:00.  We were late and there were all kinds of stories as to why.  The bus did not break down, the people running the tour just disregarded the time table.  

Bintan Regency is a part of Indonesia.  It is located on the Riau Islands and has a population of about 390,000.  Islam is the dominant religion with close to 87%, Buddhism is just over 5% and Christianity almost 8%.  

In May, the average high is 88 and the average low is 75.  The average rainfall is over 200 mm and it rains about 20 days.  The sun shines about 8 hours a day.

 1.  One of the ponds at the Eking Tourism village.  

Day 124 Wed May 17, 2023 Singapore, Singapore 1:00 to overnight

 Day 124 Wed May 17, 2023  Singapore, Singapore 1:00 to overnight

Night Safari Entrance and Transfer - Day 1  5:30  $149.00

Wander about Singapore Night Safari during the evening when many of the animals are active.  This unique perspective of the natural world is the only way to observe nocturnal creatures that typically sleep during the day.  You can either walk along the winding paths or ride through the grounds in an open-air tram, stopping at up to seven different habitats.  The enclosures will be dimly illuminated for excellent views without disturbing the animals.  You might travel the trail that recreates a nighttime trek through the jungle or the trail that passes through the largest collection of wildlife indigenous to Southeast Asia.  As an alternate, you may watch clouded leapards, Asian elephants, tapirs, and scaly anteaters known as pangolins.  There are also aviaries with Malayan flying foxes and giant flying squirrels living among the birds.  Other popular animals in the zoo that are active at night include Asiatic bears, hippopotamuses, barking deer and African lions.  

HIGHLIGHTS 

Walk or ride through Singapore’s Night Safari in the evening, when the nocturnal animals are active.

Concentrate on the animals that interest you the most in the seven natural habitats.

See animals as large as Asian elephants and as tiny as civets.

Observe exotic creatures, including fishing cats, binturongs and babirusas.

Helpful Hints Dress in weather appropriate clothing.  Wear flat, comforable walking shoes.

The nature trail surfaces may be uneven.  Some areas of the park are not wheel chair accessible.  Amount of walking and level of exertion on this tour are at the guests’ discretion.  Tour is available to wheelchair guests who have a collapsible wheelchair and are able to make their own way on and off transportation.  Guests must be self-sufficient or if assistance is required, they should have a companion who can provide this.  Gest who want to stay longer in the park may do so and make their own way back to the ship; taxis are available at the main entrance.   

NO CHEWING GUM  NO eating/drinking on public transport

Vivo City shopping is next to cruise center. Most stores 10-9:00 No import duty.  No sales tax.  Ride Singpore Flyer, enormous ferris wheel.