Wednesday, October 15

Lazy, lazy sea day. I haven’t been taking photos of the various animals folded from towels that appear on my bed every evening, but I had to take this one...a turtle, of course.

Thursday, October 16 (Day 27)

I had a full day tour to Saigon today. Just getting to it required a 2.5 hour bus ride from our dock in Phu My (Foo Mee). Our first stop was at a botanical garden and zoo. The zoo part was too far back in for me to get to during the time we had, but I enjoyed the topiaries in the garden.



A flute pipes, wafting
its notes over the sunlit
topiary garden.



The street people can smell a tourist from a couple of miles away, and they literally crowded around each of us at every stop hawking everything from beaded purses to “pearl” necklaces. I spent exactly one dollar for some postcards, so those of you who receive them will participate in the only “souvenir” I bought in Viet Nam.

“Fi’e dollah for you.
Fi’e dollah fine Rolex watch.”
The entrepreneurs.

Although this kind of hucksterism is technically illegal, the police do nothing unless the salesman is dishonest or a tourist is inconvenienced by the horde of them. If the tourist isn’t upset or cheated and is buying, the police, in their electric avocado green uniforms, leave them alone.

We also stopped at the Reunification Palace Museum, the City Historical Museum, a short shopping stop at a place that makes gorgeous laquerware, and somewhere in there, a nice hotel for a buffet lunch.

The most fascinating thing of the tour was watching the traffic and the people on the sidewalks! Saigon has 8 million people and 3.5 million motor bikes in addition to great numbers of trucks, buses, cars and bicycles. It also has probably fewer traffic lights than Charlottesville! There’s lots of beeping and honking, but everything moves at a relatively sedate pace so I didn’t see any vehicular contact despite many close calls.

A great number of the women wear face masks up to their eyes, hats, and long sleeves or gloves when outside. It’s not a religious or cultural thing...it’s a fashion thing. “White” complexions are considered more beautiful, so the women want to avoid getting tanned by the sun while zipping around on their motor bikes.

As with all the Asian cities I’ve seen so far, living space is at a premium...a high premium. In Saigon, a typical lot is about 12 oor 13 feet wide and maybe 60 or 65 feet deep. So, to get enough living space for three generations, they build up to three or four stories. If a family is lucky enough to be able to afford to buy a home/building, they often rent out the first floor to a shop for maybe $2,000 (US) or more per month which is enough for 5 people to live nicely on here.

Again in Asia as in South America last year, I am struck by the omnipresence of molded plastic chairs. Since much of Vietnamese life takes place outside in front of their shops and homes, all but the very poorest have several of these “things” (the only other word I can think of is “abominations”) very much in evidence.

Jill is off on her overland tour to Angkor Wat. I look forward to hearing about it when she gets back while we are in Bangkok (actually the port is in Laem Chabang).

Friday. October 17

Another day at sea...rainy but very smooth wave-wise. At watercolor class today we each mounted several of our efforts to date. I have no idea what will be done with them. I don’t really care as they are not my best efforts. I have skipped several of the classes when the sea was bouncy enough that I didn’t feel like climbing the stairs to the Loft where the classes are held.

I spent part of the afternoon making a list of my purchases. So far I’ve spent more on tips to tour guides than on souvenirs. Of course that could change at any point or port!