The official name for Saigon is Ho Chi Minh City, but that name change has never really caught on. Located in the south region of Vietnam, it is the biggest, richest and most dynamic city in Vietnam. The population in Saigon and the Mekong Delta area is approximately 10,000,000 people.
We were up on the front deck of the ship early on the morning of our sail in. From the South China Sea we sailed for over 4 hours up the Saigon River to the port. It was like sailing into New Orleans up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. The muddy river twists and turns along the way with intriguing flat delta landscape on both sides of the river. There is a lot of boat traffic with everything from vintage fishing boats, sampans and ferries to huge cargo ships. When we arrived at the port, we were greeted by a group of Vietnamese women in their traditional
ao dai oufits with the slits up the side which are so colorful and look beautiful on these slender, long legged Vietnamese women.
We ventured out on our own into the crowded City on our first day in Saigon. Well, we had been repeatedly warned about the crazy traffic and hazardous street crossings in Saigon, but nothing prepared us for the real thing. There are millions of motorcycles in Saigon. They are parked all along the streets, sidewalks and alleyways and they are flying around the streets and are lined up at every traffic light. It is very intimidating to pedestrians. On our first outing, we hooked up with 2 Japanese passengers that must have seen the terror in our eyes as we left the ship and started to walk the City streets. They were familiar with Saigon and they were heading to the famous Ben Thanh Market and offered to lead us there. In their broken English they said "follow us to market" and we did. Following their lead, we learned quickly how to cross busy streets - just go and the bikers will dodge you; do not hesitate or change or pace or make eye contact! We made it to the market alive and enjoyed some harried shopping there. It was a great market where you are expected to haggle the price with the vendors. From there we walked around the City visiting the famous Rex Hotel where the American military officers stayed during the Vietnam War and conducted the daily press conferences with the journalists. We visited City parks, Reunification Palace, and other beautiful government and historical buildings. There were many buildings with the French influence from the past history such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office that was designed by Gustav Eiffel. It is such an energetic City. It is very hot and humid and smoggy. Between the intense heat, the smog and the life threatening traffic, we were exhausted by the late afternoon when we returned to the ship.
Entering the Saigon River
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Fishing boats on the Saigon River
Homes on the Saigon River
Entering the Port of Saigon
Morning skyline of Saigon
Welcoming Party
Busy Ben Thanh Market in Saigon
Overwhelmed shopper at the busy market
Motorcycles everywhere in Saigon (on the sidewalks, too)
Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon
Central Post Office (designed by Gustav Eiffel)
Reunification Palace
Famous Rex Hotel in Saigon
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Later in the afternoon, we returned to the City center to attend a special event that Seabourn had arranged for us at the historic Saigon Opera House. Thankfully, we went by bus to the event so we did not have to contend with the traffic. We were greeted on the steps of the Opera House by beautiful Vietnamese women in their colorful outfits. We were served drinks and snacks on the balcony overlooking the downtown streets before the show. We were then seated inside this beautiful theater and treated to a terrific performance called "My Village" that featured dance, acrobatics and aerialists accompanied by music played on traditional acoustical instruments. It was such a unique performance. All the passengers loved it. We left the theater around 7:30 and could enjoy the City lights as we returned to the ship. It was a great day in the City and we were excited that we were staying overnight so we could enjoy an excursion to the Mekong Delta the next day.
Greeters at the Saigon Opera House
Saigon Opera House after the show
On our second day, we left the ship early and boarded a tour van with our friends from England and our friend from California. We drove south out of the City to the town of Cai Be on the Mekong River. We had a great tour guide giving us information on the area as we drove along past rice fields and smaller, rural villages for the 2 hour drive to the river. The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in the world (2,790 miles long); it flows south from China through Laos and Cambodia into Vietnam and out to the South China Sea. When we reached the river the 5 of us boarded a small sampan with our guide for a boat trip touring the wide river and its canals through the delta area. We made stops along the way visiting a temple and its gardens, a small village on the river, a historic homesite and a rice processing factory that made all kinds of products from rice. We sampled jasmine tea and rice snacks and local fruits. Brian was brave enough to sample a shot of rice wine! We witnessed the lifestyle of boat people living on the water who depend on fishing and selling fresh produce for a living. Again, there were fishing boats and ferries all over the river. The ferries carry the locals back and forth across the river between communities. Many of them are on motorcycles. We actually saw a biker at a ferry landing hauling a new refrigerator in a box on the back of his motorcycle!
We stopped for lunch at a beautiful new resort on the Mekong River where we enjoyed a multi-course meal of local cuisine in a modern open air restaurant overlooking the river. It was such a stark contrast to the rustic village life we had witnessed all morning. After lunch we re-boarded the sampan and cruised back to our van and returned to the ship in time to sail out of the port.
Boarding our sampan at the Mekong River
Locals selling fruit on the Mekong River
Coconut Milk break on the sampan
Water village on a canal of the Mekong River
Wide, muddy Mekong River
Rice wine marinated with cobra snake - YUK!!!!
Brave Brian samples local rice wine
Lunch at a resort restaurant on the Mekong River
View of the Mekong River
from the resort restaurant
Our stops in Ha Long Bay, Danang and Saigon gave us a wonderful sampling of Vietnam. In many ways this country is so very young. It was at war for 40 years! After the withdrawal of American forces, it reunified under a Communist regime. Only since 1995 when it joined the World Trade Organization did it begin to emerge from its tumultuous past. Opening up to capital markets and tourism fueled its development. It has made tremendous progress in the short 20 years because the people are so energetic and hard working.
When we were planning our world cruise, we were very excited about visiting Vietnam. We were not disappointed. We hope we can come back again someday and spend more time here in this developing country.
Next stop, Ko Kood Island, Thailand.
