Phu My, Viet Nam

After the rigors of tramping around China, we finally got 2 days at sea to regroup.  Have the laundry done, relax by the pool, visit the gym, make sure we eat every 2 hours, have the drink of the day and hang out with our friends. Oh and practice dancing.  We found a great band and a couple who gives lessons so we’re improving slowly.  It’s soooo taxing.  I don’t know what we’ll do when we get home. Find someone who will change the TP roll that’s for sure!

Our visit to Viet Nam started rather on the rocky side.  We were invited by our tour company to take a shore excursion with their compliments.  But that means Bus and the roads  are horrible. But we made it in one piece to Ho Chi Minh city, still commonly referred as Saigon. We arrived at the famous Rex Hotel after a grueling 2 hour drive, avoiding hundreds of bikes, pedal and motor.  No one was injured but it was close! The rice paddies were everywhere and the poor conditions of living for most residents was obvious. However, in the city the Rex was beautiful and the people were so kind.  We got some refreshments and then had a little shopping time. I wish I had been more adept at that but it was the hottest and most humid city so far so my great shopping expertise failed miserably. However, Robin did great!  We did buy a lot of fans.  We then visited the wedding cake-style Hotel de Ville and the Presidential Palace now known as Independence Palace.  Our guide was very knowledgeable and easy to follow but my mind wandered….it was the humidity. At the Notre Dame Cathedral our party was more interested in the Post Office across the street, which was old and beautiful and we could send post cards and shop.  We were then treated to a cultural puppet show, done in the water.  No one could understand the voice overs but the characters were hysterical.  Namely, in the picture below the strange outfit of the woman!?!? No tour is complete with out a fabulous lunch at a 5 star hotel and of course the requisite shopping at a lacquer factory – where there was no bargaining – just when we’re getting good at it! Then we were off to the 2 hour drive back!  Ouch.  Robin has more to add and will do so soon…..

Hugs to all - Maryann

                                                      

 

                                     

                                                                                     

China – Part 3- Hong Kong

Now that we have finished our tour in China, I can describe the cities kind of like this: Beijing ranking oldest, holding onto ancient secrets and maintaining a vast history; Shanghai, the teenager is young and exuberant, trying to be like other big cities; and now Hong Kong, statuesque, pristine and majestic.  We were very impressed as soon as the shipped docked.  While Hong Kong has a very colorful and unique skyline like Shanghai, it has a different feel.  The first day we took a tour, again to acquaint ourselves to the city layout. We were taken by boat to see the Aberdeen River people who live, work and play on the fishing junks and sampans, some never leave the boat – ever! Next we went to the top of Victoria Peak where the view was spectacular! Remember it’s very hot here and the humidity levels are demonic. But there is a kind of smaze that hangs over the city, filtering what would have been a breathtaking view of Kowloon and the harbor. Next stop was the famous Stanley Market for every kind of real and fake clothes, bags, jewelry, furniture, souvenirs etc. 

                                  

After the tour we had a brief rest back at the ship.  We truly wanted to see the city at night without the drama of the meal problems in Shanghai. We walked through the area near the ship which was beautiful, offering all the designer shops you could imagine.  We really couldn’t settle on a restaurant though we saw many.  Finally, a place like Mortons looked like it would work. But you had to go down lots of stairs.  So we sent the boys while we waited in this other cafe that was cute.  Well, as luck would have it, it was a New York Deli!  Yahoooooo!!!!   After some convincing, Mark agreed not to have some slimy meal and go with the good stuff. It was almost the best meal so far including giant hamburgers, Philly cheesesteak, onion rings the size of a jade bracelet, good wine and 2lb. slice of cheesecake – which we had no room for. After our tummies were full we went to discover the night market – because we just haven’t had enough junk shopping! But this was more than we even imagined!  Alleys upon alleys of umbrella covered goods.  It was so hot and so humid that we could barely stand in one place to barter.  But barter we did until we couldn’t stand anymore.  Then we found the street of little cafes (see pics) where it appeared every local came on a Friday night to meet their friends and chat.  But it was extremely fragrant (not in a good way) as the food was mostly some sort of seafood, pigs feet and fried something else.  Mark wanted to eat again.  But by now it was almost midnight so we settled for a Mexican beer and a seat on the corner and it was fabulous!

                     

Day 2 we planned a little tour of our own with Linda and Burt Blum.  But some others joined us and we all hopped on a bus for the inner workings of Hong Kong.  We attended the Flower Market which was fabulous, the Bird Market – cute but smelly, the Fish Market ( yep… tons of gold fish)  and the Jade Market.  But the highlight of the day was a foot massage.  We had walked the whole morning and our feet were tired!  We saw this sign and followed it upstairs, surprising the kind proprietors as there were 7 of us.  They woke some girls from their siesta and got us all lined up on cushy leather recliners and we all got a wonderful 1 hour massage….AHHHH!!!  After a spicy noodle soup lunch we ended our day at the Jade market and Robin finally found her Jade Dragon and Hank got his jade Buddha! The lights of the city were awesome as we sailed away from this beautiful port! Stay tuned for next stop – Viet Nam.

                             

China – part 2 – Shanghai

Welcome to Shanghai, what I think is the most beautiful port so far!  The amazing creativity in tall building design is stunning as you will see by the pictures.  It is situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta and is the 7th largest city in the World as well as one of the busiest ports. Often called the “Paris of the East” it is comparable to New York and London. What is really cool are the many sampans creatively decked out in lights that flow up and down the river at night serving dinner and music. The waterfront is famous for the walkway called the Bund and it is completely filled with tourists and locals alike. Problematic to the already teeming streets, is the fact that the World Expo is here till October 27. But they redeveloped the city in anticipation of this event so it’s good timing for us.  Many of our fellow travelers went to the expo but the lines were horrendous and I still can’t stand for a long time so we opted for a short city tour and walkabout of our own.

Below are pics of the beautiful skyline, a nearby park on the water, the Bund – located in front of the old clock tower and a view of the city from the 88th floor of the Jin Mao building.

   

 

                         

The first day we took a tour which included the stop at the 88th floor of the Jin Mao Building  where we took these incredible pictures.  But we got an idea about the city so we could do our own thing the next day.   Before we went back to the ship we stopped for lunch.  We mistakenly ordered a course of birds nest soup among other good sounding items.  Here they bring the bill first so when we got it we were shocked to see it was $200 US!  So we asked the waiter and she indicted – in Chinese – the soup we ordered was $30 a bowl!  Yike! So we agreed to go ahead with it – well they wouldn’t let us change our order so we sucked it up – so to speak!!! LOL.   The rest of the meal was pretty good and then we got the aforementioned, very expensive cup of soup!  First, it was lukewarm but kind of tasty and looked like chicken soup. that is until we saw the floating jelly fish!  EEEWWWWWWWW!!!! No one ate it except Mark who claims he “Loved it”!  Anyway, we all figured we just got “Shanghaid”. After a brief rest back at the ship we went out on another tour to a fabulous Acrobatics show that rivals any Circque de Soliel you have ever seen!  We couldn’t take pictures but it was a very dramatic and death defying show.

              

The next day we were out on  our own, mingling with the crowds and doing a little shopping.  We walked pretty far on the biggest street (can’t remember the name). which is similar to Rodeo Dr. but wider and filled with about a million more people!  But the same stores – Rolex, Cartier, Tiffany, Louis V., Coach etc. Same prices and no bargains there. But we found some side streets and were approached by many private sellers who offered the deal s of a lifetime.  Not so much.  We also walked along the Bund and had some ice cream (Haagen Das) and watched the crowds.

But wait, it gets better. After a brief respite on the ship we went back out for drinks at the top of the 32 floor Hyatt and Mark suggested a place for dinner – Japanese Teppanyaki.  We were a little reluctant after the lunch caper but how can you screw up teppanyaki.  So we sat at the bar in front of the grill and watched them make a spectacular meal that we all enjoyed very much. Till the Udon noodle course – which was last.  The chef cooked the noodles in front of us and it smelled heavenly, mixed with some veggies and garlic.  He piled each plate with a portion of noodles and then added a sprinkle of what looked like dried mushrooms.  When I got mine I mixed it all together and dove in.  It was quite good.  However, Hank started to eat his when lo – the sprinkled dried mushrooms?  started to move – it can only be described as like little worms.  Well that put everyone off but mine didn’t do that so I ate more.  Robin claimed it was “NOT ALIVE”  but Mark said it some form of fish.  The look on Hank’s face was priceless and he ate no more! We have retold this story many times and get a laugh out of it every time.  Except Hank who may never trust anyone’s food suggestions again! Yep – Shanghaid twice!.

Stay tuned for more adventures with the Brocks and the Nicoletti’s.  Love to all for now… Maryann and Robin

                                                                                    

China Part 1 Beijing Pictures