March 17, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam – Day 1

We are docked about two hours from Saigon and spent some of the morning coming into port. We came up via a river, so got to see the fishing boats and some of the nets they use for fishing. Also showed a lot about life along the river.

 

Once we docked, we had entertainment. The ambulance is not part of the entertainment, but it seems that in every port we are welcomed by an ambulance that takes a passenger or two away.

Today we took a tour to the city of Vung Tau, a seaside community about 45 minutes from the ship. Actually, the tour was disappointing. We did not have a good tour guide, and that can make or break a tour.

Our first stop was to Christ the King of Vung Tau, on Mount Nho – one of the largest statues of Jesus in the world, towering over the city at nearly 120 feet tall. Our guide did not lead us, but said not go up because we did not have enough time. What he meant is that we could go to the base, but not the 1000 steps to the monument. But, we did not know that so did not go too far up, and the best picture we got was from the parking lot. Does not compare with Christ the Redeemer in Rio.

Next, we visited the Niet Ban Tinh Xa Pagoda, where we saw the massive sculpture of Buddha in nirvana that rests inside.

Next on this tour was the Villa Blanche – a colonial era mansion that was built on the site of a Nguyen Dynasty fortress demolished by the French to make way for a retreat for the French Governor General at the beginning of the twentieth century. This was not something worth visiting, but here we are.

Next, we were supposed to visit a local fresh market. However, since we had wasted so much time at some of the above, we had to skip it. So, our last stop was at the beach, where we had a beer and some chips. First chips we have seen since the start of the cruise. They were a local Pringle look alike.

The scariest thing about today was that our guide said he would be back to the city tour of Saigon tomorrow. However, we lucked out and got a great guy for Saigon as you will see in the next post.