The ship was only in Nha Trang for 5 hours so all the tours were short. We went on a 3 ½ hour ancient civilizations tour. This city of 350,000 people was until a few years ago just a fishing village and is still one of the main places making fish sauce. The area is filled with spectacular beaches and clear water and is being developed as a tourist destination with top level hotels and resorts. The main streets are beautifully landscaped with artfully pruned trees and bushes on the sides and medians. There are numerous parks with sculptures and the beach areas remind me of Rio. Snorkeling and diving are developing into major tourist activities. We began our tour with a visit to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, built by the Cham people in the 10th century. In Da Nang we had visited a Cham museum so it was interesting to see one of the actual building sites with numerous temples. The Cham are Hindu and just 1 of the 54 indigenous peoples of Viet Nam and they have fallen from a major population in central Viet Nam for centuries to just around 100,000 people now. We walked across a bridge past fishing villages to the Buddhist Long Son Pagoda where we had to remove our shoes to enter. When we came back out there were dozens of kids who grabbed our shoes, put them on and tied them and then demanded money. It was impossible to grab your shoes and do it yourself. Everywhere you go people are trying to sell you postcards, embroidered baseball hats for $1.00 each, golf shirts at 3 for $10.00, lacquer & inlay boxes for $5.00 and an assortment of sunglasses, pearls and bracelets. The next stop was the Dam Market (which was built on a dam) to shop for souvenirs and knock off items. The place was huge and it was easy to get lost. There was also a meat and dried fish section with motor scooters going up and down the narrow lanes. We next stopped at a beachfront café for a coconut drink and then went on to an embroidery factory (and show room.) It was the same company as the one we saw in Da Nang and the artwork was gorgeous. The rain held off until we were leaving the embroidery factory, but that was the end of the tour and we returned to the ship for the sail away and an American BBQ pool deck lunch (under cover due to the rain.)

Jim

The Bittles had a much more interesting morning, but I'll post anyway to go along with a few pictures that Ken will probably post.

It started out as a beautiful day, but alas, the rains came. I wasn’t feeling that great anyway so we didn’t venture on the shuttle into town. There was a fairly large market set up near the pier, so we wandered through the stalls there. We bought a couple of things, but really weren’t tempted very much. If the weather had been sunny, this port would have been beautiful for beaching and exploring the bay. As it was, the low clouds, mountains, and water colors were interesting even as the waves of rain came and went.

The Mariner departed for Ho Chi Minh City at about 12:30 PM, so the rest of the day was fairly relaxed. We paired up with Betty and Al and tied for first place at Trivia during afternoon tea. All four of us could have kicked ourselves because we didn’t come up with a 3-weeks sporting event for which a few winners we had never heard of were given. It was hard to think of an event that lasted that long. We needed Gail’s son, David, with us because he would have immediately known it was the Tour de France.

Last night we had a very good meal in Compass Rose with Al and Betty. Tonight we are going to see Mark Russell again and then meet up with Merrill and Al for dinner at the Compass Rose. Dishes from the guest chef are going to be on the menu.

We are scheduled to arrive at the mouth of the Saigon River about 4:30 AM and I think we are to sail up it for several hours. We’re scheduled to take a Saigon Highlights tour in the morning.

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Eugene and Gail

Thanks for the great reports all!!

Nancy

Photos from Dreps:


The Port at Nha Trang


The Guides Waiting for Passengers to Disembark for Excursions


The Market Near the Pier

Gail and Eugene,
Thanks for keeping us up to date. Please give my best wishes to Merril and Alan; they were wonderful companions for this single traveler.

Jim and Eugene,
Thanks so much for the wonderful reports and pix, especially Vietnam; our only foray into Asia was in 1970, saw a lot, but the war was still on.