Sailing to Ho Chi Minh and is it for 2 Days .
We had enjoyed dinner last night in the Steak house called Polo Grill, we had a superb steak topped with “bugs” and various vegetables. Service was excellent and this is one of our favourite “specialty Restaurants onboard Oceania Riviera. The night is smooth and we are excited to be returning to Ho Ch Minh. The stay in Nha Trang had been worthwhile and having previously visited we understood more of the area, particularly the apparent Russian influence , if not control in some area.
We sailed over night arriving in Ho Ch Minh where we will enjoy 2 full days with excursions and a variety of activities. We were here some 3 months ago and we will do different things here.
The weather is remarkably good with temperatures in the high 80’s but little wind and humidity is not as obvious as many prior Asian trips.
We have breakfast in the Grand Dinig room, return to our suite and pick up our gear for the day and come downstairs to the Martini Lounge to meet the other guests in our small group of 8 and there will be 6 tomorrow. Out guide is Hannah and she has arranged to meet us outside the cruise terminal.
So we walked through the terminal as a group and met our guide and we were ushered to a comfortable day where we toured the Mekong Delta and visited several sites and attractions.
However, this required a lengthy drive from the port of approximately 90 minutes including a delicious lunch.
We stopped at a Restaurant called the Mekong Guest Stop and enjoyed a wonderful Vietnamese lunch of 7 different course.
After our break of 50 minutes we boarded our small Mini Van and went to visit several sites associated with the Mekong. On our prior visit we had undertaken several visits including to the killing fields and to the tunnels. This time we did a range of other things associated with the Mekong River
We drove to a major Buddhist temple where we visited the various displays and statues and then we drove to a market area, traditional Vietnam market with a variety of flowers, goods , vegetables and other goods.
From here we then drove to the Mekong where we boarded a boat for a 40 minute trip and als enjoyed some fruit and a cocunut drink.
This was a long and enjoyable day travelling to the Mekong Delta with a wonderful lunch, then arriving at the river and travelling on a ferry through several working sites, then onto a smaller boat paddled by Vietnamese women and a visit to a Factory after an enjoyable visit to a local village.
Then back to the Oceania Riviera after seeing the colours of the night, driven through a market area.
The Vietnamese people are a delight. Interesting , hardworking and also looking for ways to be commercial and make a dollar.
Dinner tonight in The Grand dining room after “Happy Hour drinks. Last night was a special evening in the Polo Grill where we enjoyed Fillet Mignon with Bugs as the Surf.
Another production show in the Riviera Theatre and off to bed at 10.50pm as we know we have a long day tomorrow as we plan a full day visiting the Mekong river and visiting villages and small factories riding Tuk Turk’s etc