Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST World Cruise on the Amsterdam

[kenphy]

Sydney is one of my favourite places in the whole world. Thanks for taking me back there!

 

One of the best things we have ever done on a cruise was climbing the Sydney Harbor bridge. I can still close my eyes are remember the wonderful feeling of being on the top. We were worried that they wouldn't let me, as I suffered a broken elbow previously and have lots (and lots) of metal holding it together, but the guides made it easy for me, and I will forever be grateful. So much of Sydney is gorgeous and so different, and we were happy to spend a few days there after almost a week at the Great Barrier reef (simply incredible) after our Auckland to Syndey cruise.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 61, Da Nang, Vietnam

 

At 8 am we should have been alongside the Da Nang pier but due to heavy fog we were still about ¼ mile short, proceeding ahead dead slow, and sounding the ship’s whistle periodically. I went to the observation deck on Deck 6 and could scarcely see the bow of the ship, let alone anything beyond. The visibility was a little better behind us, but thick as pea soup to the front. The deck officers were peering into the pea soup looking for any hazards or a glimpse of the pier.

 

 

The fog finally lifted and we moored around 8:30. The ship was cleared shortly thereafter allowing the passengers to go ashore. Every passenger was required to carry a Vietnamese landing card and keep it with them throughout the visit. If you were staying off the ship overnight or leaving the country, you were required to get an individual visa and take your passport with you. If you were staying in the Da Nang area and spending the night on the ship, you would be covered by the ship’s group visa. Since we would be staying overnight in Hoi An and then traveling to Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh City later we received the individual visa at a cost of $90.

 

I looked into getting a Vietnam Visa before we left but I kept getting conflicting information from the Vietnam Embassy in the USA about how much it cost and what information was required. Once I learned that HAL would be able to get the individual visa, I elected to let them handle getting the visa for me. A Visa service company could probably figure it all out as well, but they would probably charge as much or more than HAL.

 

Seven of us, from our cruise critic roll call, scheduled an overnight tour in Da Nang with Halong Bay Tours – Vietnam Package Travel Company at a cost of $232 per person. There are a lot of options for this port and it pays doing some research in advance to understand what is available and what you would like to do. Details on the blog under a new tab called Shore Excursions under World Cruise Reference

 

Our group assembled near the Ocean Bar to go ashore together and meet our guide. First we had to go to the front desk and retrieve our passports with our Vietnam Visas and entry stamps. Our passports were ready to go, but the rest of our group’s passports were not ready. One and a half hours later their Visas were finally straightened out and we could leave the ship. Later on we learned that the authorities changed their clearance requirements several times causing confusion and delays all the way around.

 

Once off the ship we had to go thru Vietnamese immigration which was set up in a tent on the pier. With 4 officials working two lines with 2 stations each, the line moved pretty fast. They took your landing card, stamped it, and handed it back, rarely even bothering to look up.

 

A money changing kiosk was right behind immigration where they sold Vietnamese Currency, the Dong. The ship would not be buying back Dong and I wasn’t sure how much we would need so I elected to stay with USD which are readily accepted everywhere. Every shop keeper we came across used an exchange rate of 20,000 dong to one USD. They would usually give you change in dollars as well.

 

The true exchange rate is 22,000 Dong so you pay a 10% surcharge for using USD. Credit cards are accepted in many shops and the more you spend, the more likely they will take credit cards. They may also tack on a 50 cent surcharge for the convenience of using your credit card.

 

HAL had arranged for vendors to be on the pier selling souvenirs, but at the last second, they were not allowed on the pier. We learned from our guide later that getting access to the pier can be very political and difficult for the locals requiring the use of “middle men” and paying fees.

 

At 10:30 am, our group along with our guide, “Danny” and our driver, left the port and headed down the road for our 2 ½ hour drive to Hue. Along the way we had an opportunity to discuss life in Vietnam with Danny. We learned that the Vietnamese refer to the Vietnam War as The American War and that most people in still refer to Ho Chi Minh City as Saigon. People are looking forward trying to improve their lives and do not dwell on the war or hold any animosity as it is counterproductive. Vietnam has a long history of foreign occupation by various foreign countries.

 

We saw many military memorials and cemeteries along our route but they are only honoring soldiers who fought for the North. There aren’t any memorials to soldiers or cemeteries for soldiers who fought for the south. Danny went on to say that about 8 years ago, they started to allow Vietnamese who fled to the USA back in 1975 to return to Vietnam for visits.

 

Danny was recently married and has a 5 month old baby. His dream job is to get work on a cruise ship but that is difficult because you have to apply in person in Saigon and must know many “middle people” to even get an application. He now works as a freelance tour guide, picking up work as he can from the steady stream of tourists visiting Vietnam.

 

There was a stretch of road, maybe a mile, where every roadside business displayed a yellow fluid for sale in a variety of repurposed plastic bottles. We learned that this was body oil made from the bark of local trees that is used by pregnant women to keep their skin soft. It’s quite popular and only available in this region.

 

Most of the roads we used today were, paved 2 lane roads, well aligned. There were some stretches that were filled with bumps and holes, needing repaving. Work crews were present in a few spots making repairs and they appeared to be making or mixing the asphalt in larger containers right on the side of the road.

 

Leaving the lowlands of Da Nang we drove up a winding mountain road to the Hai Van Mountain Pass, right on the border between Da Nang and Hue. We stopped for a break near a large arch that used to be the gate between these two provinces or cities (I never did fully understand the political subdivisions here now). A few shops and restaurants were on the side of the road and this spot was a very popular stopping spot for locals and tourists. Across the street we hiked a couple of hundred yards up the old Hue/Da Nang Road (quite steep) and climbd some steps up to a scenic overlook. Low clouds obscured the view below, but that didn’t dissuade a few brides and grooms, dressed in their wedding clothes from walking up the old road and finally using a ladder to climb to the top of a stone pedestal to pose for pictures. Too bad it wasn’t a clear day as the view of the South China Sea from here would be spectacular.

 

 

As we were walking around a group of riders on Harley Davidsons arrived to take a break and hike up to the arch to see the clouds instead of the view.

 

Continuing up north toward Hue, we encountered several double decker truck trailers stuffed full with live pigs heading to a slaughterhouse somewhere or to market.

 

Yellow Chrysanthemums were everywhere and almost every driveway and business had some on display. These flowers are displayed during the Lunar New Year holiday, one of the biggest events of the year which had occurred recently.

 

We arrived at our first official tour stop, The Tomb of Minh Mang, at 1:35 pm. Due to the fog and immigration delays we were 2 ½ hours behind schedule. Minh Mang was emperor from 1791 to 1841. Leading up to his burial mound, which was behind a locked gate, were numerous pavilions and courtyards surrounded by a pine forest. Even though there is a marked burial mound, no one is really sure if that is where he is actually buried as he died two years before the tomb was completed and the location of his body has never been fully resolved. This tomb was modeled after the Ming tombs in Beijing, China. Most of the structures are in poor condition, badly needing restoration. The weather was perfect, almost cool and we had a chance to sit by a pond and enjoy some soft drinks before moving on to our next stop – Lunch.

 

 

Our Lunch was in the Phuoc Thanh Garden Restaurant in downtown Hue. Since we didn’t get there until 3:30, the place was empty and the seven of us sat down in wooden chairs around a rectangular table where we enjoyed the followed fixed menu.

 

Pho Soup

Hue Pancake

Crispy Fried Noodles with Vegetables

Sautéed Shrimp

Fish Baked in a clay pot

Grilled Pork

Steamed Rice

Fried Banana

 

Service was excellent and the food was all very good.

 

It was now 4:20 and the nearby Citadel/Imperial City closed at 5pm so we had to hurry to get inside before they closed. The Imperial City is surrounded by a moat and an outer wall. Marking the entrance are several cannons and a huge Vietnamese flag which stands 121 feet above the ground, which we learned is the tallest flag in the country. The Citadel/Imperial City was built from 1804 to 1833 – and was severely damaged during wars in 1947 & 1968 but was restored afterwards each time. After we arrived we watched a 10 minute video that shows the grounds and their current renovation progress along with detailed computer generated photographs of how they would look once complete.

 

Inside the Citadel/Imperial City is the Forbidden Purple City, the Royal Theatre and Library. One of the small manmade ponds inside the Imperial City was filled with Koi Fish.

Food was provided to feed them. After tossing the fish food into the water, dozens of Koi would converge on the food, causing the water to bubble and boil as the Koi all tried to get to the food first.

 

As the sun was setting around 6pm we headed off to our last stop in Hue: The Thien Mu Pagoda located on the banks of the Perfume river. Our driver let us off at the base of the steps leading to the Pagoda, which were quite steep. After climbing the stairs to the Pagoda we walked around the grounds, but didn’t see much as the sun was gone and it was completely dark. The Pogoda is also home to an active monastery and much to our surprise there was group of young students playing soccer in a courtyard in almost complete darkness. The monastery still displays the Austin Car that was driven by Monk Thich Quang Duc to the spot in Saigon where he committed suicide in public by lighting himself on fire to protest the government’s discrimination against Buddhists and violating religious freedoms.

 

We returned to our van via a sloping path, avoiding the stairs, which would have been tricky in total darkness.

 

It was now 6:40 pm and we were facing a three hour drive to our hotel in Hoi An. This was going to be a long day and a late dinner.

 

There wasn’t much to see after dark on the way from Hue to Hoi An, but right before we went thru a 7KM long tunnel built by the Japanese we stopped for a break at a road side rest stop. Here we learned that motorbikes are not allowed to drive thru the tunnel so they are ferried thru the tunnel, for a small fee, on open trailers specially designed for this purpose. The bikes are loaded onto the trucks at this rest stop, then the riders pile into busses which follow the trucks until they are reunited on the other side.

 

At 9:40 pm we arrived at the 3 star Hotel Bach Dang where we quickly checked in, (they kept our passports at the front desk) and immediately went to dinner at the nearby Hoi An Silk Village Restaurant where we were served a fixed menu as follows:

 

Pineapple Chicken Salad

Hoi An Special Spring Rolls

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Plum Sauce

Pan Fried Fish w Chili and Lemongrass

Stir-fried vegetables

Steamed rice

Sliced tropical fresh fruits.

 

We were back in our rooms by 11PM, exhausted.

 

The Hotel was roughly similar to a Comfort Inn in the USA. The room had a tile floor and was a nice size with 2 double beds, TV, small refrigerator (stocked with coke, sprite and water) and fast, free WiFi. CNN International was the only English language TV Channel.

 

It was a long day and we were finally able to get to sleep.

 

Many more pictures on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[jig]

That is a very long day. On the volendam the cards were stamped as you got off the ship. We had no formalities when we got of in ha long. Also after we left Saigon going north the duty free shop was closed as the officials cleaned it out. As we were sailing away you could see all the uniforms carrying all the boxes of bottles.

Unlike the ships tours you got to eat Vietnamese food. I think you went to the same place for dinner as we went to for lunch. Waiting for your report on hoi an.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 62, Day Nang, Viet Nam

 

Our second day in Da Nang started at 7:30 with Breakfast in the Hotel’s common breakfast room. Typical western breakfast foods were set up in a buffet line on one table, while a cook prepared eggs to order alongside a big pot of Pho soup. Their version of breakfast sausages were American style hot dogs cut into 2 inch long sections. The food was good and well prepared. The Pho soup was excellent and many were going back for seconds.

 

One benefit of spending the night in Hoi An was that we beat the rush to the old town section. We arrived around 8:10 am and had the place to ourselves until the tour busses from the ship arrived around 10AM. I was surprised to see that old town Hoi An had free WiFi right in the street. Really fast, but only in a relatively limited area and, I am sure it was probably much slower once the crowds arrived.

 

It pays to read up ahead of time to learn what is available here so you can focus your visit on what is of most interest to you as opposed to hoping you stumble on it by chance. I also have to put in another plug for the MAPS.ME app which was useful here to keep us oriented.

 

Our first stop was The Old House of Phung Hung, one of the many Ancient Houses in Hoi An. This is more of a cleverly disguised souvenir shop than simply a well preserved historical artifact. The house is over 100 years old and is interesting enough for a quick walk through and some of the current family members are there to show you around. We almost had the place to ourselves, so we can’t say what it was like when the crowds arrived. Before long they invited us to sit for some tea which is a sure sign a sales pitch is close behind. The tea was good and the sales pitch wasn’t too bad and we did find a few souvenir items worth buying.

 

On the west end of town is the Japanese Bridge, built in 1593 to connect the Japanese Quarter with a Chinese neighborhood, and is the most photographed spot in Hoi An. Fortunately since we got there before the rush, taking a snap was a little easier than it may have been otherwise.

 

 

We strolled thru the Chinese All Community Assembly Hall which was interesting because of the coiled incense that was hanging from the ceiling. Families will buy one of these coils, write their names on the hanging tag, light the incense and leave it to burn until it is gone. This temple is dedicated to Thien Hau, The Goddess of the Sea.

 

Our final stop was the Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation. Built in the 17th century, it featured intricate carvings and incredible mosaic dragon. The building acted as a flophouse for fisherman to rest and exchange goods. By 10 am we had finished seeing the inside of a few tourist attractions. There are many more and if you enjoy seeing this type of history and architecture, you should plan on way more than a couple of hours.

 

Hoi An has numerous tailor shops, art galleries and other specialty shops. If you know what you are looking for and understand how to judge quality you can find some tremendous values on these items as compared to buying them in the US. I would suggest you do a little shopping at shops in your home town selling similar items so you will be more informed when you get here.

 

Along the way we spotted may hardworking Vietnamese. Everything from women selling hot noodles from hanging baskets, wood carvers and embroiders. We even spotted a budding artist hard at work on his coloring book.

 

On our way to Marble Mountain, we stopped by a Marble Factory for a pit shop and to wander around this incredible store. Everything you could possibly imagine made out of marble was on display. I am confident that you could drop off a photograph of anything and they could produce it in marble in a week or so. We priced out a large round marble table, probably 6 feet across, with 6 marble chairs – opening price $5,000 which included shipping to the USA. This is before any bargaining, so the final price would be much less, but I yield to the marble experts as to whether or not this is a good deal – assuming you want a large marble table in the first place. Once again, study up on your marble prices before you leave if you have any interest is something like this or something similar.

 

A short drive away from the marble factory is the Linh Ong Pagoda which is a Buddhist shrine inside of a cave. At the entrance to the cave over a small pond is a bridge with the heads of animals representing the various years of the respective animals…year of the rat, year of the cat etc. Reaching up from the bottom of the pond are a series of stone arms reaching skyward, with one or two fingers extended. Our guide said these arms represented the “bad people” who were cast into the water and now trying to escape or pull passersby into the water. Once inside the cave, there are some very steep stars leading to an opening that lets in some light and allows people to peer outside. We took a pass on hiking up the 50 feet to see the view.

 

On our way to lunch at the Kim Do Restaurant, we drove over the Dragon Bridge. We had driven by it late the night before, but today we were able to get a few pictures. Every Saturday and Sunday at 9PM they close the bridge and huge crowds assemble to watch the dragon spout plumes of fire and water.

 

 

The Kim Do restaurant was host to many, many tour busses and we were right in the middle of it all, seated at a round table for 7. The menu was very similar to the previous days lunch and it must the standard western version of their Vietnamese lunch. All the food was wonderful and we enjoyed it very much.

 

After we left the restaurant we drove north on a wide road next to Da Nang beach and passed several 5 star resorts and golf courses with a few more under construction. Another advantage of smaller tours is the ability to make ad hoc stops. We spotted a couple dozen basket boats near the road and asked our driver stop so we could get out and spend fifteen minutes getting a closer look and taking some pictures.

 

Continuing north along the beach highway we passed a motorbike with a driver and passenger, plus a lot of stuff balanced on the back which is typical for this part of the world. Once they realized we were tourists they produced a wooden motorcycle and rode alongside gesturing and hoping we would pull over so they could make a sale. The Vietnamese people are always selling, selling, selling. I was tempted to ask our driver to pull over so I could learn more about how they came to have a motorcycle ready to sell to passing vans full of tourists.

 

Our final stop would be a visit to Linh Ung Pagoda featuring the Goddess of Mercy. This all white statue, over 200 feet tall, dominates the coastal skyline and can be from miles away. We wandered around, took some pictures of the Goddess of Mercy and the equally impressive view of Da Nang and the beaches.

 

All aboard was 4pm and our van arrived at the same spot we were picked up at 3pm. After saying goodbye to our wonderful guide and driver, we were back in our cabins by 3:15. We were surprised to learn that we had to participate in another life boat drill, which we learned is a monthly requirement. The drill was at 4:15 and after it was over, I saw one of the basket boats in actual use nearby.

 

Once we were clear of the pier I went to the Seaview pool to check out the Sail Away. Attendance was light and they were passing around shot glasses filled with pork spring rolls for appetizers – which were very good. After about 15 minutes I retreated to our cabin to get ready for dinner.

 

The Lido was all decked out in an Asian theme this evening to compliment the Asian food on the menu. It was fun to watch the servers wrestle with a large roasted pig as they sliced off hunks of meat for the hungry guests. The waiters were all decked out in Asian outfits and were wearing the traditional conical hats.

 

Dinner was joy once again as we continue to be impressed by the quality of the food and the service. We had a wonderful time sharing our tales of Da Nang with everyone at our table.

 

Juggler Tempei was on the main stage tonight in the Queens Lounge. He dazzled the audience when he juggled 7 balls at the same time before he showed his versatility with card tricks and balancing plates.

 

 

A welcome sea day awaits tomorrow before we arrive in Phu My the day after.

 

More pictures on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[bcnvcanada]

Enjoy you journey to Siem Reap. The "new " night market is a wonderful

place to shop. We took back two full cases from it. HoiAn is one of

our most favourite places along with Cambodia.

[jig]

Did you go up the mountain? We were told the marble comes from somewhere else. You could spend a lot of time there but the ticket your guide got you incl the bridge , one temple, one house and one association. Not sure how it is if you want to visit others. Have a good time in Saigon. And be careful crossing the streets

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Did you go up the mountain? We were told the marble comes from somewhere else. You could spend a lot of time there but the ticket your guide got you incl the bridge , one temple, one house and one association. Not sure how it is if you want to visit others. Have a good time in Saigon. And be careful crossing the streets

 

We did not go up the mountain

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 63, Sailing toward Phu My

 

I have posted several days close together...be sure to read them all and catch up on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

 

As the sun rose above the horizon this morning, the sea captured an amazing reflection, and was one of the most interesting sunrises we have seen in a while.

 

 

We have had very little downtime the last two days and today we rested in our cabin and prepared for our next independent overland adventure tomorrow. After we arrive in Phu My on Wednesday we start our 2 night, 3 day adventure to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We will rejoin the ship in Sihanoukville, Cambodia on Friday.

 

Juggler Tempei was the guest on Good Moring Amsterdam and he discussed his childhood in Japan and how he came to be in show business.

 

Judy and I hibernated until our respective must do events – Arts & Crafts and Texas Hold’em at 2:30. Judy started a multi-day project in crafts and my lucky cards are on a temporary (hopefully) vacation.

 

Today’s weather was beautiful, near perfect, but both pools were surprisingly empty. I suspect that everyone is pretty much wiped out from the last two days and needed to rest inside their cabins on soft beds.

 

It is usually quite rare to see trash in the ocean, but unfortunately, today became one of the rare days where we saw a lot of trash, mainly Styrofoam floating around the ship. Not sure where it came from, but one possibility was garbage barges that take trash hither and yon with trash falling overboard along the way. It could also have originated from the many fishing boats in the area. As we passed near Phu Quy Island after sunset, the sea became dotted with the white lights of the many fishing boats in the area.

 

The Pinnacle Grill was all decked out for a special Vietnamese dinner which was offered for a special surcharge of $79.

 

After another fantastic dinner in the main diningroom, we went to our normal seats in the Queens Lounge, on the left side of the balcony right by the railing. Australian vocalist Annie Frances was the headliner tonight and she was fantastic, easily one of the best singers we have seen this cruise. I particularly enjoyed her rendition of “Waltzing Matilda” and she did a wonderful job of explaining the meaning of the song and how it captures the spirit of Australians.

 

 

I will try and keep up with the blog over the next few days, but the availability of internet on this side trip is unknown at present.

[jig]

A $79 Vietnamese dinner? Really? That's about $70 more then the best meal we had in Hanoi.

[ozcruizer]

Annie Francis performed on our Sydney to Hong Kong cruise three years ago, and you're right, she's a wonderful artist. We only just missed her on another cruise (NZ I think) but live in hopes that she might be on another cruise we're on.

 

We had a stop in Da Nang and visited Hoi An - what a jewel! I think I liked Vietnam the best of the Asian countries but the constant harassing by vendors got to me a bit sometimes. I've often wondered whether if they adopted a different approach that they might sell more, but I guess their sales techniques are ingrained in them.

 

Loving your blog!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A $79 Vietnamese dinner? Really? That's about $70 more then the best meal we had in Hanoi.

 

 

It included wine

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Finished our independent tour to HCM city.. Now at airport waiting for flight to Siem Reap. Free wifi was the fasted I ever recorded. Over 100 mps!!!!! Or 100 times as fast as ship

 

 

picture of our gate

 

Screen capture of internet speed test

 

[KirkNC]

A $79 Vietnamese dinner? Really? That's about $70 more then the best meal we had in Hanoi.

 

While not cheap, it is one of the many theme dinners offered on the WC.

[jig]

Didn't realize they did that.

In Cambodia have no idea how much time you have if you have time but only if you do a place you should try to get to is Banteay Srey. 37 miles away it is the best preserved group of temples. 1st time I was there you could walk up and into but now there is a fence to protect it. It is really beautiful in a sensory overloaded area.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Wonderful day at Angor Wat. HOT! 101 degrees.

 

Back to ship tomorrow

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The-Inside-Cabin]

At the Siem Reap airport waiting for flight to Phomn Penn. We are on the same flight as HAL tour.

 

We tour Phomn Penn then drive to Sihanoukville

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 64. Phu My, Vietnam

 

Phu My is the port town for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) , which is 2 hours away by bus/taxi. There isn’t much to do, if anything nearby, requiring everyone to plan on 4 hours in a bus or taxi if you wanted to visit HCMC. Judy and I arranged a private 3 day, 2 night tour to Angor Wat with 7 other people. We will leave the ship here and rejoin the ship in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

 

• First a little background about independent overnight adventures in general and our trip in particular.
   
  
• • The savings for a do-it-yourself overland tour are considerable, around 60%-70%, but you have to do all the planning work and assume all risks. If something goes haywire, YOU have to figure it out – you can’t sit by and watch the HAL escort figure it out. I will be putting together an article titled “How To Plan an Independent Overnight Adventure” later and will be posting it on the blog under the shore excursion tab. While ship tours are expensive by comparison, you are getting a lot for your money, but much of what you are getting you may not need or value. For example, they are completely escorted and you don’t have to think or worry about any contingencies. Mobility assistance and planning is available. If the ship schedules changes or your own trip is delayed, the ship will either wait, or arrange for your return to the ship at their expense. If the ship cancels the port, you can get a full refund which may not be possible with your own tour. All of these benefits are nice, but not free, which is why the ship tours cost more. If you can live without these benefits you can save money but buyer beware. Since we are experienced travelers without any mobility issues and are comfortable dealing with issues on the fly, we often plan independent trips, but we always have our plan B figured out in advance.
    

  [*]Our trip itinerary is as follows: -

   

  [*]

  • March 9th - Arrive Phu My - Prearranged guide/driver and bus to take us on HCMC tour and drop at airport. Fly to Siem Reap, meet prearranged guide & driver, overnight a at 4 star hotel.
    
  • March 10th - Tour Angkor Wat and environs, overnight in Siem Reap.
    
  • March 11th – Fly to Phnom Penn and meet prearranged guide/driver for city tour and transport to Sihanoukville (4 hours away) to meet the ship.
    
  • Total Cost $850 pp all inclusive
    

 

Our tour company said our driver would meet us on the pier with a sign. But you are never 100% sure where that may be as sometimes ship tour busses get special access to the port areas and independent tours may not. Our party met near the Ocean Bar at 7am and we left the ship as a group. There weren’t any delays with weather or immigration like we experienced in Da Nang so we were on the pier right on time. We passed thru the Vietnamese immigration tent quickly – there were no lines as we were leaving before any of the ship tours. Once we had our landing cards stamped, Cruise director Gene gestured helpfully and told me that our driver and bus was right over there – pointing to the end of a long line of busses. Our guide was nearby and our group was pleasantly surprised that our transportation for 9 people (11 with guide/driver) was a 29 passenger bus. We had lots of room to spread out and everyone could have their own window if desired.

 

 

Mr Chin was our guide. He spoke excellent English with a wonderful personality and sense of humor. The traffic was light all the way to HCMC and we arrived in 90 minutes, 30 minutes faster than the plan. Most of the trip was on 6 lane divided highways (3 lanes in each direction) and there was a stretch where they had 3 lanes each way for cars and another 3 lanes each way for motorbikes. In the median of most roads were red banners displaying the national red star, the communist parties hammer and sickle symbol along with Ho Chi Minh quotes and other motivational messages.

 

We would learn, once again (the first time from our Da Nang guide) that very few locals refer to HCMC as HCMC preferring to call the city by its historical name: Saigon.

 

Traffic started to back up once we entered the city and left the expressways. For the rest of the day our bus would be moving around with relative ease consistent with normal big city traffic: slow, but never jammed and we always kept moving. The traffic signals had either red or green countdown timers that informed drivers how many seconds remained until the light changed color. Interesting concept!

 

 

Our first stop was the Presidents Palaces that was in use until 1975 by the South Vietnamese Government. This is a very popular stop with tourists and shortly after we arrived, the HAL tour busses pulled up and we saw a few of our tablemates and other friends who were on day tours. The palace exhibits and rooms, covering 3 floors, are well-marked with placards in front of any significant room or area. The information on the signs were surprisingly objective and were lacking any disparaging references to the former South Vietnamese occupants or visiting US presidents and dignitaries. The palace was in excellent material condition and didn’t show any signs of damage or vandalism that may have occurred in 1975, so it was either repaired or never occurred in the first place.

 

A short distance away is the Central Post Office, but since there wasn’t any place for a bus to park, our driver dropped us off and would return once we were finished. The post office was built in the late 1800’s and is still in use today. Inside there is a large archway with skylights, 30 to 40 feet high, letting in natural light, running down the building’s central area. A large painting of Ho Chi Minh is on the far wall with a painted map on either side wall showing Saigon on one and South Vietnam and Cambodia on the other. Located across the street from the Central Post Office is the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon. The church was built about the same time as the post office. The church was open and we were able take a look inside, noticing that interiors in both buildings have similar, high arched ceilings.

 

The War Remnants Museum was our next stop and is only a short distance away from the Central Post Office. It depicts the Vietnam War from the perspective of the North Vietnamese. It is understandingly selective about what information is displayed and how it is presented. They had a large exhibit on “American War Crimes” – featuring the My Lai Massacre and an incident involving Senator Bob Kerry in 1969 near a hamlet called Thanh Phong. I was previously unaware of the Thanh Phong incident and the facts are not nearly as clear as those surrounding My Lai, but I have not had an opportunity to research much more than a Wikipedia entry. Not surprisingly, none of the horrific conduct by the North Vietnamese is mentioned and I didn’t have time to fully read all the panels in this area. There is another exhibit that shows the aftermath and human suffering caused by Agent Orange. The other exhibits are more objective including a large exhibit of photographs that is sponsored by United Airlines and United Parcel Service that fairly depicts the war and the suffering all the way around. We only had 40 minutes here and I could have easily spent another hour or two. I didn’t have time to look at any of the outside exhibits displaying abandoned US military equipment.

 

The Fine Arts Museum was our next stop which was located in an old French Colonial Villa that is supposedly haunted. There is a large variety of Vietnamese art, but there is very little information about what you are looking at or its significance. If you would find this interesting, then you probably already know all about it and can’t wait to see it in person. If you have never heard of it, then I would take a pass and spend more time somewhere else. This is a spot I would not recommend to others.

 

It was almost noon, which was the starting time for a religious ceremony at the Cao Dai Temple on Tran Hung Dao Street. It turned out that this ceremony would also include a funeral as part of the service. The men and women were separated and led to different observation areas on either side of the second floor where there was a small walkway overlooking the center of the Temple, 1 floor below. We didn/t understand anything being said, but we observed that the ceremony was very ritualistic with everyone praying and responding to music, drum beats and commands spoken by speakers either recorded or not visible from where we were standing. Since this was also a funeral there was a lot of activity not normally present in the standard service. Our guide said the service normally takes about 30 minutes, but after 30 minutes it was still going strong so we had to leave before the service ended.

 

 

Our guide asked us earlier where were wanted to eat lunch and since this was not included we had some choices. We all wanted something fast and local. He picked a place called PHO 2000 which sold a variety of pho noodles and other food that could be prepared easily and served fast. It also turned out to be quite popular with tours putting us right in the middle of swarming tourists, some from HAL and most from other tour companies. We all ordered various types of pho – beef, chicken or seafood were the big choices. President Clinton visited this restaurant in 2000 and they have included this fact into the logo of the restaurant which now includes the phrase “Pho for the President.” They also displayed some jumbo sized reprints that ran in the local papers after his visit. The Pho was outstanding and we all enjoyed it very much.

 

Our final stop in HCMC was a garden variety tourist shop where we stopped at our request. Everyone wanted to pick up a T-shirt or something and this was as good a place as any.

 

We arrived at the Airport at 2:30 for our 4:30 flight to Siem Reap on Vietnam Airlines. There were several Vietnam Airline counters processing people for the various flights. We weren’t clear if it mattered which line we chose, so we asked someone and were directed to a line on the B side of the check in counters. After a few minutes an airline employee motioned us to go over the A side of the check in counters, which was a short walk. We chose the shortest of the 2 lines until someone directed us to a third line which was just opening and shorter still. We never did understand if it really mattered which line we were in and I suspect that airline employees may have simply been helpful in directing us to shorter lines that became available. Once we got to the front, we were checked in promptly, received our boarding passes and were on our way thru security.

 

Security was identical to what you would find in the USA. Belts off, computers on trays, liquids in bags etc. On the other side of security was Immigration where they stamped our passports with an exit stamp, and stamped our single visit visa as USED. The landing cards we were given earlier are for use with the Group Visa the ship obtained for most people and we really didn’t need them since we had individual visas, but the people in the tents on the pier in Da Nang and Phu My were looking to stamp a landing card and nothing else. No one at the airport cared to see our landing cards.

 

Now that we were inside the terminal we found our way to the gate to wait until our flight boarded in about an hour. The airport had free WiFi and the speed was OFF THE CHARTS Fast. I have an app that measures internet speed and this WiFi literally pegged the needle at over 128 MPS. To give you some scale – the ship barely clocks in at 1 MPS and your typical home will have somewhere between 5 and 50 depending on what level you purchase from your provider. 5 MPS is the minimum to stream NETFLiX using HD but you get much better results with something in the teens. Over 100 MPS is very, very fast. Now maybe they just rebooted their system and I was the first person to log on, but whatever the reason it was very fast for me - as always YMMV.

 

Once it was time to board, there was a single call for everyone to board – no zones or priority access or anything. There was a separate lane available for people in business class. The airplane was an Airbus A321 with a clean looking interior. They packed in an extra 3 rows over the A321 American Airlines flies, but it was OK for a 35 minute flight. Takeoff safety checks were in Vietnamese and English and were similar to what you would experience on any airline. We pushed back on time, but waited over 30 minutes to takeoff despite a short taxi.

 

After we were airborne service consisted of passing out bottles of water, which is more than you would get on a USA flight of similar length. We spent most of the flight completing the Cambodian customs and immigration forms which were very straightforward and in English.

 

Siem Reap airport is very small, without any jetways. They use two mobile airstairs (one forward and one aft) to get on and off the planes and since we were in row 36, we were one of the first people off the plane by leaving via the aft door. We had to walk about 200 yards outside to get into the terminal. If mobility assistance was available, it wasn’t evident. Once inside the terminal, there was an overhead sign pointing to the left for passport control or another sign pointing straight ahead for a VISA on arrival. We all had E-visas that we obtained on line so we didn’t experience how long or complicated the visa on arrival process might have been. Getting an Evisa is very easy and there is no reason not to get one if you plan to fly info Cambodia. Immigration was fast and simple – no questions asked or answered and customs was similar. Someone collected your form and never really looked at what you had written down.

 

Our guide and driver were waiting as expected. We were pleased to find that we were on a 21 passenger bus and were soon on our way to the Hotel. We arrived at the Tara Angkor Hotel in about 20 minutes and checking in was a breeze. They collected our passports grouped by who was staying in the same room. After about 10 minutes they returned with all of our passports and room keys. Tomorrow would be an early and long day. The bus would pick us up at 5:45 AM and we wouldn’t finish until 9PM that evening.

 

A few folks in our group jumped on the Tuk Tuks, a motorcycle pulling a covered carriage, for a short ride downtown to shop and eat. We were exhausted and elected to eat in the hotel and get to bed earlier than normal. Our 5:00 AM wakeup call would come all too soon.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

Edited March 11, 2016 by The-Inside-Cabin

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I cannot express how wonderful your blog is and I so appreciate the amount of time and effort you are putting into it and look forward to your article on how to set up independent tours.

[Kathie13]

Can't get enough of this blog. Thanks so much!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[RuthC]

This was a fascinating day, but I know I wouldn't have had the stamina to live it myself. Happy I had the chance to read about it, though.

Thanks for the detail.

[KirkNC]

Great write up as always.

 

Did your guide go with you in the airport? It did not sound like it.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Great write up as always.

 

 

 

Did your guide go with you in the airport? It did not sound like it.

 

 

No, he dropped us at the curb. We were on our own until we arrived in Siem Reap and went thru immigration and customs where we met the new guide near baggage claim.

[KirkNC]

No, he dropped us at the curb. We were on our own until we arrived in Siem Reap and went thru immigration and customs where we met the new guide near baggage claim.

 

We are doing an overland in Cina on the 2017 WC and I suspect it will be similar.

[newfarmers]

Thanks you again Pete for more amazing posts. My readings today took me back to our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam a couple of years ago.

 

Pete

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 65, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Ms Amsterdam sailing toward Sihanoukville

 

Today we will spend the entire day in Siem Reap seeing the various Temples in the area. Meanwhile the ship will be at sea enroute to Sihanoukville where we will rejoin her after she arrives tomorrow.

 

Before we get started, take a look at the following maps so you can get oriented to the area and the distances involved.

 

This maps shows the location of the airport, our hotel, the downtown area and the 3 temples we visited along with the spot where we viewed sunrise.

 

 

This map shows a little more detail of the areas we visited. The number “1” by each temple indicates where we were dropped off and then we walked to spot labeled number “2” or number “3” (in the case of Angkor Wat) where we doubled back to our original drop-off spot. Visiting the temples requires walking up to a mile at a time in intense head, climbing steep stairs and uneven rocks. If you are mobility limited, you will be restricted to viewing the temples from a distance in most cases. There may be other options for people with mobility issues, but they weren’t obvious and if this is an area of concern for you, careful research in advance is required to avoid disappointment or at least calibrate your expectations.

 

 

We had a 5 AM wakeup call so we could meet our guide and 5:45 and head out to see the sunrise over the temples. Sunrise was at 6:30, but by the time we got to the entrance station to buy our tickets the sky was already getting light. The tickets cost $20 per person per day, you buy one that is good for all the temples in the Siem Reap area. They take your picture and print a ticket with photo in one corner so you can’t transfer the ticket to somebody else. Here is a copy of the ticket.

 

Once we had our tickets we got back on the bus and proceeded to Srah Srang, also known as the Royal Baths, where we would watch the sunrise. This is a large rectangular body of water, roughly 1/3 mile wide by 2/3 miles long.

 

While we were waiting for sunrise at 6:30 AM, several groups of children – from 7-10 years old – were selling postcards and trinkets for $1. We actually needed some post cards so we bought a package of 10 for 1 dollar – not a bad price, and the young entrepreneur would make a little money. We learned later that they would buy the cards for 50 cents and sell them for $1. We would see similar children throughout the day at every temple entrance or place when one of the many tourists busses would stop. A few people in our group tried to refuse the cards and simply give one of the children $1, but they insisted that they take the cards or they claimed it would otherwise it bring them bad luck. We later learned that begging is prohibited in the temple areas, so if they don’t complete a transaction they risk violating the “no begging” rules.

 

The skies were very hazy and when the sun first appeared and was almost fully formed as a red ball over the temple. After a few minutes, the sun cast an interesting reflection on the Royal Bath and then gradually grew brighter and brighter as it rose higher and higher in the eastern sky. After about 20 minutes we strolled over to a nearby market that sold bread, various produce items, meats and fish. None of the items looked particularly appealing to western tastes. There was a small open air coffee shop that sold a local coffee. We decided to give a try, and asked for it “to go”. It was sold cold and we were quite surprised to find that they served the coffee in plastic zip lock bags, that had two straws rubber banded together sealing the top. This plastic bag was placed in another bag with a small handle so you could carry it around. None of us had ever seen coffee served that way previously. It tasted OK and was more like cocoa than coffee. It was fun to try and the price was right at 2 for $1.

 

 

Ta Prohm would be the first Angor temple we would see today. We learned that there are over 200 temples in the Siem Reap area but unless you are a Cambodian temple aficionado they all ended up looking pretty similar after a while. It was still early with the temperature in the 80’s but the humidity was quite high. We started to sweat almost immediately with even the smallest amount of exertion. This temple was built in 1186 by King Jayavarman the 7th who dedicated it to his mother Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm has 5 enclosures that have only been partially restored. This site is unique because of the giant tropical fig and silk-cotton trees that are growing on top of the walls. Ta Prohm was featured in the movie Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie back in 2000.

 

We were able to walk completely thru this temple, taking about 1 hour to cover the ¾ of a mile. The bus met us on the other side and took us back to the hotel for breakfast. Breakfast was served buffet style and it was a very nice spread. Eggs to order were available with the usual selection of both western and Asian breakfast items. With our next tour was scheduled for 10:30 am, we had some time to take a short nap and a shower. Today’s high was going to be around 100 degrees with high humidity, we would need to start as fresh and rested as possible.

 

Fresh as daisies, the nine of us piled back in our bus at 10:30 sharp to visit Angkor Thom which means Big City. As we were approaching the parking area, we noticed elephants along the street being ridden by men sitting on the elephants neck directly in front of a small platform that would hold a couple of people. We learned later that elephant rides were available for $20 a person but only before 10am or after 4pm. If you are interested in riding an elephant here, and it did look like fun, you need to plan ahead to avoid the disappointment of the rides being booked up.

 

After being dropped off and prior to entering Angkor Thom we looked at an exhibit that showed the machine they used hundreds of years ago to lift and move the thousands of rocks used to build the various temples. They also had some rocks and tools set up where you were encouraged to try your hand at carving your initials into stone. Nearby there was a refreshment cart selling cold drinks, ice cream and pineapple slices. Here is where we first noticed the Macaque Monkeys, and they were everywhere. You need to keep you hat and possessions under firm control and unless you want a close encounter, don’t try and feed them pineapple. We didn’t offer them any food and they left us alone, but some women nearby thought it was fun to feed the monkey until he jumped on her shoulders and started going thru her hair looking for something. It took a little doing to get him off, but she was giggling the whole time, although probably a little unnerved. When the smoke cleared, the monkey and girl were both doing fine.

 

Angkor Thom was a bustling city back in the late 12th century when more than 1 million people lived inside the walls. At the time it was the richest city in Southeast Asia. Per our guide, the Siamese destroyed this city in the 15th century because they thought if they destroyed it here, the city may reappear thousands of miles away in Siam. It didn’t work and the city has been a ghost town ever since. At the center of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple, which was restored by the French, using lava rocks for the walks and conventional rock to cover the floor of the moats whose purpose was to stabilize the soil where they built the temple. At the center is a large ornate Buddhist structure that rises into 54 small towers, most of which are topped with huge smiling faces.

 

It was now around noon and the heat and humidity was intense. We would walk maybe 100 yards then seek refuge under shade, cooling down a bit, before moving on. During one stop, we watched as a monkey stole a sun hat that was sitting a on motorcycle. He managed to get the hat’s chin strap stuck on his head as if he was wearing it like a person. He ran to and fro trying to shake it off and finally disappeared in the branches of a large tree. Fate of monkey and hat remain unknown.

 

We had to cover about ½ mile from our last shade near the Elephant Terrace to where our bus could pick us up near the North Gate. The Elephant Terrace once formed the foundation of the long gone royal audience hall made from wood. The Terrace is a 6 foot stone wall, carved with elephants in relief and giant eagle people, that stands next to a parade ground that was used for ceremonies centuries ago.

 

Once outside the North Gate, our group waited under a shade tree while our guide hiked a couple hundred yards to where our bus was parked. Cell phones didn’t work here or otherwise he would have called. Our next stop was lunch at the Khmer Village Restaurant, which had air conditioning so we were all happy. Lunch was good and we enjoyed our hour eating and cooling down before we headed out for the main event – touring Angkor Wat.

 

It was now 2pm and we were in the heat of the day. It would have been cooler, earlier, but much more crowded, so we decided earlier on to trade fewer crowds for more heat. Something to consider if you have more than one day would be to visit temples only from sunrise until about 10 am – shop or hang out by the hotel pool until another visit right before sunset. It would take two days to see what we saw in one, but we didn’t have any time to visit the town of Siem Reap itself. I would avoid any temptation to visit more than 3 temples unless you are already an Angkor Wat enthusiast and know exactly what you want to see.

 

Our bus dropped us off as close as he could to the entrance to Angor Wat and we started our march into the Temple. We will have to walk a little more than ½ mile and then to the center point and then retrace our steps on the way out. There isn’t any shade along the way, so we take in slow, stopping for photos along the way. It takes us 30 minutes to walk about ½ mile. Along the way we pose for the classic shots in front of the iconic towers of Angkor Wat. Once inside the main compound the popular photo was to lay your iPhone on the center of the temple with everyone staring down, with the center showing between the group.

 

 

The crowds were light at this time of day, so there wasn’t any wait if you wanted to climb up to the base of the spires where you could walk around and see vistas in all directions about 60 feet off the ground. Since there wasn’t any line, a few of us climbed the stairs and enjoyed the view. It was certainly something you could pass up and not feel you missed anything if there was a line.

 

After resting for about 1 hour near the center of Angor Wat, it was time to walk the ½ mile back to our bus with the temperature just touching 101 degrees. On the way back we came across a couple posing for formal pictures for their wedding and even though it was over 100 degrees, they were looking pretty cool.

 

Once we reached the street, we paused under a shade tree while our guide was planning to walk ahead of us to get the air conditioner in the bus started. The bus couldn’t get any closer to us so rather that walk the final ¼ mile we all decided to pay a $1 each and have a “Tuk Tuk” take us directly to the bus. In a few minutes we were back in the bus, cooling down and on our way back to the hotel.

 

We were back in our rooms at 4:30 and had until 7pm to get cleaned up and get ready for our dinner which included a demonstration of various Cambodian Dancing styles.

 

The dinner and the show was at the nearby Khmer Bar Be Q restaurant and included the following fixed menu:

 

Starters:

Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp

Mushroom Salad with Beef

Khmer Coconut Soup with Chicken

 

Main Course:

Stir Fried Fish with Kompot Green Pepper

Chicken Skewers

Fried Mixed Vegetables with Cashew Nuts

Pork Caramel

 

Dessert:

Banana Chef Special

 

The dance started about 8pm and lasted an hour and was called a Khmer Traditional Apsara Dance which consisted of 6 different styles:

Golden Mermaid Dance

Cardamon Picking Dance

Fishing Dance

Apsara Dance

Blessing Dance

Khmer Coconut Shell Dance

 

The dancing was very good and we enjoyed it very much. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel while others with more energy headed into town and the night markets.

 

 

Lots more on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com