SailorJill and I Sail on the Orient Express a.k.a. Millenium's Immersion Cruise

[Jasperdo]

We were on the Viking Aegir. We basically sailed through Europe - starting at the Black Sea and ending at the North Sea. We visited 19 ports in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. It was an awesome cruise, but unfortunately I cannot write a review of the cruise. Which is too bad because there was a lot to write about.:D

 

Jack

That cruise sounds fascinating. I've always wanted to take a river cruise through Europe. Sorry to hear there will be no review, though. I'm still enjoying the rest of this one.

[SailorJack]

One thing that we did see in Vietnam is the profusion of gardens and flowers - immaculate parks and well tended gardens were everywhere.

 

Here is the entrance to the very large garden in central Hanoi.

 

 

 

 

Not only flowers, but statues and memorials as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers and more flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, where there are gardens, there are gardeners.

 

[SailorJack]

Some typical Hanoi street scenes before we move on to the Vietnamese War Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[herbanrenewal]

We were on the Viking Aegir. We basically sailed through Europe - starting at the Black Sea and ending at the North Sea. We visited 19 ports in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. It was an awesome cruise, but unfortunately I cannot write a review of the cruise. Which is too bad because there was a lot to write about.:D

 

Jack

 

Your reviews are so detailed and gloriously beautiful I am sure these take a tremendous amount of time, but I really would have loved to see your river cruise review - especially since we are looking to do this in fall 2019. We will begin exploring the possibilities after we return from Australia. Not sure if we will ever do a SE Asia cruise, but definitely more interested after enjoying this review!

[SailorJack]

This is the entrance to the Vietnam Military History Museum. Artifacts inside relate history dating back before the French, but the most dramatic displays regard the war with the French and what the Vietnamese call "The American War."

 

 

 

 

This is the Cot co tower. It was built by the Nguyen dynasty in 1812 to serve as an observation tower for the Hanoi Citadel. It is located in the Vietnam Military History Museum and towers over Hanoi. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. From the top flies the National Flag.

 

 

 

 

At the entrance to the museum is this Mig 21. Notice the 14 stars on the nose - the plane is credited with 14 "kills" of American planes.

 

 

[SailorJack]

That cruise sounds fascinating. I've always wanted to take a river cruise through Europe. Sorry to hear there will be no review, though. I'm still enjoying the rest of this one.

 

There are lots of options. Viking alone has 61 ships - most of which sail in Europe. Cruises in France, Spain, Portugal and the countries we visited. There is a cruise for almost any budget. Who knows, you could be on a river cruise sooner than you thought!:D

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

This was Ho Chi Minh's personal airplane. Notice the captured American personnel carrier in the background. The museum had LOTS of captured American armament. In spots it almost looked like we were in an American museum looking at our tanks, guns, planes, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Another view.

 

 

 

A young boy poses with a cannon dates back to Nguyen dynasty.

 

 

 

A monument to the "American War" comprised of a downed B-52 and a number of other downed American planes. Notice the picture of the woman pulling parts up to help make the monument. In Vietnam, we were told, this is a very famous photo.

 

[SailorJack]

A Huey helicopter. We sent 7,000 of these to Vietnam and lost a little over 3,000 of them.

 

 

 

 

Lost some tanks also.

 

 

 

 

A large cannon. Like I said earlier...sometimes it looked like an American museum.

 

[SailorJack]

This diorama illustrates how a Vietnamese soldier would destroy an American tank. He would run up to the tank and detonate the bomb on the tank. It was a suicide mission as the soldier would die in the explosion.

 

 

 

 

These are punji stakes. The Vietnamese would semi-bury these on the sides of roads so that when American soldiers stepped or fell on them they would cause serious injury. They would also coat them with human waste so as to cause infection in the wounds. Nasty stuff.

 

 

 

A weapon used by the Vietnamese along trails in the jungle. They would be activated by a trip wire strung across the trail.

 

[silkismom]

My husband would have a hard time with that museum, he spent too much time and lost too many friends there.

[SailorJack]

This is the tank that smashed through the gate of the South Vietnamese Imperial Palace and, for all intents and purposes, ended the Vietnam war. There were actually two tanks that led the capture of the Palace - the other one is on display at the Palace in Saigon.

 

 

 

 

A display of bugles used by the North Vietnamese army. I don't know why the other instruments were on display - maybe the army band?

 

 

 

A rickshaw on display. Could not read the plaque next to it so have no idea what role in played in the war(s).

 

 

 

A bronze frieze that (I think) honors Ho Chi Minh.

 

 

[SailorJack]

My husband would have a hard time with that museum, he spent too much time and lost too many friends there.

 

I can appreciate that. So many families were affected by that war. As I may have previously mentioned, about a year before I met Jill her fiancé was killed in Vietnam. My brother served over there and I lost three friends in Nam. But Vietnam is a different place now. Seventy percent of the Vietnamese population was born after the war ended and they have little recollection of it. I am reminded of our visit to the Atom bomb museum we visited in Nagasaki, Japan. As Americans visiting the site where the atom bomb was deployed there was no visible rancor from the scores of Japanese at the museum. We received the same kind of reception in Hanoi. I think these kind of museums remind us that we need to work to ensure that these things don't happen again.

 

On a personal level, the only time we came close to speaking out was at the Hanoi Hilton where the displays showed how well our POWs were treated.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

These next shots are of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - listed as a World Heritage site in 2010. The site is still being excavated and much of the Citadel remains to be uncovered. It is located adjacent to the War Museum.

 

 

 

 

While located on the cite of the citadel, this is of a MUCH later construction and is known as house and tunnel D67 - headquarters of the Vietnam People's Army during the war.

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the extensive American bombing, meeting rooms were located nearly 30 feet underground. This is the staircase leading to the rooms underground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were not permitted to take photos of the war rooms when we toured them, so this photo was taken from the internet. It shows the room from which Ho Chi Minh directed the war. The other rooms were much smaller.

 

 

[SailorJack]

Stairways leading to the top of the bunker over the war rooms far below.

 

 

 

Looking out over the grounds from atop the bunker. Notice the tower in the background - the biggest remaining structure of the original citadel. - gives one a perspective on how large this once was. The dragon in part of the New Year's celebration and is welcoming Dinh Dau - the Year of the Rooster.

 

 

 

 

Looking towards the back of the bunker and the courtyard Notice the excavation site off to the left. Much of the original citadel is still being excavated.

 

 

Lots of beautiful gardens and fruit trees.

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Your reviews are so detailed and gloriously beautiful I am sure these take a tremendous amount of time, but I really would have loved to see your river cruise review - especially since we are looking to do this in fall 2019. We will begin exploring the possibilities after we return from Australia. Not sure if we will ever do a SE Asia cruise, but definitely more interested after enjoying this review!

 

You will DEFINITLY enjoy this cruise. It was simply amazing. Let my hijack my own thread for a minute and give a little tease about some of what you will see.:D

 

This is the largest rock relief in Europe and is probably the most photographed place on the Danube. It stands about 126 feet tall and is a bust of Decebalus - the last king of Dacia. It is located on the part of the Danube known as the Iron Gates - the border between Romania and Serbia.

 

 

 

You will see magnificent castles and castle ruins. On the Rhine it seemed that there was one every half mile. This is Durnstein Castle. It was here that Richard the Lionheart of England was imprisoned when he was captured while trying to return to England from the 3rd Crusade.

 

 

 

 

The cruise takes you through four Capitols where you will see magnificent architecture. This in Budapest.

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, lots of picturesque villages along both the Danube and the Rhine.

 

 

 

Ready to go?

 

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

I thought Banzai trees were a Japanese tradition, but there were similar trees of various sizes throughout the citadel.

 

 

 

 

 

Not quite sure what this was.

 

 

 

 

A small temple located inside the citadel.

 

 

 

 

One of the many flower displays inside the temple. We were impressed with the way flowers were used everywhere in Vietnam.

 

[SailorJack]

All the Emperor's clothes - and the Empress and royalty. Next to the temple were rows of glass cases containing clothing worn by royalty in the 18th and 19th centuries. Here are some examples of what was on display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Say it with flowers. A patriotic flower bed.

 

 

 

This is the Millennium Bell. The citadel was founded in 1010 and the bell was dedicated 1000 years later - in 2010. It is massive - a little over 3 feet tall and weighing in at over 7,000 pounds.

 

 

 

No visit to Hanoi would be complete without visiting Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Unfortunately, the lines were staggeringly long and we were out of time, so the best we could do was drive by.

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

WE have arrived in Hong Kong - our final port. The day is really foggy so some of my photos are going to be a little fogged.

 

Our first view of Hong Kong and a sight that we are going to see over and over - building cranes. We have never seen so much construction anywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong had the same traffic that any other city, but we never saw any traffic jams - traffic moved along very efficiently. And we were here during both the morning and evening commute hours.

 

 

[7leagueboots]

The gardens in Hanoi were always immaculate. Topiaries were always very well done.

 

A chicken.

 

 

 

Bees.

 

 

 

 

Rabbits.

 

 

 

And a butterfly.

 

 

 

Amazing art work with the flowers...looks like a wonderful little park.

[SailorJack]

Hong Kong has to be the capitol of high rises - I guess because there is so little space. At times I felt like a tourist in New York - always looking up and marveling at the buildings. Here are just a few examples. The buildings were so tall I could not get them all in the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got part of the truck in the next lane in this shot.:D

 

 

[SailorJack]

Amazing art work with the flowers...looks like a wonderful little park.

 

They were amazing. I asked the ladies working in the garden if they did it, but they laughed and shook their head. So I guess they have a head gardener that does that work. In any event it made for a very interesting garden and park.

[SailorJack]

The architecture in Hong Kong was a marvel. Here is a building with no middle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a building with a missing corner - and a hole in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

And a building that sort of sits on a point.

 

[kpark895]

Really interesting buildings! Thanks for all of your pictures.

[SailorJack]

Really interesting buildings! Thanks for all of your pictures.

 

Yes they are. Architects are getting really creative in Asia. The new "Forest in the Sky" buildings in Ho Chi Minh are going to the most amazing in the world. More pictures coming - glad you are enjoying them.

 

Jack