July 7 Morning

Sampan Adventure - Morning

This morning we woke up to the sunrise on the Mekong, viewed from our bed out the 3-door wide panoramic window.  After breakfast we boarded a "sam pan" (small Vietnamese boat) from our ship, which was anchored in mid-river.  We sailed a short distance to an island to see a local rice-related business operate.  We saw rice-paper being made, then saw the rice-wine process.  Here there were several versions of rice-wine labeled as 1x power, 2x power, 5x power and 10x power.....I tried the 2x power (the strongest we could) and it was POWERFUL!  Then we saw the making of popped rice and rice candy.  Then anyone who wanted to hold a python could.....and Kim did.  Not for me!  A little shopping and back to the ship.  What an amazing morning.....sorry for the use of "amazing" - but each and every day and thing truly has been.

Note:  Our stateroom #101 is the first one towards front

Note the snake IN the wine....yes, he's alive!

July 6

Boarding The Siem Reap

The Cruise Begins

This morning we left the Intercontinental Hotel and boarded the beautiful Siem Reap.  It is a two level ship with only 18 cabins - with a capacity of 36 passengers.  Three new guests joined us today so we set sail with a tour group of only 29.  If you have followed our previous trips you'll immediately note how very, VERY much larger the staterooms are.  And the panoramic, wall-to-wall / ceiling-to-floor window that our bed faces is just breath taking.  We love that we're on the first level and we hear the constant lapping of the water.  We had a brief meeting and then lunch.  Delicious!  We are very familiar with several of our fellow companions and we enjoyed lunch with one couple we'd met previously who are from Pennsylvania.  Very happy with our new accomodations!  Here are some photos of our new home......

The Outdoor Lounge

The Panoramic Lounge

Our Stateroom - #101

July 5

Cu Chi Tunnels Excursion

Today we were up early and down to breakfast by 6:45 am so we could be on the bus for our day's excursion.  Today we drove about an hour and a half out into the rural sections of Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnel complex.  It was in this area that a great deal of the guerrilla warfare took place during the Vietnam War.  It was a most unforgettable day for sure!  To be fair, while we cannot even imagine what it was actually like, they've done an admirable job of putting together a tourist version of what went on here and recreating the atmosphere.  The most "chilling" part of the experience is that guests have the opportunity - though we did not - to fire Vietnam era weapons on a shooting range here.  So while you are walking through the jungle (well, their version of it as we had wide walking paths) there is constant machine gun and rifle fire.  Seeing the booby traps, tunnels, and the complex of various rooms in the heat and humidity with the gunfire you get the sensation of being back in the late 1960s.  So the day's experience......as we headed out of the city proper it was the height of rush hour and while this is far from the most dense photo of them, there are SOOOOO many "hondas" all over the place, weaving in and out of traffic - so glad I'm not the driver!  

During the ride out our local historian/guide, Chung, gave about a 40 minute presentation on the historical background to the war and focused on the tunnels and their role in the fighting.  Having taught American History and the Vietnam War era I must say he's was spot on .... from what I know.  We arrived without incident - we'd been told there were NO restroom facilities on the way and everyone survived!  We all put on bug spray and we were most fortunate AGAIN that the monsoon like rains predicted did not hit until we had returned to the hotel.  The skies were mostly cloudy so the sun was not intense, but the heat and humidity in the jungle resulted in everyone dripping in perspiration by the time the tour was over.

We walked through the jungle and saw many examples of the various rooms that were hidden below the surface in the tunnel complex.  We saw recreations of the kitchen, dining room, munitions room, and several other rooms where they were sunken about five steps down, but not completely underground to make it more convenient for tourists.  Then we came to one of the actual entrances and a "liberation army guerrilla" demonstrated how they would slip into hiding in the very, VERY narrow tunnel entrances.

We were also shown several examples of the kinds of booby traps that were used to fight the Americans.  A couple of interesting points about the tunnel complex and how deceptive they were - the entire complex was dug out by hand with very small hand tools.  But where to pile the dirt?  Some was taken to the local river, but a lot of it was simply piled up.  Wouldn't this give away the tunnels' existence?  No, because you see this area is rich in termites who build huge mounds.  So the Viet Cong would make simulated termite mounds like the actual ones and they were very difficult to tell apart.  But the one thing that was different about the man-made mounds was they had cleverly concealed holes to allow for the passage of fresh air into the tunnels.  Here you see an actual termite mound on the left, a fake one on the right.

What about cooking?  First, the kitchens were down on the second level of the complex.  Second, the passage way created for the smoke from the fires would go through several smaller chambers where the smoke would be filtered and then once it finally reached ground level it would seep out in nearly invisible mist form.  And to add to the difficult in detection the cooking was done very early in the morning when the jungle was filled with fog and mist anyway!

Next, it was explained to us how difficult it was for the Americans to find the hiding North Vietnamese, so they just smothered the area with B-52 bombs.  Here's Kim in front of a still existing bomb crater - while you can't truly see how massive it is, it was something to see that it was STILL here some forty plus years later.

Finally, the highlight of the experience, the trip into the tunnels!  We were told that the area that was open for us to explore had been widened so we could actually fit, but were warned it was VERY narrow and low - so much so that most of the men would have to be on all fours.  We were told it was purposefully kept very dark with minimal lighting to let us get a more realistic experience of what the tunnels were like.  Remember, they LIVED in here for years!  Finally, the tunnels open for us were only about 50 yards long, and it would take less than five minutes to get through to the other side.  Still despite this I can tell you - the first steps down it was very obvious that this was dark, claustrophobic and very narrow.  But then we descended more steps and now I could barely move while completely stooped over.  A few more feet and you sat on the floor and lowered yourself to yet another level and there was no more standing for me.  The top of the tunnel was inches from my back; the sides of the tunnel, inches from my hips.  And VERY dark.  It was a bit disconcerting that the guide about four people ahead of me kept asking the guests right behind him, "Are you ok?"  WHAT!  Why not, what's up ahead!

Very creepy - and to think they spent years in here.  Really an amazing experience.  We were able to walk down into the simulated kitchen and dining room where it was not nearly as confined and then we were at the end of the tour.  As Kim said, it was WELL worth the ninety minute ride to experience this.  If you haven't yet, watch the 2:27 video at the top.....pretty accurate portrayal of what we went through this morning!

Tomorrow we get to move into our stateroom on the ship and we'll cruise most of the day.  VERY excited about getting on board what I'm sure will be a most amazing ship!  Tomorrow's journals will be full of photos of our new home for the next week plus!

Cu Chi Tunnel Video

July 4

The City Tour / The Rooftop Bar / We're Vietnamese Chefs!

We squeezed A LOT into our first day in Vietnam.  We were in the Intercontinental Saigon's dining room by 7 am for our provided buffet breakfast because we were schedule to meet with our Avalon representative and meet our fellow guests at 8 am.  The meeting provided three surprises.  First, our program director had a "serious family problem" that came up at 2 am last night, and he would have to leave us (we later discovered his father was in poor health), so he interested us to our new program director; secondly, we discovered there are only 26 of us in our group and who will be onboard the Siem Reap!  We knew it would be a small group with a capacity of 36 on the ship, but even fewer.  And the third thing was that there are only about half a dozen in "our family" as we were termed by our new director who are older than we are.....in fact there are a couple of college kids with their parents/grandparents.  We got some particulars on what would happen over the next couple of days before we board the ship and then we were off on a walking tour of the city.

One of the first things we noticed last night coming to the hotel and out our window this morning was the bikes!  We were told today there are over 8 million "hondas" as they are called in the greater metro area.  And all day while we walked and then traveled by bus people were scooting by inches from us on the sidewalk, in the road and between the cars.  They even have Uber hondas!  Now THAT would take some courage!  One of our first stops on the tour was the original post office.  Built by a French architect in the mid-1800s it is a favorite stop for tourists.  It's a gorgeous building and still a functioning post office.  Inside one of the highlights were two rows of phone booths on either side - for those of you too young to remember, there was once a day when you had to use a land line to make any phone call.  It was here that the journalists would line up each day throughout the Vietnam War to call in their stories.  One set of phone booths still stands with the phones inside, but on the other side of the building they have all been converted into ATM machines!  We also walked past Independence Hall with the large statute of "Uncle Ho" - Ho Chih Minh, the leader of the revolution and the North Vietnamese during the war and first president of the unified country.

We then had a set of buildings pointed out to us - first the big blue sky scraper, but this was just for references.  Se the older building in front?  Recognize it?  I didn't at first, but then our tour guide pulled up a famous photo on his iPad......now you'll recognize it. 

This famous photograph of the fleeing South Vietnamese and Americans into army helicopters as the North Vietnamese were swarming into the city made headlines everywhere and inspired the musical "Miss Saigon."  And here was the very rooftop (you can see the little building on top that is still there).  Something to see for those of us who lived during the war.  Next up we headed to the Rex Hotel.  Again, for those of you in our age group you may not recognize the hotel name, but it was the famous "Rooftop Bar" where the journalists would meet for happy hour to exchange stories and it was dubbed the "Five O'Clock Follies."  In my research for what we might see in the city this was one I was very hopeful we'd visit.  And we not only saw it but got to go up to the bar and were treated to our choice of a drink!

On nearly international trip we've taken, and in nearly every town or city one of the tour highlights seems to always be the market.  Such was the case again today after we left the hotel.

The final stop of our first day's adventure was to an authentic Vietnamese Cooking School.  And YES we had to cook our own lunch.  It's kind of ironic isn't it.....we paid a lot of money for the privilege to cook our own food?  LOL.  But it was really an interesting and amazing experience.  First we had all the ingredients in front of us for our ginger chicken main entree.  Then the chef walked us through the demonstration, then turned us loose to cook our own main dish!  Each one of us had the chicken in a pot that had an individualized number so YOU had to eat what YOU prepared :)  You'll note our very attractive chef hats (and aprons!).  Then we were taught to make spring rolls and noodle soup.  Everything turned out great and was very delicious.  Finally, at the end of the meal we were given an oral quiz!  We all passed with flying colors (shocking I know) and were presented with a certificate identifying our new-found talent.  It was also very interesting that they gave us a recipe book; on the cover of the book is their web address and we were told that if we came across any native dish while in the country that we really enjoyed, if we took a photo and sent it to them with the name of the dish they would mail us back the recipe!  It was a great first day.  This evening we are being taken out as a group for a special "Welcome Dinner" courtesy of Avalon Waterways.

The last note for today is that we met nearly every one of the 24 others on our tour and EVERYONE was really nice, friendly.  You never know when you're going to be "locked in" with a small group of people for such a short period of time, but as Kim and I agreed - first impressions were a giant thumbs up!

LATE ADDITION.......
So tonight we ate at the private Ly Club - a French villa/chateau which served a "fusion" of Vietnamese and French cuisine.  It was such a stylish setting, live piano player with dinner and drinks compliments of Avalon as a "Welcome Dinner."  But certainly the "WOW" moment of the night came when we left and it was drizzling.....the staff was lined up at the entrance with umbrellas and took us one-by-one to our private coach.  VIP treatment!

July 3

The Odyssey From So Florida To Vietnam

So, it was a long day, but both of us agreed it was not nearly as bad as it probably sounds - 28 hours from door to door.  The "adventure" began on Friday when I got an email from Expedia about our itinerary.  It showed the same flights we've had all along, starting with a 9 am departure from Fort Lauderdale for Chicago.  And there was a link provided to "click here to check in tomorrow."  I wasn't sure if the check-in would be through American Airlines or Japan Airlines as they were partnering on our flight.  So I called AND talked to an Expedia rep about my itinerary.  So let me be clear - I was sent an email and talked voice-to-voice to a representative about our 9 am departure.  So Saturday morning I went to check-in and I was having "issues" with the Japan Airlines site getting the boarding passes so I called Expedia and they connected me to the JAL rep.  She said, "Are you inquiring about your 7 am flight?"  No, I said, we leave at 9 am.  No......it WAS seven am.  And after three hours on the phone I got two different people to merely say, "we're sorry our system didn't update online."  Because you see, as I was talking to the JAL, American Airline, and Expedia people on Saturday I was looking online at our reservations with a 9 am departure STILL LISTED.  But they gave me a new booking number and now I had TWO flights, one at nine and one at seven, so I called American Airlines back for a third time and discovered that they'd sent the new flight out to Expedia in March and that there was no flight at 9 am.  It's a good thing we didn't just show up at the airport thinking there was no point to getting a boarding pass ahead of time because we'd have to check our passports, visas, and luggage.  Crisis averted!

So we were up e-a-r-l-y on Sunday and called an Uber ride.  This was the second Uber I'd called in Fort Lauderdale for a ride to the airport and the second time I had to give directions to the airport - and yes they had a GPS but couldn't follow it......to the airport.  And before we got on the Interstate our driver said, "Do you mind if I stop for gas?"  I must have had "a look" because he immediately said, "No it's ok, I will probably make it!"  Nothing like starting out on the bit of a stressful side!

But we got to the airport without incident and checked in and were ready to fly.  We departed on time at 7 am and landed in Chicago about 9:15 am (CST).  We had Economy seats for this leg and we had them for the last leg today.  But I'd requested "Premium Economy" for the nearly 13-hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo.  We'd looked at the photos of seats online and they looked comfortable but nothing could have prepared us for the miniature apartment that awaited us in "Premium Economy!"  

The bottom third of the photo, if you look closely, you see the blanket, pillow, and SLIPPERS....and you'll note that my feet are flat on the floor and not even close to being underneath the seat in front of us.  Note that the footrest comes out; the chair reclines, and there is a nice spacer between us.  We rode in style across the Pacific!  

We landed in Tokyo a little early and had a little over two hours between flights - which was nice because there was no stress about catching flights and had a chance to walk around and stretch our legs.  The terminal here in Tokyo was amazing.  It was like walking around a high-end mall with a few airline gates thrown in.  Note the "Tiffany's" on the right.....MANY high end stores like this throughout!  

We boarded our final flight and were back to Economy for the last six-hour leg of the trip.  The sun was setting as we left Japan and I took the snapshot below.  By the time we'd reached Vietnam and descended down where we could see the ground it was completely dark - second photo was our first glimpse of Vietnam.  

I took the screen shot of the "world clocks" to document the travel today.  Because we crossed the International Date Line we lost the day as it was nearly 10 pm on July 3rd while it was only 11 am July 3rd in So Fla.  So for our bodies.....left 7 am on July 2 and arrived at 11 am July 3!We de-planed as quicker than any American plane despite the fact it was a huge jet and were immediately sent through customs - without our luggage, which we thought was odd as all our other international we've picked up luggage and THEN go through customs.  Kim's luggage came within minutes and then.........those of you who followed our recent Columbia River cruise now where I'm going.  I was very anxious about my bag arriving because it did NOT on the last trip.  Waited, waited, waited......Kim said, "I'm beginning to get a little nervous."  And I said, at least there are still about 20 people here, and finally here was my bag!  WHEW!  Customs was a breeze and then the last "snag" of the day.  No representative of Avalon.  Hmmmm.  We walked around and found no one.  Considered walking outside the terminal but there were literally hundreds of people lining the walkway with signs.  CERTAINLY they'd not be there, right?  I asked at information and was told they normally are INSIDE.  No representative in sight.  But I found a guy who was in uniform of our hotel and I asked.  He said, he'd show us to our welcoming guy.....there he was amidst the crowd with an small sign - we'd never have seen him.  But we found him and got our ride to the hotel and checked in without incident.  Check in went very smoothly and we have a gorgeous room on the 13th floor.  In our information packed (our guide had long since gone to bed) we were alerted that breakfast begins at 6 am and our first meeting is at 8 am; departure from the hotel is at 8:30 am for a tour of the city followed by a Vietnamese cooking class for lunch!  Back to the hotel to catch our breath and then the entire tour group is being taken out to dinner at 7 pm.  A full day tomorrow.

If you've not traveled 28 hours straight, here's what we looked like after we'd checked into our room :)