Vietnam and Cambodia

March 9, 2008

Yesterday we docked at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. This was particularly interesting for us as we remember the time of the Vietnam war and how Vietnam was not open to tourists until recent years. You definitely see that this is a very poor area but strides are being made to improve life here and some families have made great strides to improve their livelihood. We took a tour that included visiting the Chinatown, which is a big part of this city. We also went to a history museum, market place, Chinese temple, a lacquer
factory and took a pedicab ride through the city. This was the scariest part of the tour as you are in the midst of many, many motor scooters, some cars and trucks. They all zoom around and when they come to an intersection, many of which are round-abouts, it is every man for himself or so it seems. We had a traditional Vietnamese late luncheon and then it was back to the ship after a downpour afternoon tropical rain. We will be at sea for one day and will then reach Cambodia.










March 10, 2008

Today we arrived at Sihanoukville, Cambodia. This is a relatively new city being developed in 1964. This city has beautiful beaches and resort hotels for the tourists, but the main city and surrounding areas are very poor. We visited two Buddhist temples. Both were quite ornate and one was in a beautiful setting overlooking the gulf of Thailand. We saw both sides of this city by visiting a local market, an elementary school, and Wat Krom and Wat Leu temples. We were then treated to one of the beautiful beach areas called Sokha Beach. There was a beautiful hotel here where we had a wonderful lunch. The people are very gracious but work very hard to make a living. We will be at sea again tomorrow as we make our way to Bangkok.