Happy Lunar New Year from Vietnam

Vietnam has been a great experience. It is our longest port so far without the ship moving from one city to another (we did two cities each in Japan and China). Remember we left Hong Kong right before the lunar new year, or Chinese New Year? We were at sea on the actual new year's eve and day, then arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), which the locals still call Saigon, on the day after Tet, as the new year celebration is called in Vietnam. While some things have been closed because of the holiday (think Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years rolled into one), other things happen only at this time of year.

The ship docked in HCMC a little after lunchtime on Tuesday, February 12. Since we had to sail way up the river to reach our port, we spent the morning looking at all of the ship traffic, buildings, and activity along the river. As we have found out over the next few days, many things in the southern part of Vietnam happen on the rivers.

Because of the Tet holiday, and because none of us have been to Vietnam before, Jr, Sr, and I signed up for a Semester at Sea-sponsored trip to the Mekong Delta area, while Grandpa went on a different trip to Cambodia and Angkor Wat. We left by bus on Wednesday morning, while Grandpa went on a short plane ride to Cambodia. There were 36 of us on the trip, including one other faculty member and his family, a couple of lifelong learners, and a wonderful group of students. 

It took about two hours on the bus to get to the first part of our Mekong Delta trip. The area we visited grows much of the rice and fruit in Vietnam. We went on many different small boats, some with engines, some with a person rowing from the back. Boats are the best way to see things on the Mekong river, where many people live, fish, and farm. In an area called Vinh Long, we went to a local meat and produce market. Let's just say the vegetarians in our group felt pretty good about their eating habits after seeing the way meat, fish, and poultry were displayed and sold. We stayed in what the Vietnamese refer to as a homestay, but is more like a bed and breakfast run by a local family. I had read about the place we were staying, so was not surprised, but some of the others on the trip were a little disappointed we weren't staying in homes of local families. In any case, for us it was the highlight of the two nights. The photo below shows the guesthouse owner and her children in front of the house where half the group stayed. Jr, Sr, and I stayed in another similar house across the walkway. 

The second day included a lot of sight-seeing including a stork preserve which was a long walk down a rural road lined with people's home. We stayed that night in a modern hotel in the capital of the Mekong region, in a city called Can Tho. Over the next two days we visited a historic home, a stork preserve, and a floating market. The stork preserve was a natural roosting area for black and white storks, but perhaps the most interesting part of it was the mile walk through a rural village to get there and back. We saw people's homes, rice being harvested, fruit being dried, and daily life going on around us. Many people were at home since it was the Tet holiday, and were friendly as we walked by.

We came back to Saigon on Friday evening and basically did errands on Saturday. Jr, Sr, and I all got our hair cut in a tiny shop behind the Ben Tranh market, which was a funny and nice experience. The women in the shop really wanted to cut Jr's hair, and eventually Sr convinced him to get a tiny trim (I'm still unclear on the details of that negotiation). I made sure to point to the picture in the book they gave me of the model with the most layered, curly hair and got a great cut. Sr was also happy with his. I'll have to arrange a picture of all three of us, I don't have one yet.

On Sunday, two of the students arranged to take Jr and two other dependent kids ice skating and bowling at a place they found! Sr went with them to chaperone and bought everyone lunch at Pizza Hut. Yep. In Vietnam. Go figure. While they were off on what I am calling "American Day" Grandpa and I had a grownup day, with a very nice lunch in a restaurant above downtown Saigon and then a visit to the former presidential palace. I have a lot of thoughts about being an American in Vietnam, but I'll save those for another day.

We have just today and tomorrow on the ship, then we reach Singapore.

Photos below are of the floating market in the Mekong, a Tet flower display in Saigon, and the homestay family and their home.