After our first night on the ship (Azamara Quest), we took a walking tour of Hong Kong. Fortunately, we didn’t duplicate many of the sights that we saw during our tour on the day before we boarded the ship. Have a good breakfast before you take this tour, you may lose your appetite!
That evening, we watched the laser light show on the major high rise buildings in Hong Kong. I don’t believe Disney could have done a better job. It was great! About the time the laser show ended, we pulled out of the Harbor. What a view! I still believe that Hong Kong appears to be a mixture of New York City, San Francisco, and Las Vegas! They do it all in Hong Kong.
Denang
After a day at sea, we stopped at our first port: Denang in Vietnam. We skipped the war memorial tours and settled for a rickshaw ride and a visit to China Beach. Throughout the tour, the guide made references to the American War. Fortunately our tour did not include any of the war memorials. I don’t believe I could listen to their version of the Vietnam war. In the local markets, we saw many Zippo lighters with American names and unit IDs. I don’t know if these were artifacts, or trinkets for the new tourist market. Anyway, they didn’t sell any lighters to our group.
The Rickshaw ride was great! In about 30 minutes, we toured the downtown areas. In Denang, cars are rare – everyone has a motor bike—or a bicycle. However, they still don’t obey the rules of the road.
The highlight of that day was a visit to the fish market on the beach. The fish were taken from the boats (some shaped like bowls) and sold on the shore near China Beach. The "catch" included Jelly Fish.
Saigon
Yes, the name of the city was changed to Ho Chi Minh City, but I still prefer to call it by the name given to the city by the French. We spent one day in Saigon before our trip to Angkor Wat. We toured the Mekong Delta. Like most people on the tour, I was unaware of the amount of fresh water surrounding Saigon. We visited the small towns on the islands in the river. At one stop, we were offered a taste of snake wine, but declined the invitation.
The river was busy, with many different types of water craft. I was surprised to see colorful eyes painted on the bow of most of the boats.
In Saigon, there are few cars – everyone has a bicycle or a motor bike. However, they have the same bad driving practices of the Chinese. Give them 10 more years and the traffic will be similar to what we witnessed in China.
On the second day in Saigon, we left the ship for a three day tour of the temple area in Cambodia, Angkor Wat. However, that is another story…
Click HERE for our pictures of Saigon.
