Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon is still known by most of its inhabitants as Saigon so we will call it Saigon for the rest of this blog.

We arrived at the mouth of the Mekong River around 6:00 am to pick up our pilot to begin the 4 hour passage up the Mekong before docking in the centre of Saigon. The beauty of sailing on a small ship like the Seabourn Pride is that it can dock in the centre of the city. Larger ships have to dock outside the city and passengers have to contend with a 1 hour journey into the city compared to our 10 minute walk.

On arrival at the dock we were greeted by a welcome party of Vietnamese girls in traditional dress lined up on the harbour. As we docked they released coloured balloons into the sky.

We were all signed up to travel on the Soul of Saigon tour which left the ship around 2 pm. This was a whistle stop tour of Saigon hitting key tourist sites including Saigon Cathedral, the Central Post Office and the National History Museum. At the National History Museum we enjoyed a short performance demonstrating the ancient art of water puppetry followed by a viewing of ancient artifacts from Vietnams past.

Then, the highlight of the day was a short journey by Pedicab from the museum through the traffic of Saigon to a lacquer ware workshop. The Saigon traffic is crazy with over 4 million motorcycles registered in Saigon and today they all seemed to be travelling on the same route as my Pedicab. Diving in and out of traffic with a constant cacophony of horns in the background this was great fun. You must try it J

Following our visit to the lacquer ware workshop we rejoined the coach to travel to the former Presidential Palace. For older readers the Presidential Palace now known as Reunification Hall will be remembered as the location for the final act of the Vietnam War when a North Korean tank crashed through the gates of the Palace to signal the end of the war on April 30th 1975. Our final stop on the tour was the Thien Hau temple built by the Chinese in the 18th century.

Returning to the boat for a quick wash and brush up the Woods and Daveys ventured out unaccompanied to sample the Vietnamese nightlife. Our destination was the iconic Rex Hotel rooftop bar. During the Vietnam War the Rex Hotel had been the unofficial headquarters of the CIA and chief watering hole for the many foreign correspondents covering the war. The rooftop bar is a must visit. Reasonably priced food and drink meant that we stayed for some time here before walking back to the harbour…….

Walking back to the harbour would have been a doddle apart from the 4 million motorcycles and a dual carriageway to cross. The technique to crossing roads is best described as walking with confidence. Traffic does not stop, traffic lights and pedestrian crossing are mere onlookers as the traffic goes past. All you can do is step off the curb and walk with confidence, motorcycles weave in front and behind you but remarkably as long as you hold your nerve you get across the road safely.

Finally we reached the boat in time for a night cap before retiring.

Enjoy the ice,

Dave and the crew……… Sue, Jan, Bridget, John and John