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We arrived early this morning in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and I had a great day today. As usual, the ship was dockside at around 0800 and we had to work with immigration to clear the ship, distribute landing cards and passports etc... so it was about 11:00am by the time we were done with that and noon before I got off of the ship. Once again, the Explorer is docked somewhere in a ridiculous location 10km from the city center so we have to take shuttle busses to and from the ship. Imagine they tell you your're coming in to Port in New York City and instead of the pier on the West Side of Manhattan, you are in Bayonne, NJ! Oh well. Definitely not anything we can do about it. Today was pretty much my only day in the city so Leigh Ellen and I hit the markets! I think I bought just about everything and we had a great time. We walked around the city center a little but spent most of our time in Ben Than market and the surrounding area. You can buy just about everything there, from raw material fabric to turtles.They also love US$ so it was fun and easy to bargain in Vietnamese dong and US$. We got the traditional straw conical hats, t-shirts, decorative plates and artwork, shoes, and more... and then the one thing I said I wasn't going to do: I got a dress made. Apparently the thing to do here in Vietnam is to have either a dress or a suit custom tailored for you and I told myself I had no need for a dress like that. Well... to make a long story very short, after lunch we needed to find a restroom and decided one of the dress tailor shops would be a good option. Needless to say, Leigh Ellen ended up with two and I ended up with one. It's really beautiful though... you can pick out from samples and pictures and fabric, they take your measurements and voila! I'm a little nervous about it because I won't be there to pick it up and check the sizing since I'll be on a trip our last day in Vietnam but Leigh Ellen will pick it up for me and the woman assured me there won't be a problem. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it all turns out perfect because it really looked beautiful. Andrew - This means we have to do something fun when I get home so I can wear my new dress!
Traffic is also very crazy here but crazy in a very different way than in India. Here there are basically no traffic laws and cars and gazillions of motorbikes are all over the street but somehow it's very different. In India, you fear for your life trying to cross the street. Here it's a very Zen experience. You just take a leap of faith, kind of like stepping out on to an invisible bridge, in to traffic, not running, and somehow the traffic seems to flow around you. It's a hard feeling to describe but not bad at all. I didn't mind it and I felt very comfortable here in this city.
Since I mentioned lunch before%u2026We also went and got lunch out in town at a restaurant called Pho24.It was recommended by a lot of people and a well known small causal chain in Ho Chi Minh City that serves traditional Pho, the main dish here of a broth, noodles, and meat.The food was very good, a little mild though, but after a first meal in every country, I obviously had to visit the bathroom a short time later. Its just part of the routine for me now, sorry everyone%u2026part of traveling!
We returned to the ship just in time to catch dinner and for me to check in for duty tonight. I'm the RD on Call tonight which means I get to be on ship from 8pm to 8am in case anyone needs anything. Not a big deal. It gives me a chance to write and pack for my trip that leaves tomorrow. I'll be leaving in the morning for the Mekong Delta overnight trip which should be a good time. I couldn't believe we spent the whole day shopping and I can't wait to show/share with everyone when I get back
(The picture on this blog entry is from Ha Long Bay up in the north by Ha Noi, two places on my list of things I won't get to do here in Vietnam but would like to when/if I someday return)
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