Coconut drink on the river

Coconut drink – One boat came along side and offered fresh young coconut to drink. They just chopped of the end and put in a straw. Only the young coconut is good for this. No rum this  time.

Market at Hoi An

Margie at the Grocery Store – The market at Hoi An was a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, flowers, noodles, spices, etc. The wife of the household goes to the market 2-3 times a day to get fresh food. The smells vary a lot from wonderful to awful. Live chickens are killed on the spot. Pig is the most common meat. Everything looks very good and fresh however. (Sunday, Feb.5th)

Ancient Hoi An

Sunday, February 5 – Our ship docked at Danang, which is  a pretty large city and 50 years ago was a major port and airfield for the US troops in Viet Nam war. Today, there is no obvious sign of the prior US presence.  The general impression is that the Viet Nam economy is capitalistic despite a communist government and is growing. They certainly are building a tourist industry.

We took a bus tour to Hoi Nan, a city that was built in the 1400’s, was a major trading center for years, was not touched by the War, and is now a tourist center. The streets and market were very clean and well maintained. Some lovely shops selling fabrics, embroidery, silk lanterns with wood frames, and other local crafts. Of course, we had the mandatory visit to a temple with all  of the incense burning.  On the way back to the ship, we visited a small very poor but typical village with a couple of family shrines, one going back 17 generations. Our tour guide emphasized the importance of education in their society with the opportunity for the best to go abroad to America and Europe for college, all expenses paid. They do have an obligation to the government when they return. The other point of emphasis was the respect for the parents and prior generations.  Family is central to their lives.  

Afternoon at sea

The temperature has warmed and the sun has finally come out.  We found ourselves to be the only ones enjoying the forward hot tub this afternoon.  The Hotel Manager stopped by and asked us if we wouldn't like some champagne but Al said we had to pace ourselves.  After showers before dinner we did order a little caviar, however.  Danang tomorrow!

Relaxing on a day at sea

A Day at Sea

Thursday, Feb 2 – A day at sea. Our first full day was spent at sea going from HK on the way to Halong Bay, Viet Nam. The South China Sea was reasonably calm with a following wind. The weather was cloudy and cool. No one sun bathing or swimming as yet. Spent our time eating, reading books, and working out. The exercise room is reasonably equipped though small. Starting to meet a lot of people in similar situations to ours. Average is about 70. No children. We are going to have to watch what we eat and drink since it is all there for the taking including cocktails and wine. We are having our breakfasts in the room, our lunches on the Veranda deck located on the stern and dinners in the main dining room. Food is very good with small portions thank goodness. We will not starve.

Sailing from Hong Kong

We got to see other parts of HK from the water that we had not seen before. It is really impressive to see many series of 60 – 70 story high rise apartment house containing heaven knows how many people along the sides of the hills lining the harbor. The boat had a pilot until it got out of the harbor, but I am not sure the captain was too happy with him. Anyway we picked our way through and around the other boats in the harbor as we exited.