Saigon 13th January 2011

We have two full days in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City. Today have a few planned purchases. Our “Soul of Saigon” tour does not go till the afternoon. We decided to pop into Saigon on the complimentary shuttle in the morning. Remember this time, our ship is small enough to moor in the city centre. No two hour bus trips to endure. We were only here 4 years ago and it’s amazing how the city has changed .Lots of new building. Saigon now has a population of 9 Million people making it Vietnam’s largest city. It is said that the population increases by 200,000 people per year. We explored a shop or two and revisited Ben Thang market. We then contributed to the local economy. In the afternoon our tour began. Our first visit was the Reunification Hall which was originally the home of the deposed President of South Vietnam. This was the one that the Communist tank busted through the main gate to take power back in ’75. The Americans left in 1973. It is now a museum. The photos show the presidents and vice presidents reception rooms, the Banquet Hall and the basement which was the seat of communications. There is also a replica of the tank that busted through the front gates. A lightning visit to view some French architecture, Notre Dame inspired cathedral & the adjacent Post office designed by the architect of the Eiffel Tower. Following this it was a visit to the History Museum which has antiquities from the Bronze Age to the modern age. We viewed a water puppet show where the lacquered wood puppets are controlled from poles underneath the water. This style of puppetry had its origins in the 12 Century and was originally performed in the rice paddies. This museum was a return visit for us with one big difference. We are now allowed to take photos. Following the show we boarded a fleet of cyclos and were transported to a lacquer factory where we again made a contribution to the local economy. We then dashed to China Town (there is one in every major city) and visited a local temple called the Lady Temple which is dedicated to a Cantonese psychic lady who is supposed to predict the weather and protect sailors. I think she has since moved on and now they say it is dedicated to the sea god. Reasonably creepy stuff and in another room, there is the money god. Apparently as the story goes the man who this fable was built around was a lazy good for nothing type who was a disappointment to his parents. As a result of his slovenly ways his mother died of shame. He then decided to get his act together. He studied hard and succeeded as a businessman. I guess the moral of the story is, don’t be lazy and be a disappointment to your mother. Don’t ask me how he became a money god. Apparently to succeed in your business you are supposed to donate money to the temple (the more the better) then when your business succeeds you gotta come back and donate some more. According to our neighbours in the suite next to us who are from Malaysia, they are even more efficient in Hong Kong as the money god can respond to emails, and they take Visa and MasterCard. Following this it was a revisit to Ben Thang Market, literally a walk through, hop back on the bus then back to the ship, where we had the most amazing dockside welcome back, with the band playing, & greeted with wet hand towels, & refreshingly cool juice. Tonight we were invited to join two more of the entertainment team Arvin and Ruth. A great evening.