March 21 - Saigon continued

This place was fascinating and I spent two days here so I’ve got to write more. On the evening we spent in Saigon Seabourn arranged a special event for those of us on the Grand Voyage. After racing to get cleaned up and changed after our tour, we boarded buses to go to the Hotel Continental in downtown Saigon for a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres party.  A Vietnamese band was playing traditional music in the background. After an hour we walked as a group across the street to the Saigon Opera House for a performance by the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus.

It’s difficult to describe what we saw and no photography was allowed.  The troupe of about 20 young men and women did acrobatic maneuvers with long bamboo poles and baskets. We had no explanation of what we were seeing but I surmised that they were doing tableaux of life in fishing and farming villages in times gone by.  Then suddenly we were in a modern era with the performers wearing hard hats but still doing acrobatic things with bamboo.  I thought we were seeing the evolution of Vietnamese life.  The performance concluded with hip hop dancing.  This troupe has performed all over the world and they perform once a week in the opera house.  It was a very interesting and enjoyable evening but I thought it would have enhanced the experience if we’d had a program or some kind of explanation of what we were seeing.  I’m glad I went though and it was a nice treat for us long cruisers. We were welcomed back at the ship in a signature Seabourn way.  Staff line a red carpet with banners that say "Welcome Home," music playing and champagne.  The people working on this ship are very special! 

The Opera House

This and the next are some of the lights of nighttime Saigon

Our welcome reception

After a pretty early night I got up and met with a group of fellow passengers to go shopping with the chef again. This time was very different from the last time in Melbourne a little over a month ago.  I thought we were going to the big market that the ship’s shuttle bus went to and that apparently sells everything in the world. Nope, we went off to a local street market somewhere. It was like a maze of stalls that wound around right off a busy street with no A/C or refrigeration in the various stands.  The produce looked pretty good but honestly I thought any meat or fish would be suspect.  There were vegetable stands across the aisle from underwear vendors across from people smoking fish over open fires.  Motorbikes would drive down the narrow aisles so you had to dodge out of the way.  There was one vendor of canned goods which kind of tickled us.  We had a couple from Hawaii in the group and they spotted cans of Spam, a favorite in Hawaii, on the shelf in this place. The chef didn’t find anything he wanted to buy so they called the bus back and a big confab took place while we waited.  Evidently someone recommended we go to a second market. Off we went.

Along the way we passed through a lot of the less modern Saigon and the sights and the traffic were amazing.  At a traffic light another bus decided it needed to cut in front of ours and in so doing took out the side mirror.  Nobody stopped or exchanged information or even shouted and gesticulated.  Both buses just kept going.  We had to cross a major street on foot to get to the market.  That was a harrowing experience as we just hoped that the traffic would give us a break.  We all made it.  This market was more rustic than the last one.  Motorbikes loaded with boxes taller than the riders went down the narrow aisles in both directions so you had to hope when you dodged one coming toward you that you wouldn’t be taken out by one behind you.  The pavement was uneven and crumbling in places and as I walked I was constantly hoping I wouldn’t fall over. The food for sale here looked less promising than the first market but we walked through the whole place.  At times we got splashed with water as vendors hosed down their spots.  It was an experience unlike any I’ve ever had when shopping with the ship’s chef.  Convinced that he wasn’t going to find anything, the bus was called and we headed back to the ship.  It was an abortive shopping trip, but I was glad I went because I felt like I got a clearer picture of the life of the average resident away from the glitzy malls with designer shops and the big hotels with their marble atria.  We passed those along the way and it was incongruous to see signs for Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Dior.

Here are some scenes from the market and Saigon away from the big office buildings and hotels.

The produce in the first market looked pretty good but the Chef didn't buy any.

I guess they make tea from these flowers

What happens if the lights go out and they have to sort through this mess?

If you look closely there are two guys sleeping on this steel structure. We hoped they didn't roll over.

We got back to the ship close to noon and I was tired and hot and really needed to get cleaned up so I didn’t go ashore again.  All aboard was at 3:30 anyway so there wasn’t time to do much else.  

So that was my visit to Saigon.  Everyone I met was friendly and charming and seemed genuinely happy we were here. As I said yesterday describing the place in words is really hard because it’s a place that you need to see, smell and hear to get the full picture.  The closest place I can think of that I’ve been in the last several years that had the same impact on my senses was when Al and I went to India. That too was almost overwhelming. I’m not finished with Vietnam yet.  Tomorrow we’ll be In Da Nang and from there I’m going to take a cooking class in Hoi Anh.  Yes, I’m going to learn to cook something despite the fact that I basically don’t cook anymore.  Maybe I’ll be inspired.  More later.