Saigon, Vietnam

T'internet been down for a bit, so few updates i'm afraid. Been wet anyway, so havent seen much. Had a shore excursion to Ho Chi Minh city, or Saigon which I prefer, today. Weather better, but there is a very foul smell at the port, which is about an hour from Saigon. Went to the "Reunification Palace" first. God knows why. We went in, up two flights of stairs to bathrooms that were full, then down four flights to the basement which was just a maze of rooms with desks with old phones on them. WTF!! Have since learned that it may have been the building that the Americans evacuated with Huey's at the start of the Vietnam war. Looked for a VC hidden in a bowl of rice waiting to stick a cap in my ass, but no joy (Pulp Fiction, guys). Next up was Notre Dame cathedral and the Post Office, both built by our French friend's many moons ago. After that, the oldest Pagoda in Saigon (built 700 AD or something, though looks like they could have knocked it out last week) and a trip through Chinatown before we got dropped off for an hour and a half on our own. Immediately decamped to a rather nice bar, The Long I think, in a big hotel. Two big beers and a nice lunch later, Saigon was looking a much nicer place. Refuelled and happy, picked up a t-shirt and headed back to the ship. Staying in smelly port overnight, then head off out tomorrow afternoon for a day at sea before arrival in Singapore on Wednesday morning. Night folks.Read more