South China Sea

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    • Day 79

      Mar. 9: Saigon, Vietnam

      March 9, South China Sea ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

      We spent the day in the city of Saigon. From our ship, the drive took us 1 1/2 hours to travel 12 miles! The traffic is CRAZY! Luckily, most of the vehicles are scooters. We can't imagine what the traffic would be like if the scooters were replaced by cars!

      Our first visit was to an old Buddhist Temple. This was very crowded, but everyone was respectful and patient. Our tour also included stopping at a small lacquer workshop. We visited the historic Saigon Central Post Office, whose building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the late 19th century, between 1886 and 1891, and is now a tourist attraction.

      We drove past the Pittman Apartments. The rooftop of the Pittman Building is the subject of one of the 20th century’s most famous photographs. War photographer Hugh Van Es took a picture of a US helicopter precariously perched on the roof of the Pittman complex to evacuate US officials and Vietnamese.

      Like Indonesia, the traffic in Saigon is a great example of organized chaos! We've never witnessed road rage. In fact, folks yield to others on the road peacefully and seamlessly. It all just seems to work.
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    • Day 36

      Soc Trang -> Con Dao

      October 29, 2022, South China Sea ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Vor wenigen Tagen habe ich noch geschrieben, dass ich nie wieder so früh aufstehen möchte im Urlaub 😅 Und da bin ich, um 05:15 Uhr senkrecht im Bett als mein Wecker klingelt. Naja, ich musste halt die Fähre nach Con Dao bekommen. Dafür lohnt es sich wohl :)

      Die Reise auf der Fähre war für eine Menge Passagiere augenscheinlich eine sehr, sehr schlimme Erfahrung. Ich glaube es sind mehrere Liter an Erbrochenem in kleinen schwarzen Tüten gelandet 😅 Egal wo man war, man hörte immer mindestens eine Person würgen. Ich hatte trotzdem meinen Spaß, mir ging es zum Glück gut 😌

      Auf Con Dao angekommen habe ich mich als erstes mit dem Tauchcenter hier in Verbindung gesetzt. Ich muss Mal abwarten was mir da bezüglich Preis und Bedingungen unter Wasser genannt wird. Vielleicht gehe ich tauchen, vielleicht auch nicht 🤷🏽

      Con Dao war viele, viele Jahre eine Gefängnisinsel der Franzosen, der Khmer und der Amerikaner im Vietnamkrieg. Daher gibt es hier noch etliche alte Gefängnisse die inzwischen als Museen dienen. In die alten Zellen wurden Wachsfiguren gestellt, die teilweise sehr echt aussehen. Spannende Geschichte! Dann war ich auch noch im Museum der Insel. Da war aber leider viel auf Vietnamesisch und zu viel zu Lesen, daher habe ich mich da etwas beeilt 😅

      Jetzt sitze ich in einer coolen und teuren Rooftop Bar in einem der teuersten Hotels (nein, ich schlafe nicht hier) und genieße ein paar Bierchen 🍻

      Morgen geht es dann entweder zum Tauchcenter und vielleicht schon tauchen oder ich erkunde die Insel mit dem Fahrrad/Roller und gehe im Nationalpark wandern. Die dritte Option wäre ein Strandtag an einem der abgelegenen und verlassenen Strände. Auch hier merkt man nämlich, dass der Tourismus noch nicht wieder zu 100% da ist. Wenn das Wetter also mitspielt finde ich vielleicht eine an die Malediven erinnernde Bucht und gehe schnorcheln oder so ☀️🤿

      Und übrigens: Der heutige Tag markiert die Halbzeit meines Trips! 😳🤗
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    • Day 7

      Unser nächster Stop ist "HUE"

      January 3, 2023, South China Sea ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Gegen 18:30 Uhr sind wir in Hue angekommen. Hoffen wir mal, dass sich das Wetter noch ändert. 😧 Es regnet aktuell und morgen leider auch. Abgeholt hat uns die Thao - sie war als Aupair für ein Jahr in Stuttgart. Das Hotel ist ganz gut. Das Beste, was wir bis jetzt hatten. Endlich die ersehnte Badewanne für Thomas 😁
      Zum Abendessen waren wir bei einem Italiener und danach zum Cocktail🍹 trinken in einer Sportbar. Dort habe ich das erste Mal einen Freefight Kampf gesehen. 😨
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    • Day 160

      At Sea

      May 20, 2023, South China Sea ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

      A quiet day at sea … the weather cooperating with cooler, less humid temps (it’s all relative at this point) as Insignia continues to chip away at the distance to Borneo Island, where tomorrow we will visit one of the three countries that share that landmass.

      We made up for our quiet day with a wine and snacks party in Younga and David’s cabin. The Gelmans and we provided the wine … our hosts provided the snacks. Afterwards, we went up to the Terrace Café for a light dinner. Good conversation and plenty of laughter and camaraderie … just perfect.
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    • Day 162

      At Sea

      May 22, 2023, South China Sea ⋅ 🌬 86 °F

      Day 1 of two days at sea … as Insignia chips away at the 1,074 NM between Brunei and our first port of call in Vietnam.

      We had such a great time at our “private” happy hour in Younga and David’s cabin a few nights ago that we decided to repeat the experience to wrap up our quiet day at sea. They have a cabin with more space, so they once again hosted us and provided the snacks. We provided the white wine; Sonia & Boris provided the red wine. A merry time was had by all.

      No after-party-dinner this time as we were all quite sated by the time the party broke up.
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    • Day 178

      At Sea

      June 7, 2023, South China Sea ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

      Day 2 of two days at sea … continuing across the South China Sea to the Philippines.

      This morning we had face-to-face immigration formalities to complete with the Filipino authorities who came aboard in Nha Trang, Vietnam. What this means is that when we reach Manila tomorrow, we will be able to go ashore without any formalities to delay us.

      Otherwise, today was a quiet day like yesterday.

      We wrapped up our day with happy hour in Martinis, where we were hosted by friends Kadi and Brad and Geraldine & Thomas … they wanted to thank us for assisting them in getting back to the ship in Bangkok when their taxi driver had trouble finding the port. Having experienced a similar issue ourselves, it was our pleasure to help where we could.

      The six of us then had a delightful dinner in the GDR.

      Now to gird up our loins for a long run of ports. Luckily, there will be some late arrivals and early departures to help us catch our breath in between some of the stops … but I doubt there will be enough downtime to catch up on footprints. We shall see.
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    • Day 77

      Mar. 7 New Itinerary

      March 7, South China Sea ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

      After waiting for weeks & weeks, we finally received our new itinerary from Viking. It's been confirmed that we won't be going through the Red Sea, which is what we already predicted and is understandable due to the Iranian-backed terrorist group, Houthis. We'll miss visiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Italy, Istanbul & Monti Carlo. It also means that we'll have fewer days in Sri Lanka & India. Instead, the ship will go around Africa and will be sailing at a faster clip with fewer stops since they need to make up time to get us to the Mediterranean. The Africa piece is going to be fast with very limited stops & LOTS of sea days. Because of this, Julie and I have decided to exit the ship in Singapore. We fly back home on March 17th.

      We've gone back and forth about our decision. The sea days were a breaking point. We're very disappointed. We've made such great friendships, but this was not the trip that Julie and I planned for the past 2 1/2 years. Over 200 people will be exiting the ship. We feel good about our decision, but sad too. We don't regret a minute of the time we've spent on this beautiful ship and the experiences we've shared. ❤️ We'll fly from Singapore to Tokyo to Seattle via Nippon Air.
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    • Day 80

      Mar. 10. On the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

      March 10, South China Sea ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

      Our day began at 7 am and ended back at our ship at 7 pm. It was long, exciting, surprising, but most of all, educational. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of south-western Vietnam of over 15,600 sq mi). The size of the area covered by water depends on the season. Its wet coastal geography makes it an important source of agriculture and aquaculture for the country. It would be hard to find any harder working people who make their home and living on the MeKong.

      Our guide explained that the Mekong River's water levels in the lower basin, including in Thailand, are now very unstable, being heavily affected both by climate change and hydropower dams upstream that are mostly powered by China.

      Agriculture is a primary source of livelihood in the Mekong Delta, where roughly half of the total amount of food in Vietnam is produced. More than one million people may need to relocate from or within the Mekong Delta because of sea-level rise by the year 2050.

      We felt very humbled by what we saw and the people we met. We can learn much from their kindness, patience and tenacity.
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    • Day 81–82

      Mar 11-12: Sailing the South China Sea

      March 11, South China Sea ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

      We've had two great days, sailing the South China Sea, heading to Thailand. Last night, we celebrated Jane & Andy's 50th wedding anniversary at the Chefs Table. We love these two ❤️ Today we spent time packing for our departure on Sunday. It's going to be very hard to say goodbye to all the friends we've made 😪 Tonight, the LGBT group had a special gathering to celebrate one another. Many of our group will be exiting the ship in Singapore.

      Tomorrow, we dock in Thailand where Elephant kissing will be happening!🥰
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    • Day 84

      Mar. 14:

      March 14, South China Sea ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      We had a very busy, but fun day at sea today. We have two more days left before we head home, and these days are full! Today started with an East Asian cooking class in the Viking kitchen. We helped prepare Carmelized Tiger Prawns, Hainanese Chicken, & Mango Pomelo Sago. Then we went to a needle felting class to make a Koala Bear. My last class was on our final calligraphy assignment which will be displayed in the Wintergarden tomorrow. We met with Catherine & Tom for dinner and then we met with Patricia & Penny (Calligraphy teachers) for chocolate martinis. Laundry and packing was the final choir of the night. Tomorrow we arrive in Singapore! Our goodbye hugs have started 😪❤️Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    South China Sea, Biển Đông, China Sea, Laut China Selatan, Laut Tiongkok Selatan, Laut Tjina, Mer de Chine orientale, Nam Hải, Nan Hai, Nan Kai, South Sea, Zuid-Chineesche Zee, Південно-Китайське море, Южно-Китайское море

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