Vietnam and Thailand Pathways
March 22 - Apr 6 Segment 6 of our World Voyage onboard the Azamara Onward. Our first three stops here were all Vietnam. First Halong Bay, with a sidetrip in to Hanoi. I’d just listened to a book about the Hanoi Hilton, and touring it, seeing photos of the very people who’s survival story I was reading was chilling. How people can do the things they do to each other i’ll never understand. The guillotine is still there from the French era as well. But the city itself is great. We zipped around in rickshaws and ate an amazing lunch in a local restaurant and hit the Hanoi Museum, where I, true to form, sniffed out the incredible giant woodcuts. They are 19th century illustrations for The Song Of Kieu, Vietnam’s traditional tale of a young girl who gets sold/tricked into prostitution in order to save her family. Charming, right? But it’s been made into opera, song, film and more. These woodcuts, displayed with their wood plates, are beautifully done.
Sailing out of Halong Bay was stunning; with thousands of limestone islands, each topped with their own mini rainforest. We stopped in Danang, with its busy markets, dragon bridge and fishing boats lining the harbour, then made our way to Ho Chi Minh. We toured Old Saigon and shopped at The Saigon Market. The next day we traveled out to the Mekong Delta. It was a bit of a planes, trains and automobile day. We were bussed, then were transported by a rickety old ferry; picked up by tuktuks and dropped deep in the delta to be paddled about in Sampans. I can’t imagine what soldiers went through, crawling around on their bellies out here. But life is kind of beautiful here now. Nothing can be brought in by truck, so the grow what they can, use every scrap of it in creative ways, and live what looks like a pretty sweet simple life. Minus the giant snakes maybe. They play music on funky handmade instruments, and make lots of treats like dried fruits and royal bee jelly candy, which are delicious.
Bangkok was next, with all its hustle. The Chatuchak Market is one of my favourites on the planet, and we spent a fun day there. I also at this point was on a mission to find more art supplies for my classes, and the perfect dish of cashew chicken. for Greg. Success on both fronts. We carried on to Koh Samui, where we spent a perfect beach day, then made our way through the night to Singapore, last stop on this Pathways tour. Singapore is of course an architectural feast. We did a big city tour on foot, hiked up Mount Faber and took the cable car over Sentosa for a birds-eye view of our ship below. I’ve toured chinatown and little India in the past, so decided to seek out Arab street this time. Glad I did. Not only is it super cool, but I found the best outfit for our upcoming Diwali party on the ship. I bought one for me, and after a flurry of texts, another in a different colour for my friend Marianne. Another big swap out of guests and crew, and we’re ready for the next leg of our journey.
Thanks so much for reading. Please feel free to drop a comment below and/or share with a friend who might enjoy these wee missives.