A worthwhile trip to the busy cities of Vietnam

Buzz Jackson

Vietnam! What a wonderful, exotic and mysterious place. Four

couples from Newport Beach visited Vietnam in October. We were aboard

a marvelous ship, The Seabourn Spirit, which had 195 passengers and

160 crew members. The service was excellent. We boarded in Hong Kong

and spent four stops in Vietnam before returning through Bangkok to

Singapore for our return flight.

One night aboard ship, we cordoned off the bar at one end of the

ship and had a “joke-off.” At the end of an hour, we had half of the

passengers and part of the crew participating in our foolishness. A

very good time was had by all!

At each port, we were met by bands and dancers, all in their

native costumes. Local merchants would quickly set up their stands

and kiosks to try to sell us their wares. They were still waiting

when we returned from our tours. Very entrepreneurial!

At each of the major cities we visited -- Hanoi, Denang and Saigon

(now Ho Chi Minh City) -- we found the traffic to be incredible. The

many thousands of bicycles, motorbikes, motorcycles, busses and

trucks all crowded the major streets. There are few traffic lights.

Crossing the street is a harrowing experience. Our guides instructed

us in strong terms how to cross. You must go as a group, move

steadily forward, do not run, do not stop, do not back up, just keep

moving. It is like magic how the traffic parts around you like a

river going around an island. You will never complain about your

local traffic again.

In Hanoi, we saw the “Hanoi Hilton.” It was a sobering experience.

Not a place you want to spend your hotel stay. It was an old, French

prison and most of it has been torn down and made into apartments.

Enough of it remains, along with photographs, to remind us of the

brutal history of the building. There were numerous photos of our

American servicemen.

We also visited the Mekong Delta near Saigon. The weather was

humid and sultry and we were in small canoes on a very narrow river.

The jungle was only a few feet away and virtually impenetrable. Very

intimidating!

One of our lighter experiences was visiting a small rural school.

We were presented to a class of about 30 students ages 10 through 12.

They were all dressed in school uniforms and they were delighted to

share their limited English with us.

Considering all parts of a Vietnam tour, we found it to be

rewarding. The people were industrious, friendly and glad to see us.

We probably won’t ever go back, but we were very glad to have been

there.

* BUZZ JACKSON lives in Newport Beach.