PHU MY,VIETNAM

Phu My, Vietnam

Phu My is the name of a new container port that was built from fill in the Mekong Delta. This is where you take tours to Ho Chi Minh City or the beach area called Vungtau. We have been to Vietnam before in the mid 90’s and decided to just do the city transfer. It takes over 2 hours to get there, and we were on the bus from hell. The air conditioning worked poorly < temp. outside was 40 C, with oppressive humidity> and the bus driver had to stop because he had diarrhea.

Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon is a city of 7 million and difficult to navigate, as it is a city in transition. With the help of Chinese money, it is out with the old and in with the new. There are huge new apartment buildings and every high end store you can think off, all empty of shoppers, just like Shanghai.

What I will probably remember about this visit is the motor scooters. It makes Rome seen tame. To cross the very wide street you wait for a break in the traffic, step out, and walk in a slow deliberate pace and the traffic goes around you. Not for the faint of heart. We went  to an old beautifully restored hotel called the Majestic, on the Saigon River for a cold drink and a million dollar view. We also walked to the Ben Thanh market that has been there forever. By then the heat got to me and we headed back to our meeting place at the Rex hotel for lunch. This is the hotel the reporters used during the war. I would probably tell others to take one of the ship’s tour just for the comfort factor.

Update:

We have been told that there is a travel warning still in effect for Egypt so instead we will have an additional stop in Oman and then go on to Israel, This might revert back but I doubt it.

Gina Wagg