Bit of a giveaway, that title. Before I get to the meat of today’s adventure, you’ll all be very relieved to hear that we now have a replacement mattress that is so much more comfortable.
After an evening watching the LPO perform tango music, with JD joining in on a mass tango lesson (led by Lauren Oakley), followed by tacos and cocktails at Los Iguanas on the Southbank, we had an early start for Heathrow. On arrival, JD went to buy some mosquito repellent, only to discover he’d left his bank cards behind. In the stress of having to think, I forgot my PIN when I tried to use my card. Good start to our three weeks away. We went to the ‘Premium’ lounge (no money needed) for coffee and a quick bite before catching our plane. The food had pretty much run out (at nine in the morning). I had a yogurt and some scraps of fruit. JD had some slices of cheese: no ham, no bread left. On the plane, bliss, we had lunch and breakfast (in that order). On the next plane (Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as the locals appear to call it) we had breakfast. In Saigon we met our fellow travellers and had lunch at a very stylish restaurant, although most of us were still full from breakfasts. We then got to the ship, when they tried to persuade us to partake of the canapés they’d laid on. We THEN had a life boat drill in the ‘club’, where they’d laid on sandwiches and cakes. I feel bloated just typing it all up.
The first day, we headed off on coaches to Saigon. Our first stop was the Post Office, designed by the French architect Marie-Alfred Foulhoux in the late 1800’s. It looks more like a railway station inside and had a huge portrait of Ho Chi Minh at the end. Opposite was the Notre Dame cathedral, the largest church ever built during the French Empire. Unfortunately, it was covered in scaffolding for repairs so we could not go inside. We’ll just have to visit again in 2027 when it’s due to reopen.
Next, to the Reunification Palace, originally the residence of the French governor-general but later occupied by South Vietnam’s President Ngo Dinh Diem, until it was bombed by his air force in a failed assassination attempt in 1962. It was rebuilt but Diem was killed before he could move back. The official handover of power in 1975 took place there following the Fall of Saigon.
Our final morning stop was the War Remnants Museum, a rather harrowing experience as it was set up shortly after the Vietnam War (known by the Vietnamese as the American War), giving the local assessment. One room was full of photos and experiences of people affected by Agent Orange, a mix of defoliants used by the Americans to destroy almost all of the vegetation to prevent cover for the Vietnamese army. I didn’t know that there were also Agents Pink, White, Purple, Blue and Green, named after the coloured identifying bands on the drums containing the different mixtures, all intended to denude the forests and kill off the crops.
https://www.yourvietnamtravel.com/war-remnants-museum
Although not in the original programme, we had tickets for the early evening AO Show at the State Opera House, featuring acrobats waving bamboo around. A must-see for anyone in Saigon. The journey there, that had taken about 15 minutes earlier in the day, took twice as long as we were in the rush hour. I have never seen so many bikes, more even than in China last year.
https://www.luneproduction.com/saigon-opera-house
The following morning were trips to an art gallery and the Museum of Vietnam. As we were told neither had air conditioning, I decided to give them a miss. Just as well as JD said there were loads of steps, spiral staircases and broken elevators. In the afternoon we set sail. Once we’d left port (a five-hour sail with a pilot to get to the open sea), a showing of ‘Miss Saigon’ was put on for us. Having been at the War Remnants Museum made it all more real.
We had a full day at sea, with a talk by our guest speaker, Michael Buerk, on how fortunate we are to be living in this era. Statistics about living conditions in the past (poverty, famine, housing, sanitation etc) made us aware of how easy life is nowadays. He also gave the interesting fact that IQ seems to be decreasing and that our generation might be the most intelligent. I’m not sure I agree with that, I would question the relevance of the tests to modern living.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-iq-scores-decline-reverse-flynn-effect/
We anchored outside Na Trang marina and took a zodiac ride to the shore then a bus to our first destination, a temple up some rather rickety steps. I stayed at the bottom while the others climbed up.
Then back to the bus and onto lunch in a tucked away rural area on a lake where a craft area had been created: conical hat making, fans, pottery, paintings and rugs from local grasses. Having no money, it was easy to resist any purchases.
Back to the bus and off to our next destination, a traditional farm and farmhouse, complete with a shrine to their ancestors. This one was pretty subtle, many had flashing lights. As they used to have so many children, they were known by number rather than names. That would certainly have helped my dad, who just used to run our four names together when we were kids.
We had been told that the last zodiac to the ship was leaving at 1745. As there were still over three dozen of us on land, needing a bus ride to the marina, that wasn’t going to happen. We arrived in the dark: no zodiacs but there was a disco going on in the hotel grounds so we sat and watched the display. Eventually we saw a lone light coming towards us. As only ten people can get in a zodiac (plus driver), we needed four. JD and I were on the second one. On our way back we heard number three asking for help as he had engine problems. It was decided that we could be disembarked back onto the ship first, but JD was very upset not to have had the experience of being in a broken-down zodiac.
The main attraction on Friday was a coach trip to see a pagoda at the top of 600 steps followed by a martial arts display at two ancient towers. We were woken by the sound of drums alongside: it was the martial arts group welcoming us to Quy Nhon.
I decided to give this a miss, as did five other voyagers, and have a relaxing morning catching up with the world news (well, maybe relaxing is not the right word at the moment). Whilst quietly reading the papers in the library, an announcement came over the Tannoy: please ignore the crew rushing around undertaking their SOLAS drill. First, an announcement ‘Mr Sixsmith Engine Room 2’. Then all our cabins displayed a tag showing we’d been taken off the ship.
The crew were all standing in set places with their life jackets in hand. Various alarms went off (including, of course, the abandon ship of seven short blasts followed by one long blast) and more enigmatic messages from the captain. Fire hoses and doors were all checked. Eventually it all calmed down and we resumed reading. This happens every week, should you decide to go on a cruise.
https://www.dnv.com/training/understanding-solas-11477/
We then had a day at sea sailing to Ha Long Bay, so no ‘shore leave’. No time to relax though. We started the day with a talk from Michael entitled ‘Ruled Britannia’ which addressed the history of the British Empire. Overall conclusion: some good effects and some bad.
Michael was followed by one of the team members telling us about the spectacular growth of the economy and development in Southeast Asia, with the consequences on the environment. We definitely experienced this, seeing very few birds or sea life in the fortnight we were travelling. I didn’t know that a new capital city is planned in Indonesia, from Jakarta to Nusantara, due, inter alia, to the rising sea levels. It has hit problems: the original plan had been to move in 2024 but building is still ongoing.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/16/g-s1-117409/indonesia-capital-nusantara-future-faces-doubts-present
In the afternoon we watched ‘The Quiet American’ starring Michael Caine, based in Saigon around the American / Vietnam War. I’ve never read the book by Graham Greene, it’s now on my booklist.
Having arrived in the early hours at Ha Long Bay, we disembarked early for a three-hour bus ride to Hanoi and an overnight trip. Ha Long seemed to go on forever, building after building after building, with yet more in progress. There was a sign surrounding a building site of 340 hectares, all high-rise hotels or apartments. I think if we came back here in five years’ we would not recognise it, other than the big wheel and cable car.
In Hanoi we went straight to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, from the 11th century. It was set up to educate the royal family and elite scholars. It was destroyed in 1947 by the French but has since been fully reconstructed.
The afternoon visits were to see Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (from the outside only, I think it is undergoing renovations) plus his humble house on stilts, to show he was one of the people. He had requested cremation and that his ashes be scattered in Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam to symbolise unity, but instead he was embalmed. Our guide was asked if he thought Ho Chi Minh would have been happy with such a memorial and thought not. The form of communism in Vietnam seems very open minded, none of our guides were hesitant to answer questions on any topic.
On the way to our hotel, we had to stop for the world-famous train going along Train Street. As soon as the train had passed, all the café tables and chairs come out, and the dogs seem to know when it’s safe.
We checked into the Movenpick Hotel (part of a small Swiss chain) then headed out for dinner to Koto, a Social Enterprise restaurant set up by an Australian to help street kids get experience and jobs in hospitality. It was great to see the enthusiasm they applied to the job. (The next morning, breakfast in the hotel included ice cream in three different unusual flavours, none of which I tried I’m sorry to say. If you’ve never heard of Movenpick, they are more famous for their ice creams than their hotels).
We then undertook a guided walk around the Old Quarter, more like a guided route march, risking life and limb crossing roads. The trick, we were told, it to set off and walk confidently without trying to dodge the hundreds of scooters and cars seemingly intent on running us over. You couldn’t comfortably walk on the pavements as these were covered by shop fronts selling their goods, cafes and parked scooters.
Back in Ha Long, we moved off the ship onto one of the hundreds of tourist boats for a cruise around the limestone ‘towers’ of Ha Long Bay to Sung Sot cave. This was described as one of the most beautiful caves in the area. I cannot confirm this: we arrived with a great number of other boats, all putting their passengers off to go through the cave, so it looked rather like going to a major football match.
It was one way only, with uneven steps (one of our party fell soon after starting to walk up them but had to continue on). A few of us stayed on the boat, which had to keep moving as others came to disgorge their passengers or pick up the successful cave walkers. We realised why all the boats were so scruffy, they just jostled around for space.
Back to the ship, with a ‘sparkling sunset sail away’. I thought I had a good picture of JD sipping his glass of bubbly with the sun going down behind him, but he’s censored it. We said farewell to Vietnam as we set off for Hong Kong. Once the sun had gone down, we had dinner then repaired to the bar, where a musical quiz was taking place. We had missed the previous quizzes but managed to form a team of six so thought we’d join in. All the clues were played on the piano and we had to name the composer, musical, band etc from a few chords (some from the beginning of the piece and a few from the middle!). We did better than I expected, coming third (but no prizes).
Our final day at sea was pretty bumpy as our captain had to avoid the fishing boats and fish aggregators that surround China. We started with Michael giving us a talk on things that make him ‘grumpy’, essentially anything ‘woke’ such as having to think about your sexual orientation and preferences when filling in forms, not being allowed to call people fat (nor expect them to try and lose weight), plus signs saying ‘mind the gap’, ‘this coffee may be hot’ etc etc., a very amusing rant which you could not help but laugh at. One thing he attended in 2025 was an invisible art exhibition. I’m glad I missed it.
One of the team members then gave a talk on butterflies and birds he had seen on the trip. Not many, as already noted. The afternoon film was ‘Good Morning Vietnam’, which I decided to miss, despite never having seen it and using the title today. After the film there was a ‘trek the deck’ where one of the team members led anyone interested on a brisk ten-lap walk around the promenade deck (where our cabin was). I was resting in our cabin and every couple of minutes saw a couple of people fly by. When JD arrived back, it turned out to have been only him and Tom, with JS setting the pace! That evening we had the Captain’s farewell cocktails then a Gala Dinner of even more courses than usual (seven? I lost count). We continued sailing overnight, arriving into Hong Kong late morning, to be greeted by a local troupe of drummers and dragons.
We really enjoyed the Vietnamese food, never having had any before. A few specialities were served to us.
Hanoi Egg Coffee consists of egg yolk whipped with white rum, condensed milk, caramel and honey poured on top of black coffee and finished with grated chocolate. We spooned some of the topping off to taste it, then mixed it into the coffee. It was apparently created in 1949 when there was a shortage of milk, and I guess everyone had chickens so eggs were abundant. Despite sounding disgusting, it tasted good. As an end to dinner it could replace affogato (coffee with ice cream). The egg mix was reminiscent of zabaglione.
Bhttps://feastio.com/vietnamese-coffee/
A lunch in Hanoi was famous for being served to Barack Obama in 2016. I’m not sure if we were in the same restaurant as there were no pictures on the walls of him (or anyone). It’s called Bun Cha Obama. I was somehow expecting a burger or hot dog type of meal, with a Vietnamese twist, but it was vermicelli with grilled pork on skewers. Looking at this link, I’m not sure they served us the right dish!
https://flavorsofhanoi.com/bun-cha-huong-lien/
The ship did some great meals, and the presentation was superb. One dish I want to make is Sans Rival cake, a Filipino dessert (a lot of the crew are Filipino). Cream and hazelnut, not too rich with a nice crunch.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/40601/sans-rival/
BUT, I am not planning on serving water melon like this any time soon.
George and John's boating trip no longer 