20231102 AAAA Trip - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Tạm biệt Việt Nam (Farewell Vietnam)

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 47/105 - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam Day 3

The scenery in this port is breathtaking!

Today was our final day in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam.  With all the time we spent on the bus the past two days and the fact that the included tour drove by things we had already driven by, we opted to skip the tour and just stay on the ship.

Because there are tourists with money here, a small pop-up market of sorts popped up on the pier for the three days we were docked.  

Since we weren't doing anything else, we headed off the ship and walked across the pier to check it out.  They had a ton of name-brand clothing at cheap prices. Why?  Much of it is sewn here in Vietnam.  Of course, they might have been knock-offs, but if so, they were outstanding knock-offs.  Arlona picked up a Dry-Fit t-shirt for $6, only because she didn't haggle.  I expect she could have gotten it for $3.  They carried snacks too, I expect mostly targeted at the crew.

MMMMM...Texas tenderloin chips

When we first arrived in Vietnam, everyone was issued a landing card.  This paper card was an official Vietnamese document and included our name, room number, passport number, and other identifying information.  We were required to carry it at all times when off the ship.  In Ha Long Bay, Vietnamese officials inspected everyone's card as we exited the ship for excursions.  In Hue, they barely glanced at them as we walked off the ship.  Here, the office just sat in a makeshift room and never even looked up. It's interesting how the government works here.  Since today was our last day in Vietnam, we returned the cards once we were back onboard to stay so they could be collected, counted, and verified.  Or, just thrown out, if I had to guess.

We walked around outside on deck #7 after we finished lunch and Arlona spotted this guy.

Arlona's foot was added for size reference

Google Lens suggests this is an Asiatic rhinoceros beetle

What a face

If you've been following this adventure since we sailed from Vancouver 47 days ago, you might recall that after we end this cruise in Sydney, we will continue the trip.  We will fly to Dubai and then sail on an Oceania cruise from Dubai through the U.A.E. to Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar, ending in Abu Dhabi.

A couple of days ago, we heard from Oceania. I'll summarize the email.

Because of the current situation in Israel and Gaza, the entire eastern portion of the cruise was canceled.  In addition, they whacked Bahrain from the itinerary.

Now, we will remain in port in Dubai for three days and then sail to Doha, Qatar.  We'll be there for two days and then anchor for two days at Sir Bani Yas.  We will spend a day cruising before ending in Abu Dhabi where we will now spend two full days before disembarking.  We're disappointed that we lost Oman and Bahrain from the itinerary so now this is a two-country, four-port cruise.  But, we do recognize that for the safety of the crew and guests, Oceania had to make the changes.  I understand eliminating the eastern portion but can't figure out why Bahrain was also removed.  As we always do, we're rolling with the changes.

We sailed out at 2 p.m. and by 3 p.m., rain was falling.  With all the gloom and doom in the weather forecast for southern Vietnam, we got very lucky and didn't experience rain other than on the sail in and sail out.  Hard to complain about that.  Our guide yesterday said he knew why we had good weather.  He explained that the rainy season in Vietnam ends October 31 and yesterday was November 1.  Huh.  Never made the connection. (He was joking)

Once we cleared the muddy waters of the river, terns joined us once again.

If you look closely, at least 14 terns are flying alongside the ship

As we sailed out down the Soài Rạp, we passed what looked like fishing vessels and a lot of traps or nets.

A friend said that he talked with the Chief Engineer who said that there was only about 3m of clearance in the channel from our keel to the bottom.  With the amount of silt we saw in the water, we figured that they must dredge a lot.  We saw two dredging operations as we got closer to open water.

Picking up bottom material

Dumping it on a barge for removal

The channel marker buoys are numbered and decrease as you sail out - this is number one

Just beyond that was marker #0 marking the start of the channel into Ho Chi Minh City when heading north and the entrance into the South China Sea heading south

As we sailed out, the peninsula containing the city of Vũng Tàu, Vietnam was directly to the east of us.

Looking on Google Maps, I could see that there was a monument on the south tip of the peninsula.  You could just make it out on top of the hill.

It turns out that this is known as Tượng đài Chúa Kitô - Monument of Christ.

It was built on Mount Nhỏ and took over twenty years to complete.  The statue is 32m tall and is the largest of Jesus Christ in Asia.

Jesus Christ statue

We continued south into the South China Sea before starting the turn to the west into the East Vietnam Sea.  We will sail tomorrow into the Gulf of Thailand as we make our way to Sihanoukville, Cambodia. It is a sea day tomorrow.