Phu My, Vietnam

We landed at the port of Phu My but there's not much there so we took a tour to Vung Tau which is a resort town. It has a nice waterfront walk, Buddhist temples and a huge hilltop statue of Christ. 

  There a lot of Catholics because of early French settlement. 

One interesting sight was seeing a lot of people gleaning shrimp from a muddy shrimp farm pond after the commercial harvest was done. A very muddy process.

Communist signs a billboards are everywhere but capitalism reigns. Street peddlers are everywhere and they are very persistent in following you around with their goods. They even followed the tour bus from one stop to the next by riding on their motor bikes.

The weather was hot and muggy and back at the ship, the air conditioning was broken for three or four hours and it makes us realize how much we depend on it for comfort.

Da Nang, Vietnam

In the morning we took a tour to the city of Hoi An. We visited a silk factory where the do the whole process from silk worm to weaving and embroidering pictures in silk. Everywhere we went there were agressive street peddlers. There were some beggars but they were quite passive. Dad got tired on the long walk and hired a bicycle cab to get back to the bus.

In the afternoon I took the shuttle bus into Da Nang for a look-around. They have a nice riverfront park and walkway. The motorbike and bicycle cab drivers were continuously offering rides. One motorbike driver followed me as I walked by the river and kept offering a tour of the city. He was friendly and non-threatening but VERY persistent.

Hong Kong and Beijing China

The ship docked in Hong Kong and I took an overnight tour to Beijing and the Great Wall. It was a great trip. I could have used a week to see more. Shanghai and Hong Kong are masses of high-rise buildings but in Beijing the center of town has been zoned for low buildings only so it is much nicer. 

I climbed the Great Wall for as much time as I had. It is really an amazing experience to actually be at and walk around on this wall that seemed almost like something that is only an old legend.