Today we arrived at our first port of call in Vietnam the port of Phu My. Many of the passengers have elected to take tours into Ho Chi Minh/Saigon or to the Mekong Delta. At $160 each and a 9-10 hour day we decided not to join these tours. The tour guide aboard the ship advised there was a shuttle running into a nearby town Ba Ria where there was a market but advised there was nothing there to see or do. Ruth decided to say on board and I went into the village toying with the idea that from there I may also catch a taxi to Vung Tau, some 25 miles further away.

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The ship is still plagued with the Noro Virus (gastro bug) but thankfully neither Ruth nor I have contracted it so far. This morning the crew are commencing a deep sanitizing program of the entire ship while most passengers will be ashore. This is welcomed and hopefully will assist in abating the spread of the virus on board. No longer is there a self serve buffet, everything is served individually to each passenger. In the dining rooms there are no longer bread baskets, sugar/sweetners, milk jugs for coffee in the centre of the tables. Everything is served by crew. Let’s hope it’s gone soon. It appears this is a common problem for cruise ships particularly in the Asian region. When I see meat sitting at room temperature with flies on it at markets and on vendors stalls which is then not cooked fully it is easy to see how bacteria causes problems for people.

After I arrived in Ba Ria with a bus load of other passengers/crew we were hassled by taxi drivers and hawkers that were so persistent it became irritating. The first were the taxi drivers. I made the stupid mistake about enquiring on the price for a trip to Vung Tau…that started it. He proceeded to follow me around the local supermarket for the next 10 minutes hassling me. It seems as soon as you indicate an interest in something they have immediately sold it to you and the only thing to negotiate then is the price.

Although I had repeatedly declined over and over and over again, he then tried to add additional sweeteners. His final offer was return trip to Vung Tau, Beers, Massage and a woman to keep me company all for the bargain price of US$50. I finally escaped this guy walking away up the street aimlessly just anywhere to escape the hassle. Even two blocks away taxis would pull up alongside and offer to take me to Vung Tau with a range of lowering prices. How did they know I had enquired about Vung Tau? There is clearly a system of collusion among the taxi drivers once they have a potential target.

I really find Asian markets amazing and Ba Ria was no exception. They had the usual array of dried salted fish, spices, rices, grains, fruit and vegetable. Surprisingly I saw more vendors than I saw customers with sellers asleep alongside their stalls. Taking some video of the markets I gave a stallholder a US$1 note for smiling and waving while I filmed. Big mistake! Within 30 seconds I had an ankle biter (boy around 5 years old) walking alongside me holding out a piece of styrofoam, supposedly for me to put money in for him. He followed me through half the markets before finally (and thankfully for me) losing interest and leaving.

It was so hot and humid (running at 100%) so after a couple of hours I was ready to head back to the shuttle pick up point and head back to the ship. Again more hawkers selling their wares, (like bees around a honey pot) young girls holding children begging for money, amputees begging for money. I was happy to get back on the bus as I was becoming hoarse saying ‘No, No thank you, Not interested’ to the point that it was difficult not to be rude.

On arriving back at the port in Phu My there was a mini-market set up beside the boat. Michelle, Peter and Pam were aboard the same shuttle bus as I, returning to the ship, and we saw a barmaid who serves us in Crooner’s Lounge on the ship having lunch with her family. Her two small children are travelling with their grandmother who leaves the ship at Hong Kong to return to the Philippines. The barmaid was peeling what appeared to be a hard boiled egg. It wasn’t, it was an egg and is regarded as a delicacy in some Asian countries and is called Balut (pronounced Bal-oot). The egg contains what they describe as a ‘day old chick’ so inside is the embryo of a chicken. Michelle almost ‘heaved’ on the spot when she saw the peeled egg and the thought of the barmaid going to eat the Balut.

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Anyway overall a fun day and Ruth wished in hindsight she had come to the town and felt the tour guide ‘misinformed’ passengers that there was nothing to see in Ba Ria.
Check back for the video and pics I have yet to upload of today’s adventure. It was nice to get out of the heat and humidity and settle back in Crooners Lounge to a nice cold VB at the end of the day.

Tomorrow is Nha Trang and we do it all again.