South China Sea cruise

Saturday, March 8th - SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA I somehow managed to catch a cold/virus. I spent 14 hours in bed and still feel lousy. So, today Jim went ashore by himself and of course, Bongo. [Jim here] We had a long day on the bus and at several locations around Sihanoukville. Our first stop was at a pepper farm…black pepper. Now we know one place where black peppercorns come from. White pepper is black pepper that has been briefly boiled to loosen the skins which are then peeled off. Its all dried in the sun. We also saw durian fruit trees and "rambutan" (spelling) trees. We had lunch at a restaurant that can feed 200 tourists at a time..so not very quaint, but the food was pretty good…. whole fried fish, fried rice, tropical fruit, noodles, etc. We walked through a fishing village also. I'm not sure if that was for us to see the village or for the villagers to see the tourists. I guess after having seen and lived around locations like this around the world, this sort of quick tour begins to lose it appeal. Of course, millions (billions?) of people live this way…our way of life is a striking contrast. I wish people in developed countries could see this way of life..up close and personal. It might give them a new appreciation for what they have and what is available to them. Sunday, March 9th - AT SEA Monday, March 10th - PHU MY, VIETNAM We went on a very long (3-hour each way) bus ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is where the Viet Cong fighters lived during the war. They had an entire city developed underground. They were like little rats living in an underground tunnel! We also saw the traps that they set up to kill soldiers running around their camp. We also went for a short walk/crawl in one of the tunnels. Jim took the opportunity to shoot and AK-47 and an M-16 …the most common weapons for the fighters in the war. Tuesday, March 11th - NHA TRANG, VIETNAM We visited the Po Nagar Cham Towers, built between the 7th & 12th centuries from the Cham civilization. We climbed 152 steps to the giant white Buddha. We also saw the ladies embroidery with the silk thread made at that factory. Very amazing artwork! Wednesday, March 12th - AT SEA Thursday, March 13th - DA NANG, VIETNAM Jim went on another long bus ride today, and I went on a shorter tour of something else. [Jim here] I took a trip from Da Nang, through Phu Bai to Hue. Rick was stationed in Da Nang in 1970 and Tom was near Phu Bai at Camp Eagle…10 km. south of Hue. I visited the Imperial city of Hue..the ancient capital. Its a fascinating city, in the process of being rebuilt. As is typical, it must have been beautiful when originally built, but the years and war have taken a severe toll. Much of the reconstruction is based on black and white photographs taken by the French in the 1950's. We also went to the Royal tombs…hauntingly beautiful, but also in severe disrepair. I went to Hoi-An to a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a place where about 6 generations have lived. We had a nice tour of this town and had time to shop. I bought a pair of baggy trousers made of cotton and silk. I also found some nice beads for mosaics. Friday, March 14th - AT SEA Saturday, March 15th - HALONG BAY, VIETNAM Today we remember Adin H Hall, Jim's dad. He would be 95 today, if he were still living. Today is our last day of touring. This is a remarkable natural wonder and UNESCO World Heritage site dotted with more than 3000 limestone islands. We sailed in and around these magnificent structures. We went on a climb of 120 steps into the Thien Cung Cave. We saw a cave that could be active at times with many stalagmites and stalactites. I will post photos of our trip in a few days.